Stephanie Fewell White discusses employment opportunities with job-seeker Greg Sellars.

On Thursday, Southwest Georgia Technical College made its twelfth attempt to lower the unemployment rate in Georgia. According to a study conducted by the United States Department of Labor, in December 2012 8.6 percent of Georgians were unemployed.

Southwest Georgia Technical College (SWGTC) is doing its part to lower that number.

Nearly 75 employers and resources set up booths inside SWGTC to search for possible new hires at the 2013 Cairo/Thomasville Career Expo.

The event provides a chance for job seekers and employers to meet about local employment opportunities.

Archbold Memorial Hospital, Avon, Florida State University, Georgia Department of Public Safety and Workforce Plus were just a few of the companies in attendance at this year’s event.

Stephanie Fewell White, marketing director at Flowers Automotive Group, finds that career expos are helpful in finding employees.

“At the last job fair, we hired three people to serve as sales consultants,” White said.

White explained the characteristics she searches for when talking to job seekers.

“We look for people who are friendly and outgoing,” White said. “They have to have good communication skills and must be able to learn products.”

Although Kristie Gray, 30, has a part-time job, she came to SWGTC’s Job Fair in hopes of finding a full-time job.

“This job fair has been very informative,” Gray said. “I have met a lot of people.”

Sgt. William Gaines of the United States Army, believes that career expos “give people from areas that don’t have an Army presence a chance to come out and learn about the Army.”

“We look for everybody, both men and women, with no major health issues and no criminal record,” Sergeant Gaines said.

Sgt. Gaines may have found at least one person to join his team.

Lawrence Williams, 20, came to the job fair to specifically learn about the Army.

“I want to join the Army,” Williams said. “I learned a lot today. Everything went really well.”

The 2013 Cairo/Thomasville Career Expo was sponsored by the Georgia Department of Labor Thomasville and Cairo Career Centers and the Thomas County and Grady County Employer committees, along with Georgia Department of Labor Veterans Services, the Thomasville-Thomas and Cairo-Grady County Chambers of Commerce, Thomasville Times-Enterprise, The Cairo Messenger, Radio Station WGRA and SWGTC.