A crowd of hopeful hires milled around Tuesday at the Sahara West Library, where over three dozen prospective employers were available to provide information on career opportunities, on-site interviews and more at a Veterans Job and Resource Fair hosted by EmployNV Business Hubs.
The event — which took place simultaneously with a similar fair for Northern Nevadans in Reno — featured more than 40 employers, 10 resource providers and coaches to help with resume-building and other job-seeking needs.
Vickie Tippitt, a local veteran employment representative, said during the event that each employer was offering jobs paying $15 an hour or more, and that many were prepared to hire on the spot.
“So, that’s what this event is all about,” Tippitt said. “We’re trying to employ our veterans, get our veterans back to work, get our veterans transitioned that were originally in the military and now they’re transitioning into the civilian world.”
Alicia Rodriguez, Jobs for Veterans State Grants program coordinator, said it’s important for veterans — whether they’re fresh out of the military or haven’t served for decades — to know there are resources and support for their transition to civilian life.
“As a veteran, it's kind of hard to find that support,” Rodriguez said. “And it's really refreshing to know that organizations like this are able to come together and give us the support that I think a lot of different veterans deserve and need.”
A range of industries were represented by employers at the fair, from manufacturing and technology to education and hospitality — including Resorts World, Hilton and other hotel operators.
Employers also included entities like the City of Las Vegas, Metro Police and Clark County, which hosted its own job fair last week in partnership with other government partners.
The Public Service Job Fair was initially created as an aid during the pandemic and is focused on showing prospective employees all that the public sector has to offer, said Clark County Human Resources Director Curtis Germany. The event April 25 included employers from the cities of Henderson and North Las Vegas, the Southern Nevada Health District and more.
“We’re just really excited to know that people are showing interest again in public-sector work,” Germany said. “And we're just trying to get the message out that we're actively looking at pursuing talented individuals to join our county, and I know a lot of agencies around the valley are looking for the same.”
Though not all county and government jobs can compete with the private sector — where fully remote work seems to be increasingly guaranteed — Germany said many departments appeal to potential hires with a four-day work week and other unique opportunities.
Clark County is always hiring, Germany added, and he pointed to family-service specialists, firefighter paramedics and summer jobs like lifeguarding as current areas of need.
“Ultimately, we want to provide all the great services to our constituents that we can, and we need the job candidates to provide those services,” Germany said. “And being a Clark County employee, or any public employee, you're a public servant, and so we get to serve our friends.”
Edward Ugarte, a retiree of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, said while attending Tuesday’s veteran job and resource fair that he was looking for full-time work. He cited the labor shortage currently facing Las Vegas as an advantage, because it means a lot of freedom in what he chooses to do.
He appreciated the variety of different opportunities available at the job fair, Ugarte said.
“I have a passion for working with people, working with management — fixing and solving problems, ” said Ugarte, 68, who emphasized that retirement is not for him, and he would love to work in a way that supports other veterans. “ … I’m just a go-go kind of guy.”