WALPOLE, Mass. — The competition is on to hire more workers as Massachusetts reopens to full capacity. You may notice ‘Now Hiring’ signs everywhere you look, especially at restaurants.
There are about 900 open jobs in the South Shore area. Happening Wednesday, Mass Hire is hosting a virtual job fair in partnership with local chambers of commerce.
“It’s a really cool platform too because it’s 100% virtual, and these businesses can have booths set up virtually and they can talk one-on-one with employers,” said Executive Director of the Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce, Amy Naples.
The demand for workers is a challenge across every industry, in every part of the state. The Texas Roadhouse in Walpole is even adding balloons to the effort.
“We needed to do a better job of getting our message out to our guests because they’re our biggest fans and they’re going to know people looking for work,” said Michael Halpern, a market partner for Texas Roadhouse.
Halpern oversees 14 Texas Roadhouse locations in New England, and he said they have openings at every location. That’s why, for the first time, the company will be hosting a ‘Hiring Day’ on June 7.
>>>MORE: MBTA working to meet impending additional demand as restrictions set to lift
“We’re really excited, we’ve never done anything like this as a company before, and getting that single message out there, so it doesn’t matter which Texas Roadhouse you go to, you know you’ll be able to come in and get an interview that day,” Halpern said.
The demand for workers is a challenge across every industry, according to the Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce. Executive Director Amy Naples hears directly from business owners.
Naples says she hears directly from business owners who are desperate for workers and said getting people back to work is the only way for the local economy to fully recover from this pandemic.
“We hear from them every day, I would love to be able to operate seven days a week, but I can’t because I don’t have the employees,” Naples said.
She said there are about 900 open jobs in the South Shore area. That’s why Mass Hire is hosting a virtual job fair Wednesday in partnership with local chambers of commerce.
“It’s a really cool platform too because it’s 100% virtual, and these businesses can have booths set up virtually and they can talk one-on-one with employers,” Naples said.
She said the unemployment benefits are very attractive to people, but that eventually those will run out, and now is a great time for potential workers to connect and really choose a position they want.
>>>MORE: Gov. Baker says state’s mask mandate, capacity limits end effective May 29
“The idea of unemployment is to provide people with money when there are no jobs, you know, when there are no hours, that’s what the program is for,” Halpern said. “In this case we have jobs, we have hours, we want to get people back to work.”
More than 90 companies will be represented in that virtual job fair Wednesday from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. with openings across the South Shore.
For more information on how to register for the virtual job fair, email aterrill@masshiresouthshorecc.com or call 617-745-4016.
Download the free Boston 25 News app for up-to-the-minute push alerts
>> Complete Covid-19 vaccine coverage
RESOURCES:
- Complete local and national coronavirus coverage here
- Follow us on Facebook and Twitter | Watch Boston 25 NOW
