For high school juniors and seniors, finding work at a local store or restaurant chain is how they earn some extra money during the summer or after school. For adults, staff shortages in the district means more job positions are open than ever, and those who were laid off during the pandemic might critically need these employment opportunities.

Leander ISD provided both of these groups an opportunity through the Nov. 10 Community Job Fair held at the LEO Center, a partnership between the Leander Chamber of Commerce, Leander ISD and local businesses to give aspiring employees a chance to meet and interact with employers and learn about available jobs in the area. 

“It’s critical that businesses in the area are able to market themselves to potential employees so that they can continue to contribute to the economic prosperity of the region and assist our quality of life,” President of the Leander Chamber of Commerce Bridget Brandt said. “It’s very much the same for employees to be given a special chance to serve their community by having the ability to choose the best employer to work at.”

The Leander Chamber of Commerce, an organization that aids in bringing businesses and economic activity to Leander and the broader Central Texas region, was the main organizer of the event. One of the other organizers, Leander ISD, was also one of the most prominent employers at the fair, as it is currently going through a staff shortage in departments ranging from education to health workers to bus drivers. Instructional Assistant Yoko Jones found a job at Leander ISD through a job fair, and she encourages others to use it.

“The LISD Job Fair helped me find out more information about the teaching position, ” Jones said. “Instead of trying to discover everything online, talking to someone face-to-face and being able to ask everything to the job fair representative was much more helpful. I would recommend it others trying to find a job. ”

According to the Chief Communications Officer of Leander ISD, Corey Ryan, the business contributions of the Job Fair have rippling effects that help all aspects of the region, effects that are necessary to balance out with struggling economic conditions for school districts across the state.

“Hiring and retention have been an issue for all school districts, including Leander ISD,” Ryan said. “We have record unemployment, the rising cost of living, and lots of other factors to work through. We have been short-staffed in various departments and programs all year. We attend, host, and partner with other organizations on job fairs to keep hiring efforts ongoing. Workers in the area will have more options with all the competition between employers in the area.”

Future job fair announcements can be found on the Leander Chamber of Commerce website.