The Arab American and Chaldean Council’s first job fair in Hamtramck ran from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Wednesday, but that didn’t stop swarms of applicants from lining up as early as 8 a.m. for the chance to speak with employers.

About 400 job seekers attended the ACC’s first-ever job fair in Hamtramck on Wednesday. PHOTO: Tariq Abdal-Wahid/TAAN

The event brought in about 400 people, many of them Hamtramck residents all different ethnicities.
“I thought this was a long overdue event to take place for the ACC,” said ACC Program Coordinator Taha Alhumdi.

Alhumdi coordinates the Southeast Michigan Community Alliance’s (SEMCA) Jobs, Education, and Training (JET) program, which works to secure employment and to remove barriers for employment for citizens of Wayne and Monroe Counties excluding Detroit.

“We held the job fair because we wanted to give businesses access to skilled people who’ve worked in the auto industry and provided other services.”

Eighteen different employers and agencies were on hand for the job fair, including big names like Sears, Huntington Bank, and Kmart.

Alhumdi said ACC plans to add another job fair due to the overwhelming response with a date to be determined.

“This job fair brought in people from all walks of life, from the labor sector to high professional level,” he said. “It opened our eyes to do more job fairs in the future.”

Recruiter Krista Brady, of the Diversity Industrial Staffing agency, was impressed by the skills of the applicants that came out; many of them former auto industry workers who had been laid off.

The group collected more than 200 resumes and found three welder candidates for one its most recent openings for that position. More information about the group can be found at www.diversifiedindustrialstaffing.com.

Desiree Woods, CEO of Meaningful Priorities Achieve & Connect, a Detroit employment agency, said the key to finding employment during the economic is to stay positive.

“It’s tough out there, but the main thing is that they should never give up,” she said.

For more information on ACC’s employment and training programs, visit www.acc.org. or call Alhumdi at 313.875.4685.