SUMTER, S.C. — The South Carolina Department of Veterans Affairs (SCDVA) announced a partnership with Ping by Tallo, SC Future Makers, and the Sumter Economic Development to host the Palmetto State's first Military Community Hiring Fair in Sumter.
The department said that the fair will be a two-day event. The first day will be held virtually on Tuesday, Mar 8, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Day two will be face-to-face at the Sumter Civic Center on Mar. 9 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
More than 50 employers are registered to be at the event including Sunoco, Prisma Health, Tidelands Health, and others.
The hiring fair comes as the South Carolina Department of Labor and the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce announced that the Veteran unemployment rate in South Carolina is at 3.5% as of Jan. 2022.
The SCDVA said that its secretary, Will Grimsley has a plan to reduce the Veteran unemployment rate to 3.2% by the end of the third quarter of this year.
“We know there are Veterans in our state who are passionate about service and are seeking a new start with a new career following their progression from active-duty military," Secretary Grimsley said in a release. "Connecting Veterans directly to employers through hiring initiatives like this one is a great start to bridging that gap."
According to SCDVA, the City of Sumter was chosen as the hiring fair's location because of its diverse employment industries that work to hire Veterans.
The department has plans to host regional hiring fairs every year in the Upstate, Midlands, Pee Dee, and Lowcountry, all will choose a different city from each region to host the event.