Potential candidates for the 1,500 full-time jobs to be filled at Amazon.com want to know what’s next.
They might learn a little more by early October, not only about the global e-commerce retailer but also other employers in North Jacksonville.
JAXUSA Partnership President Jerry Mallot said Friday that JAX Chamber President Daniel Davis, city officials, CareerSource of Northeast Florida executives, Northwest Jacksonville pastors and other area organizations that want to play a role will start the planning process in about 60 days.
They will meet to talk about the process of “identifying and preparing candidates for jobs at Amazon and other companies,” Mallot said.
“The goal is to help find candidates in the Northwest area who need a good job who would qualify for opportunities,” he said.
Amazon.com said Wednesday it will open a 1,500-job fulfillment center in Jacksonville to pick, pack and ship small items, such as books, electronics and consumer goods.
Site work is underway for the center at 12900 Pecan Park Road, just off Interstate 295 and International Airport Boulevard.
Mallot said the center should open by year-end 2017 in time for the holiday shipping season.
The bulk of the jobs will pay $12 to $15 an hour.
City and state incentives will help support 500 operational, technical and managerial positions that pay an average $50,000.
Mallot said Amazon.com will send a hiring team to town about six months ahead of opening. Before that, it directs candidates to monitor job openings online at amazondelivers.jobs.
CareerSource invites applicants to send their names and information to [email protected]. The information will be shared with the company.
Before hiring begins, the chamber and city want to prepare candidates in Northwest Jacksonville, an area of high unemployment, to apply for the jobs.
Mallot describes it as “pre-training” and identifying the gaps that could be filled in advance, such as soft skills. Such skills typically include interviewing and completing job applications.
He said the program hasn’t been defined, which is part of the planning that should start in 60 days.
Mallot said preparing candidates to fill the jobs is important because the Amazon.com center is a large project. The chamber said it is the largest single jobs announcement in the city’s history.
“They will reach many people who might not have other opportunities but need opportunities,” he said.
At $12 an hour, the jobs would pay about $25,000 a year but also offer benefits to full-time employees starting on their first day.
The city historically has focused on recruiting higher-wage jobs, but Mallot said the city and chamber have adjusted their positions.
Higher unemployment rates can be alleviated by lower-wage jobs in areas of need, a theme discussed more than a year ago during an Economic Development Transition Subcommittee strategy meeting.
Mayor Lenny Curry, who took office July 1, 2015, appointed a committee to review economic-development strategy.
Former Mayor John Delaney, who led the committee, specified there was an unemployed and underemployed group “that going from an $8 (an hour) job to $12-$15 is a healthy step up.”
The committee also pointed out that high-wage employers typically have not located in economically distressed areas, while lower-paying companies might choose to set up there if incentives can help with the decision.
The Amazon.com incentives pertain to the higher-wage positions, but the company also brings a large need for filling lower-wage jobs.
While companies had been choosing Downtown, areas such as Northwest Jacksonville have not had much success in landing many high-wage or high-employment projects.
“We are so pleased that Amazon fulfills that need,” Mallot said Friday.
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