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Job fair for public positions draws attention: "We can put folks to work right away"
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Recent high school graduate Jazmine Aragon brought her résumé to a job fair on Monday looking for opportunities.
Aragon’s mother is a member of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME, member, and she encouraged her daughter to attend.
The fair was part of an AFSCME initiative called Staff the Front Lines, which also drew local politicians who championed local government workers.
“I just thought I’m gonna go hear about some opportunities ... that I could apply for,” Aragon said. “Whenever I was a little girl, I’d always go to work with my mom. And she’s always showed me what to do. And I’m very confident and I can understand what I have ahead of me.”
Dozens of people went to the event Monday to hear about openings at the city of Albuquerque and other public agencies.
“My only disappointment is that you didn’t bring 4,000 workers, because we can put folks to work right away,” said Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who attended the event.
The state of New Mexico has hundreds of vacant positions throughout state government, said Teresa Padilla, the state personnel director.
For example, the Corrections Department is 27% vacant, the Department of Health is 28% vacant and the Taxation and Revenue is 24% vacant.
On the flip side, the Department of Game and Fish is 12% vacant, Padilla said.
“I think it’s safe to say that just about any single job title you could come up with, there’s a vacancy somewhere in the state of New Mexico,” said Connie Derr, executive director of AFSCME Council 18.
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She said there are about 6,500 AFSCME members throughout New Mexico.
Monday’s job fair was held at the Lujan Union Hall in the 1200 block of Pennsylvania NE. City and state agencies and other businesses had booths and officials were answering questions about available jobs.
A rapid hire event for the Children, Youth and Families Department is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday at Expo New Mexico.
Mayor Tim Keller said at the job fair that AFSCME members “literally run the city.”
“We desperately need your help to fill these jobs,” Keller said.
