An event Wednesday at Cape Fear Community College’s North Campus gave students an opportunity to measure their interests and skills against employer needs.
 
The Cape Fear  Fair and Expo – the college’s fourth such event – featured 16 companies and one new CFCC technology program, event organizer Stefanie Adams said.
 
“Of the 16 companies here today, 10 are recruiting or looking to hire,” she said.
 
In early recruiting mode was CSX, whose representative Lorenzo Wilkins said that the rail freight carrier anticipates losing 50 percent of its workforce through retirement in the next four years. The company also is seeing significant growth.
 
“Safety and customer service are our two top priorities,” he said. “As a result, we are growing our customer base.”
 
Wilkins, whose territory extends from Augusta, Ga. to Richmond, Va., said that CFCC students have applied for jobs with CSX and have been interviewed, but he wasn’t sure whether any grads had landed jobs with the company.
 
He advised CFCC student Thomas Bir, who is midway through the college’s computer information technology program, to visit the company’s website and create a profile so he could be considered for future job openings.
 
Near the CSX booth was Wilmington-based Above and Beyond Energy, whose booth was staffed by two graduates of CFCC’s sustainable technologies program who now work for the energy efficiency specialist.
 
“We both got hired on before we graduated,” said Tom Blair, a May 2013 grad. “I was hired in November 2012 and worked for the company while I finished school.”
 
“I started in January 2013 as an intern,” said Chris Babson, who earned his degree this past December.
 
Both men said that the college program prepared them well for their duties with Above and Beyond, which works with homeowners and with builders of new homes to ensure that residences are energy efficient and meet standards for programs such as LEED and EnergyStar.
 
“One new employee who did not have a background in energy efficiency had about a one-year learning curve,” Babson said. “Our learning curve was about one month.”
 
Adams said that, while the event had fewer companies represented than usual, it attracted more new companies than usual. Among them were Pink-Trash and Wilmington Grill Co.