Metro holds job fair to fill 180 vacancies

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Like many employers, Louisville Metro is competing with the current job market.

There are hundreds of job vacancies within Metro, but department leaders say they have a hard time getting people to apply.

Louisville Metro hosted its third annual job fair on Wednesday in hopes of attracting more applicants.

“This gives us an opportunity to come together as a whole,” Metro’s Director of Human Resources Ernestine Booth-Henry said. “Often times, we recruit individually by departments. This career fair brings all Metro governments as an enterprise and gives us the opportunity to work with each of the departments.”

Metro jobs ranging from IT, public health, law enforcement, and parks and recreation are in need of applicants.

One reason people aren’t applying is because of compensation.

A job in forestry can start with a salary of $50K, but Louisville Metro can’t offer that right now. 

“We are aware that we need to stay competitive with pay and benefits,” Mayor Craig Greenberg said. “We are focused on that now. When we roll out our budget request, we will continue to be focused on that so we can continue to recruit individuals for our government team.”

Some Department leaders need candidates with specific certifications and specializations. Others department heads want more diversity in their staff members.

According to Metro’s director of Human resources, every department needs applicants.

“There are about 200 jobs that are posted and actually seeking employees,” said Booth-Henry. “Then we have about 1,800 vacancies that need to be filled. We have a large number that will need to be filled in the next year or so.”

Metro wants individuals who are interested in being a part of the change they want to see in Louisville.

Organizers said that at least 100 people showed up for Wednesday’s Job fair.

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