City’s Information Technology Job Fair Reflects Growth In IT Hiring Patterns

If you’re like thousands of American unsatisfied with your job or straight up unemployed, this story is for you.

Job seekers with careers in Information Technology, or IT, are in demand right now in the borderland. IT is the management of data through technology and hiring experts say the field encompasses a bankable set of skills employers like the City of El Paso are seeking out.

Miguel Gamino, head of the city’s IT Department, is looking to fill a number of positions. “We’ve got a really great team of people. The challenge is we need more of them,” said Gamino.

That’s why the City of El Paso is hosting an Information Technology Hiring Fair on Thursday, Jan. 19. It’s being held at the Human Resources Department on the third floor of City Hall from 6-9 p.m.

“We have entry level positions, mid-level positions and higher level technical positions,” said Gamino. He said they’re looking to fill about a dozen positions from a long list of 25 positions as soon as possible.

“We’re going to be prepared to give job offers right there on the spot,” said Gamino.

That eagerness reflects a larger hiring trend in IT, according to Lorenzo Reyes Jr., the CEO of Texas Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande.

“This is a field in which we are going to see a lot of opportunities not only this year but, based on our internal data, it’s going to be growing in our community. The city in the last two years has invested a lot of money in technology,” said Reyes.

Last April, City Council approved a $21.5 million budget boost through bond funds to revamp the IT Department.

“We have a whole bunch of very significant projects under way,” said Gamino.

Those projects include an effort to update the city’s network, the successful implementation last December of free Wi-Fi around the airport, and the acquisition of better facilities to store sensitive servers.

In light of these goals and changes, Gamino said he would like a bigger support team and hopes for a big turnout for Thursday’s hiring fair.

“We didn’t just go and create a bunch of new positions,” he said. “A lot of these positions were existing but have just remained vacant.”