Isle Casino to host wide-ranging career fair Wednesday

Isle Casino Cape Girardeau will host a career fair Wednesday featuring more than 10 local employers representing a variety of opportunities.

Isle Casino human-resources director Mark Hanko said the event, which will run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., was inspired after several years of hosting casino-only career fairs.

“Generally we hold a job fair just for our positions in the event center, and my staff came up with the idea of saying, ‘Why don’t we bring some new companies in? We’ll have more applicants and we’ll be helping the community out’... so we thought, ‘Why not? Let’s give it a try.’”

He said 11 companies signed on at first: Isle Casino, the Lutheran Home, the city of Cape Girardeau, Orgill, Gilster-Mary Lee, Schaefer’s Electrical Enclosures, Manpower, Express Employment, the Southeast Missourian, Talent Force and SoutheastHEALTH. But that list since has grown as the event nears.

“A couple of new companies, when they saw the ad in the paper, said, ‘Hey, is it too late for us to participate?’” Hanko said. “And we said, ‘Absolutely not.’”

Attendees will be able to apply for full-time and part-time positions.

The available positions range from certified nursing assistants and welders to maintenance technicians and EMT/security officers.

Hanko said attendees will be able to share resumes, network with employers and, in some cases, interview.

“Most of the companies have online applications,” Hanko said. “So we’re going to have six computer stations where they’re going to be able to apply right on the spot.”

Hanko said his company tracks the number of open positions daily; there were 17 casino jobs to be filled as of Friday morning, he said.

“It’s something that’s kind of taken a life of its own,” he said. “I’m glad my staff thought of it and came to me with it, and that we’re able to use the economy of scale and have other local businesses join us that have openings right now. There aren’t too many job fairs in the region during the summer. A lot of times, people have openings in the summer, so I think we’re kind of filling a void.”

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3627

Pertinent address:

Isle Casino Cape Girardeau, Cape Girardeau, Mo.