Texas Southmost College job fair in Brownsville to feature 70 employers

Texas Southmost College’s fourth annual Spring Job Fair takes place March 27 from 9 a.m. to noon at Jacob Brown Auditorium, 600 International Boulevard.

Carol Sandoval, TSC coordinator of Career and Employment Services, said it’s the biggest one yet, with 70 employers confirmed as of Monday.

The first Spring Job Fair had 30 employers, she said. Last year’s attracted 40 employers and 300 students and non-students from around the Rio Grande Valley. This year, local chambers of commerce helped out substantially by advertising the event, Sandoval said.

“Also, this year had a lot of interest from the high schools asking if they could bring in career technology students and their graduating seniors,” she said. “Of course it’s a wonderful opportunity for them to network, especially the students who are doing career technology, who are finishing a program.”

TSC recruiters also will be on hand for members of the community interested in furthering their educations or landing a job with the institution, Sandoval said. The dozens of participating employers include the city of Brownsville and other municipalities, Cameron County, healthcare systems, independent school districts, charter schools, technology firms, industrial construction companies, car dealerships, utility providers, state agencies, all four branches of the military, Border Patrol and many more.

Every employer at the fair will be hiring, Sandoval said.

“We focus only on employers that are looking to hire,” she said. “Some of these employers are going to interview on the spot, so I’ve been telling our students to come prepared with their resumes, come prepared to ask questions and to apply.”

The fact that employers across the spectrum are dealing with acute worker shortages helps drive employer participation, Sandoval said.

“They’re needing to hire ASAP,” she said.

Based on sign-in sheets from last year’s event, in addition to Brownsville, job-seekers came from Harlingen, Los Fresnos, Port Isabel, San Benito and Weslaco, Sandoval said, adding that all the jobs employers are seeking to fill are in the Valley. With 30 more employers on hand this year than last year, organizers are expecting to beat last year’s turnout, she said.

“We have part-time jobs, full-time jobs — it just depends what the person’s interest is,” Sandoval said.