Not everybody on South Padre Island is on vacation.
The South Padre Island Chamber of Commerce is partnering with Workforce Solutions Cameron and the City of South Padre Island to host a job fair on Feb. 2 at the SPI Convention Center.
Alita Bagley, Chamber president and CEO, said she isn’t sure how many employers have signed up for the job fair but that a year ago the turnout was around 65 businesses all looking to fill openings.
“I don’t know if this is going to be similar to that,” Bagley said. “I do know, of course, like everywhere, a lot of businesses are having trouble staffing, so we’ll just have to wait and see how many show up. We certainly will be prepared for that many, or more.”
The common consensus is South Padre Island’s tourist-based economy is seasonal, and the job market responds accordingly.
But she says things have changed in the Island’s employment market, and evidence for that can be found in SPI’s hotel tax and sales tax numbers, which have been consistently strong month-to-month for the past two years, COVID or no COVID.
“The Island is really not as seasonal as you would think, and certainly not as much as it was years ago,” Bagley said. “We have had steady influx of visitors for the past two years, so we really don’t have a slow-time season. The hotels, the restaurants, the businesses need their full-on staff pretty much year-round now.”
Bagley said most of the job openings available on the Island are definitely linked to the hospitality industry, and says she anticipates strong demand for hotel and restaurant workers.
“Since our major, our only industry here, is the hospitality industry, hotels, maintenance people for hotels and vacation rentals are certainly needed, full-time employees for restaurants,” she said. “Most of our retail shops are pretty small; we don’t have any big-box stores here, so you’re not talking large numbers in retail.”
Bagley said there will be some higher-paying positions to be filled as well, noting she has heard of openings for bookkeepers and administrative assistants.
She said businesses on the Island are looking for workers who are the right fit, and are less concerned about experience.
“Most of our businesses, most of the hotels, restaurants and vacation management businesses are certainly willing to teach and to train the people,” Bagley said. “We do live in a little bit more of a transient place since it is a vacation destination, but employers are looking for someone they can hire who’s going to be long-term and they can train them and they can work their way up.”
Bagley said job seekers should dress for interviews and bring along resumes with references. She expects the right candidates will be hired on the spot.
“We are an island, but don’t come in shorts and flip-flops,” she advised.
If you go
WHAT: Job fair
WHERE: South Padre Island Convention Center, 7355 Padre Blvd.
WHEN: Feb. 2, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
EMPLOYERS: Can register through Workforce Solutions Cameron
