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Veterans and Diversity Hiring Expo brings in hundreds of Hartford residents looking for work

Hartford Courant - 9/7/2021

Over 60 colorful tents and tables, from UPS to Trinity Health Care to the Connecticut State Police, filled Dillion Stadium in Hartford as hundreds of people made their way to each booth in search of their next job on Tuesday afternoon.

The Veterans and Diversity Hiring Expo, hosted by the Connecticut Department of Labor and the Hartford Athletic, provided opportunities for residents to connect with employers from various sectors and receive career feedback on their resumes, interview skills and professional attire. The job fair specifically targeted people of color, women, people with disabilities and veterans.

“I’m a senior citizen, so I’ve done a lot of work over my years, and I’m at the retirement thing, but I like to come through and share what I see here and the information I receive with others that don’t have the opportunity to be here because they’re working or for whatever reason,” said Luis Alvarez, a retired Marine who spends most of his time working with veterans experiencing homelessness,. “A lot of us are full of pride, we don’t like to ask for help.”

Alvarez, with his black Marines hat with an American flag and eagle on it, had a bag full of flyers from each table in hopes of posting more job opportunities for veterans in shelters who may not see postings on the internet or through media sources, he said.

“There’s a lack of communication,” Alvarez said. “I have a bunch of info right now that if we put it on the bulletin board, give some to social workers too ... we can spread the word.”

Spreading the word was the goal for local officials.

“This is a critical time. It’s critical for our economy that the folks who need a job, get a job, and it’s critical for those families, that those individuals are able to find that job and build that opportunity for their families,” Hartford mayor Luke Bronin said at the event. “There are an awful lot of jobs out there, whether it’s back into the career you used to be in, or whether it’s a new career altogether, this is the time.”

The job fair came just a day after enhanced federal unemployment benefits put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic ended for millions of Americans. The benefits, part of the stimulus bill that passed in March, provided an extra $300 a week.

Gov. Ned Lamont said his focus is getting people back to work.

“I’m scrambling trying to figure out what it takes to get people back to work. It’s back to school, now it’s back to work,” Lamont said, pointing out different factors that contributed to unemployment rates including fear of COVID-19 and the fear of the lack of skillsets.

“We have the lowest infection rates in the county. We’re doing everything you can to keep you safe. Employers are doing everything we can to keep you safe, vaccinations, masks, it’s time to get back to work and get back to work safely,” Lamont said. “I thought it was skills, people didn’t have the right skills for the jobs out there, [but] we have amazing no-cost programs across the board in our community colleges. ... We can get you free workforce training as needed going forward.”

Lamont added that with expanding the earned income tax credit from 23% to 30.5%, “this is the ideal time to be looking for work.”

Jessika Harkay can be reached at jharkay@courant.com.

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