New employers have committed to recruit at the annual Unity College Environmental Jobs Fair on Tuesday.
Committing this week were such top Maine employers as CES, Inc.; Cianbro; Insource Renewables; L.L.Bean Outdoor Discovery Schools; Maine Green Power; and Stantec Consulting.
Also new this year, the college is offering a concierge service with Unity College Chief Development Officer Erica Hutchinson leading a team of work-study students who will be working to greet guests, get them oriented, and personally guide them through the venue if they choose.
New England’s largest environmental career fair is open to Unity College students and the general job-seeking public from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 7, at the Tozier Gymnasium inside the Student Activities Center. Employers from as far away as Africa will recruit the next generation of environmental leaders at the event.
“In the environmental century, every employer needs sustainability,” Unity College President Dr. Melik Peter Khoury said. “That’s GE and IBM, not just land trusts or conservation nonprofits. So that’s what Unity College delivers: opportunities for students to network with professionals, do real-world field work, and get a sustainability science education grounded in the liberal arts.”
The event will feature an employer spotlight with employers such as Mystic Aquarium of Mystic, Conn; California State Parks; and the Cheetah Conservation Fund based in Namibia. They will join some 100 employers offering a variety of presentations and career-related materials, including equipment, applications, videos, and testimonials.
The concierge service “will make our guests’ visits more effective and focused,” Hutchinson said. “We’re hopeful this will help provide a good overview of some of the employment opportunities available to them.”
Director of Career Services Nicole Collins, a 2000 Unity alumna who organizes the event, said Unity College annually receives record interest in the event from employers.
“The response has been fabulous, and we were able to add commitments from several major employers this week,” Collins said.
Khoury said participation in the Environmental Career Fair has been rising among employers from diverse industries. “So-called ‘green jobs’ are here to stay,” he said. “They are an economic driver for Maine and the nation.”
At the event, participants have the opportunity to conduct informational interviews, seek professional advice, establish professional connections, secure internships, refine their job search and, in some cases, make the right connection leading to a professional opportunity, Collins said.
A Brookings Institute report in 2011 found that the green economy employs 2.7 million workers across a diverse group of industries. The report also found that the median wage in the clean economy is 13 percent higher than median U.S. wages.
Given the growth in green jobs, Collins said she anticipates many non-student career changers to attend.
“It is a wonderful way to network, explore environmental fields, and secure jobs or internships,” she said. “A growing number of organizations are finding people at the Green Jobs fair who can do the work the environmental century demands.”
Sponsored by Unity College Career Services, the event is free and open to the general public.
“Employers seeking a complete employee — one who has a liberal arts background and immersive field work in sustainability science — come to Unity College,” Khoury said. “We’ve been training environmental leaders for more than 50 years.”
Selection of employers committed to attend Unity College Environmental Job Fair 2017
ACRT Inc.
Adventure Bound
Appalachian Mountain Club
Appalachian Trail Conservancy
Army National Guard
Aspire Behavioral Health & Counseling
Avian Haven
Baxter State Park
Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance
Belknap Landscape Company
Bushy Hill Nature Center
Business Renewable
Camp Hazen YMCA
CES, Inc.
Cianbro
Coastal Mountains Land Trust
Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office
Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry / Maine State Parks
FoodCorps
Friends of Acadia
Girl Scouts of Maine- Camp Natarswi & Camp Pondicherry
Holbrook Island Sanctuary State Park
Incarnation Camp
Insource Renewables
Island Institute
Johnny’s Selected Seeds
Katahdin Area Council, Boy Scouts of America
Kennebec Messalonskee Trails
Kennebec Sheriff’s Office
Kieve Wavus Education
L.L.Bean Outdoor Discovery Schools
Lisbon Maine Police Department
Lucas Tree Experts
Maine Appalachian Trail Club
Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands
Maine CDC / Department of Health and Human Services
Maine Coast Heritage Trust
Maine Conservation Corps
Maine Green Power
Maine Kayak, Inc.
Maine Marine Patrol
Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association
Maine State Police
Maine Warden Service
Mass Audubon’s Wildwood Camp
MERT Enterprises, Inc.
Midcoast Conservancy
NH Department of Resources and Economic Development – Division of Parks and Recreation
NH Fish and Game Department
NOAA Fisheries – Office of Law Enforcement (National Marine Fisheries Service)
Northeast Whitewater
Northern Forest Canoe Trail
Old Orchard Beach Police Department
Pathways
Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust
ReVision Energy
ReVision Heat
Savatree
Stantec Consulting
The Summer Camp
Thomas College
Town of Danvers, MA, Endicott Park
Two Bridges Regional Jail
UMaine 4-H Camp and Learning Centers at Tanglewood and Blueberry Cove
Unity College Online
University of Maine
University of Maine 4-H Camp and Learning Center at Bryant Pond
University of Southern Maine
US Army
US Border Patrol
USFWS, Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge
USFWS, Northern Maine National Wildlife Refuge Complex
USFWS, Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge
Vermont Fish and Wildlife
Vermont Law School
Waldo County Soil and Water Conservation District
White Mountain National Forest
YMCA Camp of Maine
York’s Wild Kingdom
