By Dianne Anderson

Break out the good clothes and dust off the resumes, Santa is bringing hundreds of jobs to town.

The hiring spree of the year promises good permanent jobs, some unionized, some offering 401k, good health benefits with plenty of entry-level work and a chance to move up the ladder.

Ronecia Miller with the Black Chamber of Commerce Inland Empire, said they have partnered with the county to bring over 40 employers on site, some ready to hire on the spot and others ready to make offers.

Holiday hiring typically increases right after Thanksgiving, and she said the time is right for workers to earn cash to buy more presents before Christmas.

“I wanted to do it right after the holidays to get into it right before Christmas. They still have four weeks or so to get a check or two,” said Miller, a workforce developer for the Black Chamber of Commerce Inland Empire (BCCIE).

On Wednesday, November 29, the San Bernardino Forward Hiring Event will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at New Hope Family Life Center, located at 1505 W Highland Ave. in San Bernardino.

She said the event offers good jobs with employers that are in it for the long haul for their employees, many coming with benefits, 401k, and health insurance. On the employee side, taking the jobs seriously will allow more upside for advancement in the future, sometimes even as employers pay for their schooling.

As a workforce developer with the chamber, she has partnered for the past three months with San Bernardino County workforce development to bring job opportunities to the community. Whether working at the county, or other large employers, she said low skilled workers can get in on the ground floor and work their way up to top tiers.

“Just to get your foot in the door, that’s why it’s important to offer these best of the best employers in their faces,” she said. “You can go to school and they help pay for it. You can increase your career just by being a housekeeper.”

Miller, a long time advocate and organizer, was also concerned about the barriers individuals and families are up against in getting and keeping jobs. Usually, she said the issues are not that individuals or single heads of households do not want to work, rather they are dealing with access to reliable affordable childcare, and reliable transportation.

But many households are also not aware of all the benefits already available to them for the asking, particularly through the county’s “0 to 5” program that provides services for children, and childcare for infants to five years old.

“Most of these candidates will qualify because they’re on TANF, food stamps or CalWORKS. They offer preschool and other services for infants,” she said.

In planning for the event, one goal was to help eliminate some of the obstacles, such as job interview preparation, or resume updates.

“We partner with a clothes closet in our building that will provide job interviewing clothing until the job fair. and even afterward for free. They are going to bring out more interviewing types of clothing for our job seekers, resume building, and job interviewing skills,” said Miller, who is also founder and CEO of the nonprofit, Sista’s Making a Difference.

A couple of weeks ago, she was surprised to see how many mothers came out to the Black Chamber job fair with their kids in tow.

“They need employment, but how are you going to represent yourself?” she said. “They want to work, and may qualify for childcare services, but they have to come to the job fair to get the employment.”

For that reason, she is partnering to provide childcare services from the county for the day so that moms can focus on applications and the job search.

Nearly every employment sector will be on site. Employers include Loma Linda University Healthcare, San Bernardino County, Redlands, Rialto and Central school districts, as well as jobs with Omnitrans, among many others. The nonprofit sector job will be looking for administrative assistants, housing outreach coordinators, and specialists.

Quick warehouse jobs are also available with on the spot hires and offers, but county jobs require an assessment. Even there, she said many jobs start at the bottom with a high school diploma, but allow workers to work their way up.

“A lot of people don’t know that they will train them for entry-level positions. The community shies away, it’s intimidating when you say county jobs, but they really don’t need anything more than a high school diploma and to take an assessment,” she said.

Getting into employment events has been a natural fit for the Black Chamber, and Miller commended BCCIE President, Tammy Martin-Ryles, for her commitment to raising awareness about the need for these types of local events.

She said that San Bernardino County Workforce Development and Owen Duckworth, executive director of Inland Empire Rebound have also brought enormous resources and Second Chance employers to the offering.

“Our ultimate goal was to make sure there were enough opportunities for the entire community, that’s our family friendly reentry employers, county, and schools. We wanted to cover everything and also wanted to eliminate the barriers for job seekers,” Miller said.

For more information, see https://bit.ly/46oQdsx

or https://bccinlandempire.com/