Cape Fear Community College students looking for post-graduation employment or hands-on learning opportunities found an array of possibilities at Wednesday’s CFCC Engineering, Vocational and Technology Expo, held on the community college’s North Campus.

The event drew 29 employers, 12 more than last year. Booths lined the McKeithan Center’s atrium and adjoining auditorium.

“Not only do we have more employers this year, but 80 to 85 percent of them are hiring,” said Stefanie Adams, CFCC career and job placement technician, who organized the event.

Among those looking for new talent was Dave Stevens, human resources manager for Triple-T Truck Centers, a truck sales, service and parts company that maintains locations in Wilmington, Warsaw and Rocky Point as well as Charleston and Florence, South Carolina.

“We are looking for mechanics – diesel mechanics,” he said, noting that in the expo’s first hour he had spoken with five interested students, four of whom are graduating from CFCC diesel mechanics program in the fall.

Triple-T, which employs about 200 people at its five locations, is having increasing difficulty finding qualified people to replace diesel mechanics who retire or leave the company, Stevens said. But the company needs a steady supply of workers in other aspects of its business as well.

A stream of students visited the CastleBranch Corp. booth to find out about opportunities with the growing company, which performs background checks and other data-driven functions.

“We’re always looking for programmers,” said the company’s senior database administrator Emilyanne Atkinson. “We also have programming internships.”

Students from CFCC and University of North Carolina Wilmington who complete those internships are given “strong consideration” for full-time positions with CastleBranch, Atkinson said, adding that internships are a good way for her company to identify and build relationships with students in tech programs locally.

When it comes to recruiting tech talent, she added, “it’s hard to keep up with Triangle-area businesses, so we’re working to grow the tech industry here in Wilmington.”

“I’m looking for all positions such as sales, management, customer service and data entry,” said Atkinson’s colleague Sam Mitchell, a recruiter for CastleBranch. “We’re coming up to our peak season. We have a great relationship with CFCC. We’d like to get candidates now and build up their experience.”

John Barber of Wilmington Grill Co. said he was representing his company at the expo to see what students are interested in and what skills they have to offer.

“We’re growing and looking to add employees,” he said, noting he’d already gotten a couple of resumés in the first hour of the expo. “This is a nice way to stay out in front of the students. Last year, when we did this event, not many had heard of us. This year, surprisingly, more of them have.”

The companies at Wednesday’s event represented a wide range of industries, from hospitality and the service sector to heavy equipment, communications and manufacturing. Several branches of the military also staffed booths.