Getting Fannin residents jobs during a pandemic

BLUE RIDGE, Ga – Fannin County’s faring better than neighboring counties when it comes to unemployment. Currently, at 4.6 percent unemployment, Fannin is the lowest in the Northwest Georgia Region. The Fannin County Development Authority has also taken measures to assist citizens in finding jobs. 

When COVID-19 closings hit the community the hardest, it jumped up to nine percent in April. Before the pandemic, Fannin only had three percent unemployment.

The Fannin County Development Authority created a job board for Fannin County to help combat COVID-19-related layoffs. It tracks who’s hiring within the community and features employers from several industries. As of July 26, the board had over 25 jobs posted.

“It’s not all-inclusive, not meant to replace the department of labor or any other job posting. It’s just a way for me to track what’s going on. Often times, I’ll get calls about people looking for employment, and I can easily give them the job board,” explained Fannin County Development Authority Executive Director Christie Gribble.

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has partnered with the development authority for a remote work pilot program. 50 Fannin County citizens will be given free memberships to Flex Jobs to assist them in finding remote career opportunities.

“It’s a well-respected database of remote jobs, so jobs that you can do at your home…I was very happy to be selected to participate,” said Gribble.

TVA will track Flex Jobs applications to see who in the area finds work through the program.

The memberships are designed for people currently living in Fannin County and want to remain in Fannin. The opportunities are all remote or partially remote.

“[It’s] not to replace employment opportunities that are available in-person in our community, but these are for skill sets that might be better suited for someone else. There’s a lot of data engineering jobs that we might not have here locally, but someone could do from home,” Gribble added.

Flex jobs website also offers resume reviews, job-seeking coaching, and employment articles. An annual membership costs around $50 or $6.99 per week.

Fannin County residents can go to the development authority website for anyone who might be interested in free membership.