ATLANTIC CITY, Sept. 10, 2014 – More than 1,000 job-seekers converged on the Atlantic City Convention Center this morning, as Governor Chris Christie continued today to assist workers impacted by the recent casino closings by bringing 60 employers offering about 1,500 jobs to a career fair hosted by the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

The employers, ranging from large retail operations to small companies, touted job openings as their representatives met face-to-face with the job-seekers to discuss the employment opportunities, the specific company needs and to accept resumes. Among the employers were Sysco Corporation, Richard Stockton College, PNC Bank and Prudential Financial, Lund’s Fisheries, Nitto Denko, Providence Pediatric Medical Daycare and Utilitquest.

Several casinos and resorts looking to recruit workers also attended the event, including Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, the Golden Nugget, FantaSea Resorts and Star Light Events.

“Since the first casino closing in January, we have been providing a full entrée of resources to assist all the impacted workers and everyone else needing a job in the region. Our goal has been to transition them to other job opportunities as quickly as possible and to assist anyone who needs to register for unemployment insurance benefits,” said Labor Commissioner Harold J. Wirths. “We are committed to helping workers through the transformation of Atlantic City.”

In addition to today’s career fair, the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development continues to connect displaced casino workers with employers looking for talent through “envelope job fairs,” which involves collecting resumes from workers and delivering them to qualified employers who have outlined to the department the positions they have available. The Department of Labor also has sent Rapid Response teams this summer inside each casino that announced a potential closure to help workers begin their re-employment efforts well before the doors closed on the gaming operations.

Last week the Christie Administration partnered with the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority and the Unite Here union, which represents many casino workers in Atlantic City, to provide assistance to workers as the union opened its Atlantic City Unites Here Center on September 3 at the Convention Center. The center opened immediately after the closings of the Showboat Atlantic City Hotel and Casino and the Revel Casino Hotel. It remained open through today, and the union plans to re-open the center with continued assistance from the Department of Labor at the Boardwalk Hall enterntainment center on Sept. 17 through Sept. 19 to assist workers impacted by the planned Sept. 16 closing of Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino.

More than 40 Department of Labor staffers joined the center opening on Sept. 3, and staffers continue to assist impacted workers with filing for unemployment insurance benefits, registering on the department’s jobs website – Jobs4Jersey.com _ and referring workers to the state’s Jersey Job Clubs. The Job Clubs are Department of Labor networking groups designed to keep job-seekers linked to the latest information on employment trends, evolving job markets and getting a job.

The state Department of Labor’s Jobs4Jersey.com website offers job-seekers OnRamp, a system that allows individuals to create resumes and profiles that can be presented to thousands of employers.

OnRamp allows people to highlight their talents, not their old job titles, improving their opportunities to be noticed by employers who are currently listing approximately 300,000 job openings in New Jersey and within a 50 mile radius of the state.

To keep alert to all state Department of Labor activities and services regarding Atlantic City, go to: http://careerconnections.nj.gov/ and click on the Atlantic City Reemployment button.

Employers interested in hiring the displaced casino workers should send an email to: jobs4jerseyemployer@dol.state.nj.us                                                                                                          

More than 1,000 job-seekers met with employers at the Department of Labor and Workforce
Development career fair held at the Atlantic City Convention Center.