by Megan Valandingham
On March 26, 2024, an Entry Level Virtual Job Fair will be taking place in Knoxville, Tennessee. It is about three hours long and is free to anyone who wishes to match with jobs and employers that interest them. The Appalachian Region of Tennessee is a beautiful place with a rich culture and history, but there is a noticeable lack of opportunity when it comes to specific careers.
As of December 2023, unemployment in Claiborne County Tennessee was listed as 3.5%, which is specifically 1,129 county residents in total who are unemployed for various reasons. And residents who receive disability make up 19.0% of the county population or 6,130 people. 60% of the county population works in education, 99% of farms are family-owned, and about 17% are hired labor.
There are two colleges within the county, Lincoln Memorial University and Walter State Community College. They provide an opportunity for the county to obtain a secondary education. Though it may across as their only two options for a secondary education.
Most jobs in the county are retail, restaurant, factory, or medical, but some residents do not want to make a career in those professions. So, what can be done and what are the steps to get there?
One profession that no longer exists in the county is Social Work, forcing residents in that industry to drive nearly an hour to the closest counties for work. Donna is a Claiborne resident working for the Campbell County Department of Children Services, a thirty-minute drive from her home.
"It's something that’s just learned from an early age, because 'going to town' was an all-day event. And that long of a drive gives me time to process that secondary trauma. But that drive is very difficult. Some of the residents don't know if their call is going to make it, waking up at five in the morning to make it work by seven or eight, and not making it back home until late in the evening. That time apart is hard on not just the worker, but their family as well, all of which need that paycheck-to-paycheck income to just live," Donna says.
This is both a governmental and generational issue. Appalachia is a region that is being forgotten after the closure of the coal mines and has left many going from wanting to be left alone by the government to all but depending upon government control. It is up to the residents to break the cycle and bring better opportunities for themselves and their children.
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