Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh says she wants the city working.
She’s expecting thousands for this week’s ‘WorkBaltimore’ job fair.
To Mary Talley, it’s addressing a need. Thousands looking to get back to work in Baltimore and she wanted to give them a chance.
“This is an opportunity for job seekers to really show their talent. All they need is to bring their best self,” Talley said.
She’s the head of the city’s human resources department. Her team, along with the city government as a whole, have been planning the fair for months.
“That’s an extraordinary feat given all of the nuances and the level of detail, and the level of complexity involved with putting an event like this together,” Talley said.
But the work started before the fair…
There have been workshops, tutorials, and classes across the city helping people who want to find a way.
Mayor Pugh sat in on several mock interviews.
“I think what we’ve done just in preparation of workshops: getting people for interviews, mock interviews, even providing clothing for individuals so that they could really be prepared to interview. So we’re very excited about ‘WorkBaltimore,’” Pugh said.
It’s anticipation to change the statistics in the city.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of August 30th, Baltimore’s unemployment rate is at 6.5%.
Mayor Pugh wants to get that number down.
“We just want to get Baltimore working. There are so many great opportunities to help put people to work and we want to just be a part of that,” she said.
It’s an effort that’s come true for Mary.
“We hope that everybody that wants to work will show up and all they will need to do is put their best foot forward, but in addition to that we’re going to have workshops and seminars at the convention as well,” Pugh said.
More than 100 employers are expected to be at the Baltimore Convention Center on Wednesday.
