BROWNSVILLE, Texas - The number of vehicles parked outside the Brownsville Events Center told the story of a record jobs fair.
Once inside the building along Paredes Line Road, hundreds upon hundreds of job seekers could be seen roaming around while others were talking to the representatives of the more than 70 employers on hand.
Some of the usual participants were present, such as Bechtel, the City of Brownville’s various departments, the local school district, the U.S. Border Patrol and some state and insurance agencies.
But there were newcomers like Hire Works and Service Master.
The first one is a relatively new company that hires employees for several companies doing business at the Port of Brownsville.
The salary for a shrimp processor, for instance, is $10 an hour and $30 an hour for travel engineer.
Galilea Ibarra, an administrative assistant for recruitment at Hire Works, said they are currently looking to fill 40 positions for their clients.
“We don’t know how many more at this point,” she said, “but Brownsville is growing by leaps and bounds.”
The company is also located at the deep-water port.
The other company, Service Master, has offices in La Feria, Mission and Harlingen.
Lyan Espinoza, who handles marketing and sales, said they can take care of homes and commercial having issues such as water leaks, mold and fire damages.
“We have handled hundreds of cases,” she said. “We work with property owners and will contact an insurance company on their behalf.”
Among the hundreds of people who attended the Oc.t 22 job fair were XCaret Romero and Briana Villarreal.
Villarreal, a San Benito resident, said she works for a cornea recovery company out of San Antonio.
“My job is per diem.” She said. “I would like to get a steady job, though.”
Villarreal stopped by a Texas Parks & Wildlife Department booth that provided information about working for its state parks.
“I would like to work as a game warden,” she said. “I have owned a number of animals and love the outdoors.”
Across the room, Romero waited with a long line of people looking to talk to a company called of STX Metal Trade. The company’s table was filled with equipment and brochures.
“I am looking for a job that has warehouses and large inventories,” she said. “I am working for a clothing store right but I would like something more stable.”
The Careers & Coffee jobs fair, which went on from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., was sponsored by the city and the Greater Brownsville Economic
