THE Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) held a job fair yesterday at the Sheraton Laguna Guam Resort for current and retired National Guard and Army Reserve service members, spouses and dependents.
Maj. Josephine Blas, program administrator of the ESGR-Guam and CNMI Committee, said ESGR came about because of Guam’s high percentage of unemployed National Guard and Army Reserve members.
This is the second job fair organized by ESGR for Guam. The first job fair, held in October last year, attracted around 400 job seekers.
“Last year, around 30 percent of the applicants were interviewed and maybe 10 or 15 percent were hired, but that’s just the replies that we got from the employers. It could be a little higher than that,” Blas said.
Blas cited several advantages to hiring National Guard and Army Reserve service members. She said companies that have federal contractors are generally keen on hiring them because they already have clearances and are disciplined and drug-free. They also have a lot of leadership training and know how to get the job done under pressure.
“Once they get hired, I’m sure these companies will know how valuable these service members are,” Blas stated.
Companies that were on-hand to help the job seekers yesterday included Coast 360, DZSP, and the Guam Hilton, among others.
