In last month’s May BYC newsletter, Build Your Career announced an exciting new partnership with the REEMERGE prison reintegration program—a strategic solution geared toward providing educational and employment opportunities to formerly incarcerated individuals in the Midlands, South Carolina area (read the full article here).  The program is in direct partnership with SCWorks and is funded by a U.S. Department of Commerce grant.

The primary goals of REEMERGE are to:

• Provide career guidance, professional support and mentoring to eligible participants
• Provide educational opportunities and industry certifications to participants
• Facilitate relationships between qualified employees and employers
• Moderate the process between employee placement and employment transition

On Wednesday, July 17^th, Build Your Career and REEMERGE will co-host a “Reverse Career Fair” at the Cecil Tillis Center on 2111 Simpkins Lane in Columbia, SC from 9am – 4pm.  This career fair isn’t your standard, run-of-the-mill career fair because we turn the tables and provide the REEMERGE program participants the opportunity to be on center stage as they showcase their skillsets for attending South Carolina employers! (View PDF of flyer here)

This reverse career fair is the first in a series of career fairs that BYC will co-host in partnership with REEMERGE and will feature a group of over 125 program participants that have all been through extensive training and various soft and hard employability preparation for a successful “life beyond the fence” experience as they seek to find gainful employment in the South Carolina area.  This first-session reverse career fair will concentrate on REEMERGE program participants who have all successfully completed NCCER-certified HVAC training, as well as several NCCER-certified General Construction Laborers in need of employment in the Columbia and Lexington, South Carolina areas.

On behalf of Build Your Career, REEMERGE, SCWorks, the SC Department of Corrections and the Manning Correctional Facility, we extend an invitation to all South Carolina Employers in need of new workers to come join in the day’s activities and watch as our REEMERGE program participants showcase their skills in an attempt to impress the area’s best construction industry employers!  Employers will have the opportunity to observe the REEMERGE employee candidates demonstrating their abilities in various project stations, as well as interacting with each candidate in a one-on-one mock interview station.  Let’s give these folks the second chance they deserve!

For more information on the July 17^th, 2019 “Reverse Career Fair” or to learn more about the REEMERGE prison reintegration program, please visit their website or contact BYC Director, Tammy Ford, via email at tford@carolinasagc.org or call (704) 995-3901.  You can also reach REEMERGE directly by calling (803) 722-1401 or by emailing the REEMERGE Project Manager, Nicole Holland, at nholland@reemergesc.com.