Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southeast hosted a free, open to the public, Navy Civilian Job Fair, June 26 at the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) located in Key West, Florida. 

NAVFAC Southeast used the Office of Personal Management Direct-Hire Authority (DHA) to fill critical Department of Defense vacancies, allowing qualified candidates on-the-spot job offers.

“Historically, Key West suffers from job vacancy rates because of the high cost of living, particularly with our skilled trades positions,” said Naval Air Station (NAS) Key West Public Works Officer Lt. Cmdr. Shawn Gorman. “These are the civil servants that support the base and keep our facilities running, that directly support warfighter readiness.”

DHA hiring is a part of NAVFAC Southeast’s overall aggressive strategy to rapidly replenish a civilian workforce serving in the Navy’s Southeast region. It is an effective tool to recruit the best workers and allows NAVFAC Southeast to hire hundreds of specialists and skilled tradesmen.

“This event was a huge success because of the amount of local participation and contingent offers we were able to extend to the Key West community,” said NAVFAC Southeast Human Resources Director Terry Williams. “It was a great opportunity for the community to see what NAS Key West has to offer.”

Holding the job fair off-base at the VFW allowed NAVFAC Southeast to widen their recruitment efforts to candidates not currently affiliated with the military. Over 120 applicants attended the event and the command was able to extend 13 contingent offers on the spot. Eleven of those were to fill critical vacancies for the blue-collar workforce.

“I’m really excited for this opportunity because the Navy is one of the best employers in Key West because of all the benefits,” said a tentative offer recipient. “Supporting the Navy has been a dream of mine and I’m hoping for this to be my lifelong career.”

NAVFAC Southeast recruited for positions in a variety of professional disciplines, to include, but not limited to; electricians, high voltage electricians, multi-disciplined tradesmen, heavy mobile equipment Mechanic, plumbers, pipefitters, air conditioning equipment, HVAC mechanics, and construction managers. 
 
Naval Facilities Engineering Command: www.navfac.navy.mil
Applicants who could not attend the event can still submit their resumes to NAVFACSEHiring@navy.mil.

NAVFAC plans, designs and manages construction; provides contingency engineering response; and enables energy security and environmental stewardship for the U.S. Navy. The Jacksonville office manages operations on Navy installations from Charleston, South Carolina to Corpus Christi, Texas and south to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. NAVFAC professionals also acquire and dispose of real estate, manage and maintain the facilities on all naval bases, and provide housing for military families. Its Public Works Departments provide facilities support services to installations. Every day presents new and different challenges for the professionals of the Command. From planning a new full-service hospital to the construction of a state-of-the-art hangar facility, members of the Command make significant contributions to the Navy.

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