General Dynamics Information Technology will host a job fair Saturday to fill about 100 customer service jobs for its new Jacksonville operations center.
The 9 a.m.-2 p.m. hiring fair is at CareerSource Northeast Florida at 215 N. Market St. Downtown. Applicants can apply online at gdit.com/CSRJOBS.
General Dynamics Information Technology intends to open the center in early December at One Imeson Center in the Imeson International Industrial Park in North Jacksonville. The company says there will be no sales, collections or telemarketing.
It seeks candidates with a high-school diploma or GED, with six months of customer service experience and preferably call-center experience, the ability to read and speak English proficiently and the ability to pass a background check, among other requirements.
General Dynamics Information Technology offers company-paid benefits and pays an extra 10 percent for night shifts. The center will operate Monday-Saturday. Hours and shifts will vary based on customer needs.
A business unit of industrial giant General Dynamics, Information Technology issued a statement that it will open the project “to support rapidly growing contact center operations for federal government customers.”
It’s moving quickly on the center.
The company took out a business license from the city, in the name of President Daniel Johnson at the Fairfax, Va., headquarters of General Dynamics Information Technology.
The city approved a building permit last Tuesday for Dav-Lin Interior Contractors to build-out almost 50,500 square feet of office space at a cost of $1.5 million, three times the amount first listed on the permit application.
General Dynamics Information Technology expects training classes to start in December.
The space under renovation could accommodate about 300 employees, indicating that General Dynamics Information Technology could expand.
The company said any further positions will depend on customer needs.
The jobs add to a growing Duval County employment base.
The county’s employment base grew by 5 percent to almost 443,000 jobs between September 2013 and September 2014, while unemployment dropped by 8 percent to almost 29,260, according to the state Department of Economic Opportunity. The unemployment rate fell from an unadjusted 7 percent to 6.2 percent.
The jobs also reflect a strong sector of employment in Duval County. Professional and business services jobs grew a strong 9.2 percent over the year to 104,400.
The General Dynamics space will include offices, large amounts of open office area, conference rooms, training rooms, a locker room, a break room and lounge, a mother’s room and other space.
General Dynamics Information Technology has been posting job opportunities in Jacksonville, currently including a facilities supervisor, customer service specialist and customer service representatives.
General Dynamics Information Technology is one of four business units of the General Dynamics Information Systems and Technology business segment of corporate giant General Dynamics, which is based in Falls Church, Va.
General Dynamics Information Technology provides IT, systems engineering, professional services and simulation and training to customers in the defense, federal civilian government, health, homeland security, intelligence, state and local government and commercial sectors.
While General Dynamics Information Technology will have a mix of permanent and temporary positions based on customer needs, all the jobs will be full-time with benefits.“
Land sold for Bartram Park hotel
Bartram Park Partners LLC sold about 2.3 vacant acres in Bartram Park last Tuesday to Impact Bartram LLC. Kish Kanji of Jacksonville and Dilip Kanji are the investors in Impact Bartram LLC.
Impact Bartram paid $1.68 million for the property, Duval County Clerk of Court records show.
The city has been reviewing concurrency plans for a Residence Inn at Bartram Park, a 122-room, five-story, 84,000-square-foot hotel, at the 13942 Village Lake Circle site.
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