Former Perdue plant employees got an opportunity to find new employment as the Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce hosted a job fair Tuesday.
The plant officially closed two weeks ago. Highlands Economic Partnership Vice President Adam Poe said the chamber put the job fair together to try to improve options for the workers and their families.
“In this time of need for all of the employees of Perdue Farms, it is absolutely critical that we bring together businesses that have open jobs, that are ready to hire and connect them to every single one of those employees,” Poe said.
Poe said several local businesses among multiple industries including healthcare, manufacturing, skill trades, and construction set up at the job fair to hire some of the workers who are looking for employment. Poe said he is hopeful that many of the workers will be hired after attending the job fair.
“There has to be a sense of balance between optimism and reality,” Poe said. “And I know that there have been a lot of items out of the control of the employee, and so securing that next step professionally has probably been a huge thing that has been hanging over them, and so I’m sure several of them have already secured employment elsewhere but for those that haven’t I know that we’ve got a lot of great businesses that have great cultures and that are ready to hire.”
Poe said though some of the industries may be different than what the workers are used to he believes their skills are transferrable. Poe said the workers are different than the typical workforce that you would see at any other employer.
“The average length of time that the employees have been there is almost 10 years,” Poe said. “I mean you got an incredibly dedicated and loyal workforce that is ready to work. They are ready to get in there and make a big impact on whomever teams that they are a part of.”
Poe said he is excited to see what ultimately comes from the job fair. Poe said Perdue Farms has been proactive in connecting workers to resources to find new employment and that the job fair is just a supplement to Perdue’s efforts.
