by Timothy Rutt
Halfway through "Hiring Altadena," a job fair for potential Walmart Neighborhood Market employees, Joumana "J.B." Barakat of the Foothill Workforce Investment Board estimated that 300 people had already passed through the doors, and she was expecting 300 more before they would be done.
Former Altadena Town Councilman Tecumseh Shackelford said that the line started at 6:30 in the morning and wrapped around Metropolitan Baptist Church, the location for the hiring event. "We opened the sanctuary so people could come in and get warm," Shackelford said.
"I'm very positive, very positive that I will get a job somewhere," he said.
Hopkins was an Altadena resident, like most of the people who stood in line to take turns attending workshops and talking to Walmart managers in the church. According to Shackelford, most of the people who signed up put down Altadena's 91001 zip code as they looked into getting one of 65 jobs that the market will create.
The purpose of the event, co-sponsored by FWIB, the Employment Development Department, and LA Works, was to educate potential Walmart employees on resumes and inteview skills that would be required to apply for a job at the market.
Walmart also announced today that it will open a hiring center at 2369 Lincoln Ave. on Monday, Dec. 10. The center will be open from 8 AM-5 PM Monday through Friday. According to a flyer distributed by Walmart, applicants should first apply online at www.careers.walmart.com.
The Walmart Neighborhood Market, a smaller format grocery store, is expected to open in early 2013.
