Fort Meade Job Fair Highlights Need for Infrastructure

An estimated  attended the Fort Meade job fair Wednesday as 86 different companies and organizations sought to fill new positions created by base realignment and closure (BRAC) activities.

Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) addressed a packed room and said, "We are here today to try to make sure that the companies that are doing the business, are able to get quality employees. They want you, you want them. I hope we can have a mix here today." 

The fair offered a hopeful glimpse into the future of employment for Odenton residents, but Ruppersberger emphasized the need for infastructure to coincide with the fort's radical job growth if the area is to increase its quality of life.

"We're talking over 60,000 new jobs as a result of the BRAC," he said. 

"If you're going to grow, you have to make sure you take care of infastructure. You can't just plop people down without having made sure you have quality roads, quality schools and quality of life."  

Accomodating for the rapid influx of personnel has proven to be a difficult task considering the current budget. The Office of Economic Adjustment  that upgrades to local intersections would cost around $671 million even though only $48 million has been allocated for such a project. 

"Until we resolve the fiscal issues in Congress right now, [the budget] is going to stay still," he said.

Ruppersberger was excited for job fair attendees, but continued to emphasize the importance of experiencing holistic growth around the fort, not just in the area of employment.  

"We have people in cars for two hours with high-paying jobs and that's a waste of their time. It's time they could have to be home with their families or working."

As roads get more crowded over the coming months, Ruppersberger said one benifit to the influx is the increased number of tax payers, a solution that could bring more dollars to much needed traffic projects throughout Severn, Odenton and other towns. 

However, the congressman said the goal is to get money from the defense budget to help in areas with a military agenda, and not rely solely on tax dollars. 

As the walkways quickly filled with people eager for new opportunities, the benefit of personal security clearances quickly came to light. Signs throughout the facility read "security clearances only" at specific vendor tables.

All was not lost for those without such clearances however, as approximately 40 percent of the vendors didn't require it upon application, said Jerome Duncan of the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. 

The high quality of jobs and offered pay helped lure workers from all over the country, some as far as California, said Duncan. 

Federal agencies like US Cyber Command and the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) had tables throughout the complex in addition to government contractors like Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics. 

With so many positions at stake, Ruppersberger encouraged attendants to put their best foot forward.

"Look somebody in the eye, shake their hand, let them know how smart you are. They want to hire you, and we want them to hire you," he said.

More than a mile of cars sat in stop-and-go traffic near the Reece Road entrance as both military and civilians laborers hoped to fill the highly sought-after positions.