Getting a second chance
Published 8:24 pm Sunday, October 15, 2017
Along with offering a chance for restricting criminal records, the LaGrange Police Department also held a job fair to help the public as the next step Saturday morning. About 40 job and service companies were at the public job fair next to the criminal record restriction, including United Way of West Georgia, Joynus Staffing and Troup County Transportation.
The job fair was held right next to the records restriction event at the Griggs Center. Records that were restricted by the LPD and TCSO were ones with arrests but, no convictions and misdemeanors committed by people before they turned 21-years-old without any arrests since five years.
Joynus Lead Staffing Coordinator Nicki Barradas said the company is a second chance temporary agency, so it came to support those who went to get their records restricted.
“There are some companies that will take people with extensive backgrounds just depending on how recent the charges were and what type the charges were,” Barradas said. “Each client has a different requirement, so we try to place each of our employees with the right client that will take them to try to make them successful to make them hired on not just work a week or two weeks, but we want to be able to have them permanently placed.”
Goodwill was not only hiring for the company, but also promoting their partnership with West Georgia Technical College for youth, according to career center manager, Carole Ann Fields.
“We are big into hiring and working with job seekers and employers to connect them to whatever resource or person that they may need,” Fields said. “We have a new youth program in partnership with West Georgia Technical College for youth 16 to 24-years-old to get their (General Education Development) and paid work experience. It’s at no cost.”
In addition to connecting with job seekers, Fields said the event was good for networking with other services.
“It’s been a great networking for other resources and meeting other people,” she said. “We’ve had a number of people and churches come to get information for their youth.”
