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Central AlabamaWorks will host a hiring event Wednesday at Wallace Community College Selma from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Gindi Prutzman, Executive Director for Central AlabamaWorks, said the event is the first of six planned at community colleges in the region, which covers 13 counties.

“The events are being held strategically at every community college across the region,” she said. “The point of that is so students will know, No. 1, the businesses that are in their (backyard) because we really find a lot of times students don’t know who’s out there, who’s hiring and what kind of jobs there are.

“The second thing is that the community college can provide short-term training should that student think, ‘Well, I don’t know what I want to do,’ and there may be something at the community college that interests him. It might be a lineman program or welding program – anything that’s short-term that could get them into a job if they wanted to continue their education.”

She said the hiring events concept was borne from the successes of ‘Career Discovery,’ a virtual career exploration program geared toward eighth-graders.

“We’ve had really good success in this and we’re just trying to express to the eighth-graders the different careers that were out there,” Prutzman said. “We knew that we needed something to reach those who were coming right out of high school. We’re focusing on the high schooler that’s going straight to work and really just providing a match for area businesses who need to hire as well as seniors who will be graduating.”

While the event is targeted for seniors in high school, Prutzman noted the event is open to any job-seekers looking for work.

“We know there are quite a few businesses who do need people, so we do want to match the two together,” she said. “Some of our schools will be bussing seniors over. We hope that will primarily take place between 10 and 2.

“The event runs until 4. The community is invited anytime, but specifically in the afternoon would be great.”

Prutzman said it’s important to work with the educators to prepare the students on having a resume in hand, knowing how to dress and knowing what to say during the event.

“We’re trying to prepare them and set them up for success, but also have the businesses there who are willing to hire entry-level employees and grow them through a career pathway.”

For more information, visit www.centralalabamaworks.com.