The fair was designed to introduce residents of the Salah ad-Din province to local construction and trade specialty employers, in the hopes the employers would find qualified candidates to fill vacancies, both current and future.

According to Capt. Calvin Fisher, the I-BIZ officer in charge with Division Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, businesses on COB Speicher are decreasing services and personnel due to the reduction of U.S. military forces on base. Because of that, many Iraqis who worked with I-BIZ had to be released from those duties.

“Their employment provided security and stability in their local areas,” said Fisher, a Durham, N.C., native, adding that employers at the I-BIZ and the Skills Enhancement Center want the Iraqis to continue to do the right thing by being productive and not allowing negative influences of other organizations to affect them.

When Fisher found out that the worker’s contracts would soon end, he made flyers to notify the workers of the job fair, ensuring that they would have a chance at other employment paths.

All job fair attendees were already trained at the I-BIZ Skills Enhancement Center in specialty trades such as carpentry, electricity, welding, plumbing, small engine repair, HVAC repair, and more. They were then employed on COB Speicher in various such positions.

Now, getting hired by a local employer is the best long-term solution, Fisher said.

“These Iraqi companies may be here indefinitely, so this links them up with the Iraqi citizens and helps promote the stability of employment, as well as increase employment rates in Salah ad-Din,” said Fisher. “This is a better avenue for the people. They are getting a head start with employment.”

Khalil Abrahim Salem, the brother of a shaykh in charge of the Salah ad-Din Sons of Iraq program and a local business owner, said the job fair was a great opportunity for those in employer positions to hire workers from the area.

“We’re really happy about having the job fair here today, and we’re really proud,” said Salem during the event. “As a business owner … [here], we’re all looking for expertly-skilled persons, and by doing job fairs, it helps our companies a lot. I’m sure their skills are perfect, especially because they were trained at the Skills Enhancement Center.

“This is helping the community by creating more jobs. And by creating and filling more jobs, we see less terrorism,” he concluded.