NEWS - Work Force & Career Development

May 7, 2013 – The Georgia Department of Labor’s (GDOL) Savannah Career Center, the GDOL’s Veterans Services Division, and Savannah Technical College will sponsor the annual Southeast Georgia Career Expo Thursday, May 16, in Savannah. The annual event is one of the largest career expos held each year in Southeast Georgia. It is set for 1-5 p.m. in the college’s Eckburg Auditorium, located at 5717 White Bluff Rd. in Savannah.

The expo will feature about 90 employers, educational institutions, and resource agencies that provide assistance to job seekers. Some employers will be hiring, while others will discuss possible future employment opportunities with the job seekers. GDOL staff will be available to provide employment-related assistance to job seekers. Veterans’ representatives will offer employment and other assistance to military veterans, including seminars at 1 and 3 p.m. for veterans with disabilities.

Applicants should bring plenty of resumes and be prepared to fill out company applications and interview for available job openings. Attendees are encouraged to dress appropriately to improve their opportunities for job openings.

Among those expected to participate in the event are Amerigroup Community Care, Apollo Staffing, Arizona Chemical Company, Avon, Care Master Medical, Chatham Area Transit, Coca-Cola Bottling Company, COFA Logistics, Cross Roads Service, Cumulus Broadcasting-Savannah, Dependable, Derst Baking, Express Pros, FedEx Ground, Georgia Department of Behavioral Health, Georgia Department of Corrections, Coastal State Prison, Georgia Pacific, Georgia Ports Authority, Guardian Angels Sitting Service, Holiday Inn Express Savannah Historic District, Hunt/Mills A Joint Venture, Image Hotels, International Paper, JC Vision and Associates, Kelly Services, Landscape Limited, Matson Logistics Warehousing, Mitsubishi Power Systems America, Newell Recycling, Nightingale Services, Old Town Trolley Tours, The Parker Companies, Pier One Imports Distribution Center, Pizza Hut, Primerica, Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department, Savannah Jobs, Savannah Sugar Refinery, Sizemore, Inc., South Coast Medical Group, Staff Chex, Statesboro Police Department, Sullivan Staffing, Westin Savannah Harbor Resort, Bulloch RSM Project, Georgia Families, and Troy University.

For additional information about the expo, or employers wanting to register, contact Connie Ellis at Savannah Technical College at 912-443-5880 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Cynthia Fearbry at the GDOL’s Savannah Career Center at 912-356-2773 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

NEWS - Work Force & Career Development

April 25, 2013 – The Georgia Department of Labor has announced that metro Savannah’s unemployment rate declined to 7.4 percent in March, down three-tenths of a percentage point from 7.7 percent in February. The rate was 8.3 percent in March a year ago.

The rate declined because of an increase in the number of jobs and fewer new layoffs.

The number of jobs in metro Savannah increased to 158,000, up by 500 from 157,500 in February. Most of the growth came in leisure and hospitality and professional and business services, along with mining, logging, and construction.

Over-the-year, metro Savannah added 2,000 jobs, or 1.3 percent, from 156,000 in March 2012. Most of the growth was in manufacturing, leisure and hospitality, retail trade, and local government.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in the Coastal Georgia region declined to 8.1 percent in March, down five-tenths of a percentage point from 8.6 percent in February. The rate was 8.9 percent in March a year ago.

The rate declined because the number of unemployment people decreased to 25,744, down by 1,601 from 27,345 in February. The number of unemployed people was down from 28,500 in March 2012.

The number of new layoffs, which were represented by initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits, fell by 53 from 1,198 in February to 1,145 in March. The decreases came mostly in manufacturing, trade, transportation, and warehousing, along with administrative and support services. And, the number of initial claims was down over-the-year by 158 from 1,303 in March 2012. Most of the over-the-year decline came in construction, administrative and support services, and accommodations and food services.

Metro Athens had the lowest area jobless rate at 5.9 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 10.4 percent.

Georgia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for March was 8.4 percent, down from 8.6 percent in February. The rate was 9.1 percent in March a year ago.

Local area unemployment data are not seasonally adjusted. Georgia labor market data are available at www.dol.state.ga.us

NEWS - Work Force & Career Development

Metro Savannah’s unemployment declines to 7.1 percent in April

May 23, 2013 – The Georgia Department of Labor announced today that metro Savannah’s unemployment rate declined to 7.1 percent in April, down three-tenths of a percentage point from 7.4 percent in March. The rate was 8.2 percent in April a year ago.

The rate declined as the number of jobs in metro Savannah increased by 1,300 to 159,200, up from 157,900 in March. Most of the growth came in leisure and hospitality, trade and transportation, and education and health services.

Over-the-year, metro Savannah added 1,600 jobs, or 1.0 percent, from 157,600 in April 2012. Most of the growth was in leisure and hospitality, trade and transportation, manufacturing, and local government.

Also, The Georgia Department of Labor announced today that the unemployment rate in the Coastal Georgia region declined to 7.9 percent in April, down two-tenths of a percentage point from 8.1 percent in March. The rate was 8.6 percent in April a year ago.

The rate declined because the number of employed people increased by 1,062 to 293,083, up from 292,021 in March. The number of employed people was up by 1,868 from 291,215.

Metro Athens had the lowest area jobless rate at 5.6 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 10.3 percent.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for April was 8.2 percent, down from 8.4 percent in March. The rate was 9.1 percent in April a year ago.

Local area unemployment data are not seasonally adjusted. Georgia labor market data are available at www.dol.state.ga.us

NEWS - Work Force & Career Development

NEWS - Work Force & Career Development

April 18, 2013 – The Georgia Department of Labor’s (GDOL) Kings Bay Career Center will help Military Sealift Command (MSC) fill a number of jobs for civilian employees to work on civilian-crew ships that transport equipment and supplies to U.S. military forces worldwide.

The recruitment will be held Thursday, April 25, from 12 noon to 3 p.m. at the career center, located at 406 Osborne St. in St. Marys.

MSC operates a fleet of about 110 civilian-crew ships. The company is currently hiring officers, operations chiefs, damage control officers and their assistants, engineers, electricians, refrigeration engineers, deck engineer machinists, unlicensed junior engineers, pump men, engine utility men, cooks, and bakers.

In addition to working in a state-of-the-art environment with excellent living accommodations aboard a civilian-crew ship, employees receive on-the-job training, career advancement opportunities, steady wages, and federal benefits.

For additional information about the recruitment, contact the Kings Bay Career Center at (912) 673-6942, or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

NEWS - Work Force & Career Development

NEWS - Work Force & Career Development

April 2, 2013 - The U.S. Department of State is launching an aggressive hiring effort in Savannah – seeking to recruit new employees to join the U.S. Foreign Service. Selected candidates will serve as future American diplomats in U.S. Embassies and Consulates around the world and at headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the State Department’s most senior recruitment official, will travel to Savannah on Thursday, April 4. She will be available to discuss State Department hiring needs and the very real joys – and challenges – that come with a serving as a U.S. diplomat abroad. With backgrounds in business, management, economics, journalism, healthcare, technology and engineering, Foreign Service Officers are committed to protecting America’s interests around the world.

NEWS - Work Force & Career Development

State agencies actively recruiting military returning home from duty

April 1, 2013 – Georgia military personnel returning from duty are in big demand here as Georgia law enforcement agencies have more than 800 jobs waiting for them to apply. A vanguard of state H-R departments is reaching out this spring to veterans who are looking for work.

State of Georgia agency recruiters are hosting a job fair for returning veterans at the National Guard Armory in Glennville, Georgia.  It’s scheduled soon from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on April 17 and it’s free to veterans who register on line.

Why are veterans such a sought after commodity in the Georgia job market?  “Because from deployment to employment, veterans are typically candidates who can distinguish themselves in any job description,” says Commissioner Avery D. Niles at the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice.

“Veterans bring discipline, maturity, experience and leadership skills to your work place,” said Commissioner Niles.  “That makes them the kind of candidate we’re seeking most for positions involving responsibility and trust.”

Commissioner Niles is in a position to know.  He recently hired Lt. Col. Mark Sexton, U.S. Army Retired, for the Commissioner’s top executive staff spot at DJJ Central Office.  Now as DJJ’s new assistant commissioner, Sexton is drawing on more than 20 years of experience as a commissioned officer in key military posts around the world to help restructure DJJ’s Central Office operations.

“As an integral element of my military background I was expected to direct specialized work forces, streamline organizations, increase productivity and produce outstanding safety records,” said Assistant Commissioner Sexton.

“This special skill set now carries over into my new career with the State of Georgia as I am assigned the task of change management for the Department of Juvenile Justice,” said Sexton. “The State of Georgia is an excellent career destination.” 

DJJ provides a unique opportunity for service members to apply their discipline, deployment experience, and leadership skills to establish a positive influence on the lives of Georgia youth under their care.

“We support Gov. Nathan Deal’s ‘Hire a Georgia Veteran campaign,” said Commissioner Avery Niles. “We proudly signed the Governor’s pledge to provide enhanced hiring opportunities for veterans. Assistant Commissioner Sexton served his country as a lieutenant colonel and now we look forward to working together with him on the DJJ Team serving the State of Georgia.”

DJJ offers a one-time Military Salary Increase Incentive to current and former military service members on eligible job titles, who have served on active duty.  To be eligible, service members must have an Honorable Discharge.  The one-time incentive will be based upon the current number of active duty years served. Gov. Deal has said that ensuring that these heroes find meaningful employment as they return home is one of Georgia’s top priorities.

The April 17 job fair at the National Guard Armory in Glennville, Georgia is one of several upcoming statewide initiatives designed to help a wave of 80-thousand Georgia veterans who are expected to enter the state’s workforce by 2016.  In September 2012, the Department of Corrections hosted a similar veterans’ job fair at the DOC offices in Forsyth, Georgia and more than 220 veterans registered for the event.

The Glennville job fair will be hosted again by the Georgia Department of Corrections, the state Department of Defense and the National Guard.  The Department of Public Safety, Department of Natural Resources and DJJ will all have personnel on hand to answer questions from candidates.

Recruiters are looking for qualified candidates to hire for a wide range of career positions including administration, transportation, communications, probation, I-T, engineering, counseling, maintenance, and state patrol and correctional officers.

“Veterans understand discipline and take pride in their work,” said Commissioner Niles. “The Department of Juvenile Justice is proud to offer new opportunities to these men and women who have served their country.  All of Georgia’s state agencies are privileged to open new career paths to our U.S. veterans.”

The Department of Juvenile Justice has career opportunities available for administrative positions, corrections and transportation officers, security emergency response teams, probation and parole specialists, registered nurses and physicians, professional social workers, special education teachers and more.  Candidates who don’t want to miss an opportunity to begin a career in State law Enforcement should register at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MilitaryJobFair.

For more information about the Department of Juvenile Justice job fair schedule in April click on http://www.djjnewsandviews.org/whatsnewatdjj/viewnews.asp?newsID=92 .