Photo By Patrick Adelmann | A large group of potential candidates made their way through the U.S. Army Corps of...... read more read more
The traditional sights and sounds of Globe Life Field, home of the Texas Rangers, were replaced with something brand new on Saturday, April 13.
Instead of fans wearing jerseys cheering on the hometown team, potential candidates from throughout the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex carrying resumes entered the upper concourse of the stadium. They were looking for possible careers with more than 40 Army organizations including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Southwestern Division. The division had representatives on hand from Fort Worth, Galveston, Little Rock, and Tulsa Districts.
The first-of-its-kind career fair was the brainchild of the Army’s Civilian Human Resources Agency. By combining active duty, reserve, and guard components, as well as civilian employment opportunities, the total Army recruitment and outreach event was meant to highlight the Army as the employer of choice in the metroplex.
“The fact that we - for the first time - are combining civilian, active, guard, and reserve recruiting under one roof is historic,” said Katie Egbert, a project manager with CHRA. “To have all these resources, and all these influencers, and Army personnel together to coordinate with the public and really share the Army message, that’s the big story here.”
According to the U.S. Army Recruiting Command, which enlists qualified applicants into the Army and Army Reserve, 71% of youth do not qualify for military service for various reasons. But they may be able to serve the nation in another capacity as an Army civilian.
An Army-centric career fair has been discussed and rumored for years. USAREC has considered such an event, but it has never come to fruition.
“So, there's always great ideas out there,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Dustin Denney, Dallas Army Recruiting Battalion. “The difference between this event and all those other great ideas is somebody actually took the ball and ran with this one and turned it into a reality.”
Having the opportunity to attend the event locally allowed the Fort Worth District to highlight current careers they are hiring for and forecasted openings to a larger pool of possible candidates. Many people see Corps of Engineers and presume that they must join the Army or that they only hire engineers.
“Our focus and mission at a career fair are to ‘build careers’ regardless if that career is in engineering, accounting, park ranger or any number of other civilian positions,” said Andrew White, Fort Worth District talent management specialist. “USACE is committed to helping candidates achieve their career goals and we look forward to having them join the team.”
With representatives from Army Cyber, Futures, Medical, Space and Missile Defense Commands, and many more, the opportunities for job seekers are endless.
“Everybody has been encouraging me as I’ve talked to the different organizations,” said Rodney Williams, a recent Army retiree. “This is opening my horizons and getting my interest peaked as I network. I had no idea how many jobs I could possibly qualify for based off my experience in the Army as a generator mechanic.”
According to Egbert, the success of the career fair was the right people were at the right place and the right time. They were able to gather the necessary people and resources and make their vision a reality.
Editor's note: Find your next career by visiting https://portal.chra.army.mil/hr_public or if you are interested in enlisting with the Army visit https://www.goarmy.com/.
| Date Taken: | 04.19.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 04.19.2024 14:45 |
| Story ID: | 468973 |
| Location: | ARLINGTON, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 160 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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