New Career Search Tool Bridges Job Gap in Cherokee
Residents looking for a job and companies wanting to hire now have a new tool to make the job easy on the Cherokee Office of Economic Development website.
The tool, which receives every new job posted in Cherokee County, is already generating interest and can be found at www.cherokeega.org/careers.
The site went live on Aug. 25 and has had almost 3,500 page views, Cherokee Office of Economic Development President Misti Martin said Wednesday.
“Nearly 75 percent of job growth comes from existing industry,” Martin said. “Creating an environment in Cherokee in which existing companies can thrive is crucial in job creation. In addition, our industrial parks continue to attract global industries to Cherokee. That’s also created hundreds of new jobs.”
Every time an employer lists an opportunity in Cherokee County on Indeed.com, that same listing posts to the development agency’s Career Center in real time. The development office selected Indeed.com based on its popularity and the fact that Indeed.com does not charge for its service, allowing any business in Cherokee County to post a job for free.
“There are many job opportunities through new companies locating and existing businesses expanding,” Martin said. “We’re continuing to diversify our tax base while diversifying the types of jobs available in Cherokee.”
Within 24 hours of the economic office’s Career Center going live, without any public announcement or campaign, the page garnered more than 300 visits, according to a release.
The county development office helped generate about 1,840 jobs in the last two years by attracting new and expanding industry throughout the county.
In 2009, the Atlanta Regional Commission released a Regional Snapshot indicating Cherokee County would lead the Atlanta region in job growth until 2040, and predicted a 166.3 percent increase in jobs in the county.
As the office of economic development held various forums for its biennial existing industries survey, corporate leaders and residents expressed the need for a central clearing house highlighting job opportunities in Cherokee County.
The local development agency researched practices in some of the nation’s most successful communities and then honed in on how North Carolina’s “Research Triangle” connects its workforce and industry. The end result is now on the office of economic development’s website, which features a “Career Center,” listing jobs available only in Cherokee.
Within a week, the number went into the thousands. Job listings include retail, engineering, marketing, project management, finance, forklift operators, production operators, quoting technicians, quality assurance and healthcare professionals.
“Workforce continues to be a top priority in business recruitment and retention. It is important for us to showcase the career availability in Cherokee so that residents can cut their commute and find a job locally,” Martin said. “It’s also important for our newcomers to be able to connect for opportunities.”
Inalfa Roof Systems, Adidas, Piolax, Thyssenkrupp Materials N.A., MSK CoverTech, Jaipur, L.A.T. Apparel and Papa John’s are just some of the most recent additions to Cherokee’s industrial parks. As corporations build and eventually expand their manufacturing plants, service hubs, regional and global headquarters, they will continue to generate millions of dollars for the local tax base and create any number of new jobs, the release said.
“This is just the beginning of connecting our quality workforce with local job opportunities. The Cherokee Workforce Collaborative was formed a few months ago and has been meeting to develop short and long-term goals for workforce development, including retaining our talented high school and college graduates,” Martin said.
For more information and to visit the new job recruiting tool, visit the development authority website at www.cherokeega.org/careers