Photo By Sgt. Cassandra Monroe | Iraqi residents give their work history information to a local employer in the Salah...... read more read more
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CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, Iraq – Iraqi residents from the Salah ad-Din province gathered at the Iraqi-Based Industrial Zone to attend a job fair, Sept. 4, at Contingency Operating Base Speicher, near Tikrit, Iraq.
The fair was held to provide an opportunity for Iraqi residents in the Salah ad-Din area to meet with local employers in hopes of eventual employment. The representing companies included local construction and trade specialty employers.
The purpose of this job fair was to link skilled Iraqi citizens with contracting companies and for businesses to figure out who the skilled employees are for potential jobs that may surface later on, said Capt. Calvin Fisher, the I-BIZ officer in charge with Division Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division. Businesses on COB Speicher are decreasing services and their personnel due to the reduction of military forces on base. Because of that, many Iraqi residents who worked with I-BIZ had to be released from those duties.
All of the men who were invited to the job fair were taught and trained specialty trades, such as carpentry, electricity, welding, plumbing, small engine repair, HVAC repair, labor and linguist at the I-BIZ Skills Enhancement Center on base. They were then employed on COB Speicher to do various jobs, such as build water sheds and bus stop shelters, as well as weld containers and stairs for generators.
Their employment provided security and stability in their local areas,” said Fisher, a Durham, N.C., native. Employers at the I-BIZ and the Skills Enhancement Center want the Iraqis to continue to do the right thing by being productive and not allowing negative influences of other organizations affect them, Fisher added.
When Fisher found out that the worker’s contracts would soon end, he made flyers to notify the workers of the job fair, ensuring that they would have a chance at other employment paths.
The men filed into lines separating them by their trade and waited to meet with local employers. Many of the tradesmen brought along their official I-BIZ certificates and trade class graduation diplomas to further their chances of getting hired.
Getting hired by a local employer is the best long-term solution, Fisher said.
“These Iraqi companies may be here indefinitely, so this links them up with the Iraqi citizens and helps promote the stability of employment, as well as increase employment rates in Salah ad-Din,” said Fisher. “This is a better avenue for the people. They are getting a head start with employment.”
Khalil Abrahim Salem, the brother of a sheik in charge of the Salah ad-Din Sons of Iraq and a local business owner, feels like this job fair is a great opportunity for those in employer positions to hire men in the area.
“We’re really happy about having the job fair here today, and we’re really proud,” said Salem. “As a business owner in the industrials zone, we’re all looking for expertly skilled persons, and by doing job fairs, it helps our companies a lot. I’m sure their skills are perfect, especially because they were trained at the Skills Enhancement Center.
“This is helping the community by creating more jobs. And by creating and filling more jobs, we see less terrorism.”
| Date Taken: | 09.04.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 09.08.2010 01:18 |
| Story ID: | 55876 |
| Location: | CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, IQ |
| Web Views: | 31 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
This work, Iraqi residents attend employment fair at I-BIZ site, by SGT Cassandra Monroe, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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