By Monique Roth
L’Observateur

RESERVE – A line spilled out onto the sidewalk of the building as eager job                                                                                                                                              seekers tried to get in the door and meet prospective employers at a recent job fair.

Some hopeful River Parishes residents waited more than an hour to get into the recruiting event sponsored by the Louisiana Workforce Commission on Jan. 23 at the South Central Louisiana Technical College in Reserve.

The event featured employers that included Turner Industries, Noranda, AT&T, Dow, Entergy, Valero and many more.

Tommy Scott III, workforce investment board director for the River Parishes, said that event was of an unprecedented scale.

“It is extremely rare to have such a substantial amount of prestigious employers available to the mass public all at a single venue simultaneously,” said Scott. “This event was truly a reflection of the Workforce Commission’s dedication to being the main liaison between employers and job seekers throughout the river region.”

Mitchell Turner, an attendee from St. Rose, plans to graduate from the SCLTC in the fall of 2014 and said that he was happy to see so many plants represented at the event.

Scott said that while the commission hosts 12 to 15 job fairs a year, this was the first one of this magnitude with 19 employers represented and more than 600 participants showing up during the event.

Chester Celestine, a resident of St. Charles Parish, said he and his friends waited more than an hour to get into the room.

Scott agreed that after the magnitude of today’s event, a larger venue would need to be sought out for future fairs in the River Parishes. He said the Commission was considering using the Dufresne Community Center in Luling in the future.