HOUSTON, May 22, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- A number of port-related jobs may now be filled as 4,338 job seekers and more than 73 employers participated in the second Port of Houston-wide Job Fair at the George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. today. Event sponsors included the city of Houston Council District D; Greater Houston Partnership; Houston Community College System; Port of Houston Authority (PHA); West Gulf Maritime Association and The WorkSource.
Photos accompanying this release are available at http://media.primezone.com/poha/
A VIP opening ceremony and ribbon cutting kicked off the event with welcome remarks delivered by PHA Commissioner Jimmy A. Burke; Councilmember Wanda Adams, District D; and Frank Thompson, Chairman, Gulf Coast Workforce Board, The WorkSource.
"The tremendous community response is a testament to the hard work of our sponsors and participating employers," says Burke. "Their commitment to provide a means for identifying qualified candidates for open positions at public and private companies that do business with the port, and providing workers access to education and training opportunities directly impacts continued growth along the Houston Ship Channel. This is certainly a very exciting time for port-related businesses."
The job fair offered 1,200 open positions, ranging from administrative and clerical to engineering, longshoremen and welding, encompassing both laborer and executive jobs. Many of the jobs provide competitive salaries and full benefits, including continuing education and training.
Port of Houston-wide Job Fair employers will continue to search for qualified candidates until all open positions are filled. Job seekers who were unable to pre-register with The WorkSource or register on-site during the event are encouraged to contact The WorkSource at (888) 469-JOBS (5627), or visit www.theworksource.org. The WorkSource operates 35 community-based career offices to help residents get a job, keep a job or get a better job -- offering placement, career counseling and financial aid services.
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Taking part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open the 2nd Port of Houston-wide Job Fair are Charles Hebert, Houston Community College System; Charles Cook, Houston Community College System; Elaine Barber, Greater Houston Partnership; PHA Commissioner Jimmy A. Burke; Councilmember Wanda Adams, District D; Frank Thompson, The WorkSource; Barbara Crowson Clements, West Gulf Maritime Association; Freddie Wade, Houston Community College System; and Albert Hernandez, City Councilmember, South Houston.
Councilmember Wanda Adams, District D, welcomes the first job applicant, Kevin Todd, to the 2nd Port of Houston-wide Job Fair.
Kudirat Walker, the 4,000th job applicant, and Florence Harris.
More than 4,300 job seekers attended the 2nd Port of Houston-wide Job Fair at the George R. Brown Convention Center.
Job seekers fill out applications for some of the 1,200 open positions.
The Port of Houston Authority owns and operates the public facilities located along the Port of Houston, the 25-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities designed for handling general cargo, containers, grain and other dry bulk materials, project and heavy lift cargo, and other types of cargo. Each year, more than 7,000 vessels call at the port, which ranks first in the U.S. in foreign waterborne tonnage and second in overall total tonnage. The port authority plays a vital role in ensuring navigational safety along the Houston Ship Channel, which has been instrumental in Houston's development as a center of international trade. The Barbours Cut Container Terminal and Central Maintenance Facility are the first of any U.S. port facilities to develop and implement an innovative Environmental Management System that meets the rigorous standards of ISO 14001. PHA is the first port authority in the world to receive ISO 28000:2007 certification for Port Police and the perimeter security operations at both the Barbours Cut and Bayport Terminals. Additionally, the port is an approved delivery point for Coffee "C" futures contracts traded on the New York Board of Trade's Coffee, Sugar & Cocoa Exchange.
For more information, please visit www.portofhouston.com
The Port of Houston Authority logo is available at http://www.primenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=720
To access the port's web site photo gallery, please visit http://www.portofhouston.com/publicrelations/publicrelations.html and click the link for PHA Photo Gallery.
The photos are also available via AP PhotoExpress.
