DISPOSAL FACILITY SEEKS NEW EMPLOYEE THROUGH JOB FAIR

By Wilson Brown/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF

About 300 prospective employees turned out for potential jobs with the Pine Bluff Chemical Agent Disposal Facility on Thursday.

"We've seen almost 300 people today," Lori Morgan, human resource generalist for Washington Group International, said while taking resum/s and shaking hands at the job fair. "We've had a really good turnout today even though the weather was bad."

The group has 100 positions open and should fill all the jobs by April, the same month the disposal facility is scheduled to start destroying the Pine Bluff Arsenal's stockpiled chemical weapons.

Many of those employees will be moving to the Jefferson County area as well, Morgan said.

"We're co-sponsoring the job fair to acquaint prospective employees in Central Arkansas with opportunities at the Pine Bluff Chemical Agent Disposal Facility, which our company manages and operates for the U.S. Army," said Sharon Mulder, manager of Washington Group International's human resources department.

The group, along with its subcontractor, the Southwest Research Institute, which provides lab support, and the Arkansas Workforce Development Center, co-sponsored the daylong event.

According to Mulder, the group's most "pressing needs" are for qualified maintenance, operations, medical engineering, emergency response and safety department personnel.

Job interviews are to begin in two weeks. The project and the positions are scheduled to last until 2009, according to Morgan.

"I'm considering moving down here, so I thought I'd check the field out and see what's going on," said Robert Mason of Little Rock, who interviewed for a warehouse management job.

Mason is currently an instructor and a general manager for the ATA Martial Arts company at Little Rock.

"That's what I'm going to try to found out," Mason said about how he's going to switch from martial arts to a management job.

Mason's brother, a Pine Bluff resident, referred him to the job fair.

More workers are needed to help keep the weapons destruction schedule on track with the April 30 start date, according to Ron Garner, project general manager for the Pine Bluff Chemical Agent Disposal Facility.

During a Jan. 27 Arsenal Citizens Advisory Commission meeting, Garner said that his facility is trying to keep to its date to start the weapons disposal, but the facility is also having difficulty finding skilled workers and people interested in moving to the Jefferson County area.