T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA Belmont County department of job and family services fiscal administrator Jack Regis Jr. says that 87 employers, seven agencies and eight training providers for 102 total participants have signed up for the annual job fair on May 7 at the Ohio Valley Mall as DJFS director Jeff Felton sits to his left.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE – OhioMeansJobs Belmont County will hold its annual job fair May 7 at the Ohio Valley Mall from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Jack Regis Jr., fiscal administrator for the Belmont County Department of Job and Family Services, said 87 employers, seven agencies and eight training providers — totaling 102 participants — have signed up for the event.

“There’s information posted on our Ohio Means jobs.com/belmont website where businesses that need to register or still interested in registering can go to,” Regis said.

Regis added that businesses which previously contacted Workforce Supervisor Mike Schlantz but have not received a response should contact him or DJFS Director Jeff Felton because Schlantz recently experienced a health emergency.

Regis said a new feature this year will include staff from the county’s child support enforcement division offering assistance to individuals whose child support issues may be preventing them from obtaining employment.

“One new twist this year is that our child support enforcement staff will have a table set up at the job fair to try to take the stigma away from parents who may owe back child support or maybe have a license suspended or bank account suspended that’s preventing them from working,” Regis said.

He said staff members will work with attendees to help resolve issues that may be barriers to employment.

“It’s a win-win for everybody,” Regis said. “They’ve obviously become employees, they’re going to meet their child support obligation and help the children that child support goes towards.”

Regis added that child support staff members may be able to waive certain fees and help individuals establish payment plans.

“They set up there to take away from potentially doing it in an office setting or a courtroom setting or something more formal,” Regis said. “Some employers are actually going to be potentially hiring and interviewing on the spot.”

Felton said DJFS also offers incentives for individuals seeking employment.

“It’s to help as seed money to enable them to get to work and if they maintain that job and is a financial incentive for them and it increases our collections, obviously, for child support when we’re able to support employment,” Felton said.

He added the department also can assist with transportation-related expenses, including gas cards and vehicle repairs, through employment retention and prevention programs.

Regis said the department appreciates its longtime partnership with the Ohio Valley Mall.

“They’re a great organization to work with, very open and welcoming to our needs,” Regis said.

J.P. Dutton of the Belmont County Board of Commissioners praised the event and said the participating organizations represent a wide variety of industries and career opportunities.

“This list is pretty diverse here, in terms of types of opportunities and in terms of types of entities,” Dutton said. “Whether it’s your first job or later in your career, there’s all different industries so there’s definitely plenty of opportunity.”