Federal Government Offers Opportunity for Lee’s Summit Workers

Stephani BordnerWorkforce

More than 350 job seekers from across the Kansas City metro were in Lee’s Summit Thursday to learn about local opportunities at the federal government. The Lee’s Summit Economic Development Council partnered with U.S. Citizens and Immigration Services to host the career fair. 

The National Benefits Center, National Records Center, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Contact Center, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services District Office and the Office of Intake and Document Production were looking to fill a combined 75 vacancies. The majority of positions were in Lee’s Summit, with a few others in the greater Kansas City Region. 

“Most people are surprised to learn that the federal government employs nearly 3,000 workers in Lee’s Summit,” said LSEDC Director of Business Development Tina Chace. “As a major employer here in our community, we are grateful to have this opportunity to highlight some of the professional opportunities available in Lee’s Summit.”

Human Resources staff from the varying agencies attended the career fair to offer more information about specific positions and help applicants decipher which government classification they would be eligible for. This was a key piece of the job fair as the application process can be arduous.

“Government jobs have a reputation of being great opportunities for workers, but it is a long process,” said Chace. “It was important to us to give applicants as much foresight into that process as possible so they don’t get discouraged.”

With an unemployment rate of 3.2 percent in Missouri, the high turnout is a sign that job seekers are looking to take advantage of the tight labor market by searching for new opportunities.

“We are seeing a lot of job-hopping right now,” said Chace. “Employers should take notice how important their own recruitment strategies are while at the same time, focusing on robust retention packages.”