Jason Cooper has been in the construction business for years. But when each job is complete, he is left wondering when he will pick up his next gig.
As he walked out of the first job fair for the Bryan County megasite, he felt relieved, knowing it could be a while before he has to look for work again.
“It sounds like this is going to be an ongoing thing,” said Cooper. “The idea of not having to worry about work for the next couple years is what did it for me. With a lot of construction companies, when you finish the job, you don’t know what is going to happen.”
Barnett Southern is hosting a two-day job fair to attract laborers to help begin excavation ahead of construction at the Bryan County megasite that will house the incoming Hyundai EV plant. The event is being held at Best Western on 103 San Drive in Pooler.
“This is an exciting day, just getting out in the community, the public and bringing in people from the area to hopefully get them on the site and provide work opportunities,” said Human Resources Director Will Long.
Credit: Photo by Savannah JDA
Credit: Photo by Savannah JDA
Although the event started at noon, more than a dozen people showed up before the job fair kicked off. Long said their sense of eagerness shows him how important this project is and gave him a sense of peace knowing they will have bodies to get the job done.
He expects anywhere between 300 to 1,000 people to show up. “I think it's going be one of the biggest ones we have seen just from what we're getting already,” said Long.
The staff is looking for heavy equipment operators, off-road truck drivers and foremen among other positions. Long said pay is competitive and negotiable and the right applicant may be hired on the spot.
The project will begin in October is expected to last 11 months.
“We don’t want to let a superstar get by us,” said Long. “Let’s get the information and let’s meet each other. Let’s talk about it and then we’re going to go and evaluate. We don’t want any accidents, that’s for sure. We are going to try to get the best of the best.”
Vice President of Barnett Southern Andrew Duckworth said jobseekers that do not get hired for this project may be a good fit for other developments they are working on. Those who secure employment should expect to be with the company for a while.
“I don't think we are going to bring anybody on board and say hey, this is just for 11 months and you're gone,” said Duckworth. “I think you'll be a part of the Barnett Southern family for as long as we keep enough work to keep everybody going. An event like this gives us access to people that we may need in the future.”
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Latrice Williams is a general assignment reporter covering Bryan and Effingham County. She can be reached at lwilliams6@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: First day of Bryan County megasite job fair a success; company expects almost 1,000 applicants
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