Job Fairs Might Not Be Enough For Laid Off Employees

More than 5 thousand people are looking for their next step. The community has been having lots of career fairs but some say it's not enough.

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Irmo, S.C. (WOLO)–  Matt Clippard was laid off from Fluor with thousands of others last Monday and with a 9-month-old baby that has a condition called PVL and a stay at home wife, he says he has to look out of state for immediate job opportunities.

“It has been an emotional roller coaster. Like I said, I feel like I put my heart and soul into this plant. I was one of the hard workers. I’ve been there for five and a half years. And now, I feel like it’s all for nothing,” Clippard said.

Clippard’s house is already on the market but says he might be behind the curve, as many of his co-workers have already moved out of the area to find work.

“They said Atlanta, Richmond, so it looks like the bigger cities are where a lot of the construction jobs are at now, unfortunately not Columbia anymore,” Clippard said.

Clippard says he appreciates the career fairs but doesn’t think they’ll be able to provide the more than 5 thousand jobs needed.

“I was getting ready to go, and there were over one thousand people there, so that’s a lot. Granted, there 5 thousand people that got laid off, so that’s a lot. And I’ve been diverting my attention to online applying and networking, and I just feel like the job fairs are just flooded. The markets flooded and it’s unfair,” Clippard said. 

Although many have left town, the Richland Library has many free programs like mock interviews, one-on-one career coaching, and social workers on site to help those laid off be prepared to land that next job.

“They want to make sure they have a marketable resume, and that’s something we can help with if they need help with that. Before they go, they want to make sure they’re dressing professionally and things of that nature. Just going in there with a positive attitude and like I said, taking it one day at a time,” Andrena King said, a career coach with the Richland Library. 

“Right now it’s traumatic and it’s stressful, and I hope we can provide a calming environment in which we can give you some options and some choices that you can make to best meet the needs of your family,” Lee Patterson said, a social worker with Richland County said. 

You can find a full list of ways the Richland Library can help you find your next job, and other free programs they have by clicking on this link.

There are two job fairs coming up next week. Click this link to find more details on these events.