With employees being thrown out of work as a result of the city's ordering the shutdownof internet cafes, an upcoming job fair aimed at helping them is quickly growing in size.
Cafe operators told WJCT News partner News4Jax that more than 2,700 workers are being affected by City Council's recent vote to shut down the internet cafe industry, or what the city ordinance calls "adult arcades."
More than 40 employers have signed up so far to take part in the job fair that will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday, October 24.
Positions include warehouse, laundry, retail, e-commerce, janitorial, call center, security, hospitality, manufacturing, and more. Some jobs are seasonal positions.
Here’s the list of participating companies as of October 21:
- Amazon
- ADT
- Bank of America
- Baptist Health
- Boost Mobile
- Brookdale Cypress Village
- Childcare Careers
- City of Jacksonville
- Department of Children and Families
- 121 Credit Union
- Harts Harbor Health Care
- HBI
- Florida State Prison
- Fanatics
- FastTrack Staffing
- Fresh Ministries
- Florida Department of Corrections
- Eckerd
- Jackson-Hewitt
- New York Life
- Partnership Painting
- JAXPORT
- Goodwill Industries of North Florida
- Rayonier
- Duval County Public Schools
- Jax Pipefitters Apprenticeship
- Jacksonville Transportation Authority
- ITech
- JEA
- Jacksonville Aviation Authority
- Jacksonville Sheriff's Office
- Liberty Landscape Supply
- Maxwell/Kraft/Heinz-DSC Logistics
- C&ES Engineering
- Gate Petroleum
- Cintas
- Jacksonville Housing Authority
- K9 For Warriors
- Operation New Uniform
- Remedy
- Trace Staffing Solutions
- Chartwells
- C&S Wholesale Grocers
- Compass Group
- Global Connections to Employement
- Owl Transportation
The event will be held at the Emmett Reed Community Center located at 1093 W. 6th St. in Jacksonville.
While the job fair was organized to assist those affected by the closing of internet cafes, it is open to the public.
CareerSource Northeast Florida will have staff on-site at the job fair to assist attendees in connecting with local employers. Attendees are asked to bring multiple copies of their resumes.
“Our efforts together are to address the issue of displaced workers by partnering with local businesses that have resources and options to provide an opportunity for employment,” said District 8 Councilwoman Ju’Cody Pittman.
Goodwill Temps, a program of Goodwill Industries of North Florida, will be present and can hire immediately for both internal and external Goodwill positions, according to an email from District 3 Councilman Aaron Bowman’s office.
“The amount of support from the business community and service providers shows our city’s commitment to our citizens and their families,” said Bowman.
All applicants should bring two valid forms of ID (driver’s license, birth certificate, passport, Social Security card). Goodwill Temp staff will assist applicants in creating resumes if applicants do not have one. Some jobs will require on-site drug screening.
Employers who would like to participate in the event can email event coordinator Jerry Box at jbox@careersourcenefl.com.
Bill Bortzfield can be reached at bbortzfield@wjct.org, 904-358-6349 or on Twitter at @BortzInJax.
Photo used under Creative Commons license.
