On Thursday, doors opened at the Selma University to numerous people who had one thing on their mind: to find a job.

The regional job fair, hosted by the Alabama Department of Labor’s (ADOL) in collaboration with the university, Alabama Career Center System, Alabama News Network and the Governor’s Office of Minority Affairs (GOMA) as part of Alabama’s Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) initiative.

“Workforce development has been a key point of our administration,” said Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey. “It is our hope that every Alabamian that wants to work has the opportunity to do so. Today’s event is all about creating a forum where we can work together to make gainful employment for those searching for them … I know this event will be a great success. We have over 40 employers representing almost 2,000 jobs that are available.”

Events like this give areas like ours hope that we can come out of the situations we are in.

However, the organizers of this job fair can only do so much.

It is now up to the people seeking employment to find a job and to remain gainfully employed.

The tools have been given to these people. Let us hope that they can continue to move forward in being financially stable and gainfully employed.