Job fair for prison employment set
LUZERNE TWP. – A job fair for employment at the new State Correctional Institution (SCI) being built in Luzerne Township will be held at Brownsville Area High School in June. There were initially rumors that the job fair would be held in Uniontown, but John Evans of the Pennsylvania Career Link Office and a Luzerne Township resident, asked the Department of Corrections to consider a local site. The officials recently toured the high school and decided it would be suitable for the job fair.
“They were impressed with how clean it was and how well-behaved the students were. (Principal) Rick Gates and his staff should be complimented,” Evans said.
Of course, the students won’t be in school when the fair is held. Classes in the district end June 7, and the job fair will run from June 10 through June 14. Evans said 4,000 to 6,000 applicants are expected to seek jobs at the new prison.
“I think this is going to be a positive thing for our township and the surrounding areas. I think it shows that the state people are serious about hiring our local people,” Evans said.
Applicants should report to the job fair based on the last digit of their Social Security numbers, with those ending in zero reporting on Monday, June 10, between noon and 5 p.m.
Applicants with Social Security numbers ending in one, two or three should report Tuesday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Numbers four, five and six should report on Wednesday, June 12, and numbers seven, eight and nine should report on Thursday, with hours running from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. each day.
Anyone is welcome to submit an application on Friday, June 14, between 8 a.m. and noon. Open application sessions are also available on Tuesday, June 11, and Thursday, June 13, from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m.
In addition, applications will be taken at the Uniontown Career Link office from June 17 through June 28, 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Monday, Thursday and Friday, from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. and from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
Brownsville High School is located at 1300 Brashear Ave., Brownsville, and the Career Link Office is at 32 Iowa St., Uniontown.
Most of the positions available will be for corrections officer trainees, though there will be limited employment opportunities in food service, maintenance and trades, administration and clerical, education and support services.
Corrections officer applicants must be at least 21 years old as of the date of the application.
Most civil service positions require Pennsylvania residency.
All applications will be sent to the state Civil Service Commission or Bureau of Corrections at the completion of the job fair on June 28, so the date of application is not a consideration in the employment process.
Any written tests required for the jobs will be conducted in Brownsville during the summer and fall months.
Prison construction should be completed by January 2003, though the first employees will begin training at the prison in September and the prison is expected to be fully operational with a full staff by July 2003.
Evans said the number of jobs that will be available at SCI-Fayette will depend on whether the old prison in Allegheny County remains open or if it is closed entirely.
It is also dependent on the number of current employees at the Allegheny County facility that decide to transfer to SCI-Fayette.
Evans said the prison anticipated employing more than 400 people, with an inmate population of 1,800 to 2,000.