CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Department of Transportation and the Division of Highways held a construction job fair Wednesday for people looking for jobs in related fields.
Twenty-two organizations including businesses, unions, government offices and advocacy groups spent five hours meeting attendees at The Prosperity Center about job and on-the-job training opportunities.
The event was also held in association with the Herbert Henderson Office of Minority Affairs, which promotes discussion and provides forums to discuss minority issues.
Aryeri Batista, an equal employment opportunity specialist with the state Department of Transportation, said construction is not a field with diverse employment field.
“When we audit (companies), we notice they’re having problems with being equal to everybody,” she said. “West Virginia doesn’t have the diversity that other states may have.”
Batista said the reaching out to minorities and females are issues she is focusing on tackling to improve the workforce.
One group Batista mentioned was West Virginia Women Work, a nonprofit organization that provides comprehensive programs and training for women interested in entering the construction and manufacturing fields.
“It’s time for us to not just be the one smacking your hand saying, ‘You’re not being in compliance,” she said. “We need to close the gap. We need to bring other contractors and bring potential employees, especially here in West Virginia where the unemployment is not where we would like it to be.”
West Virginia is tied at having the 14th highest unemployment rate in the country with 4.8 percent in April, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The national unemployment rate is 4.4 percent.