ERLANGER, Ky. - Northern Kentucky companies are gearing up to hire thousands of new employees over the next two years.
It begins with DHL's Saturday job fair and continues with Amazon and other major employers in the region.
DHL has to hire 900 people by May 1 when it begins its daytime sort operations because of expanded business. When all is said and done, DHL will have 3,300 people working at the airport.
The company has invested $281 million in facilities at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in the past eight years.
Joanie Arias, vice-president/general manager of the CVG hub, explained the huge growth at CVG.
“Part of that has to do with our own internal growth — our own DHL shipping growth over the last years. But, the area itself is a great area to raise a family. It's a great area to go to school,” Arias said.
More than $100 million in improvements just came on line. That includes:
- Equipment to increase output 20 percent.
- New space to park 16 aircraft.
- Covered areas to protect equipment servicing planes.
The facility handles 180,000 parcels a day now, but that will almost triple.
“With the day sort, we're looking to run an additional 300,000 a day,” Arias said.
That's why the job fair is so important to the company.
“We're looking for individuals with passion, that want to do things right the first time, that have a can-do spirit that will help us continue to grow our business,” Arias said.
The Northern Kentucky Career Center is supporting DHL's job growth efforts. Plus, it's working with Amazon as that gears up to hire 2,700 people when its Prime hub is built.
“We've had about four different information on-site hiring events. They've hired about 340 people, so we've got a very good track record with Amazon that we plan on expanding,” said Barb Stewart of the Career Center.
Why has Northern Kentucky become such a distribution hub? We asked Trey Grayson, president/CEO of the Northern Kentucky Chamber.
“We've got great location - centrally located, short-drive, short flight to a lot of America. We've got an airport with runways, with room around it where you can put facilities and the willingness to do the deal. You've got two million people in the metropolitan area,” Grayson said.
And an economy where more people are buying things online and having them shipped.
That's why DHL sees the job fair as crucial to keep on top of that trend.
“Come on out and see what we have available and we'll see if it's a fit,” Arias said.
The job fair is 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at CVG Centre, 77 Comair Blvd., Erlanger.
