Job fair for military vets comes back to Tampa quickly

Veterans group RecruitMilitary is coming to Tampa to throw a job fair that it promises will draw several hundred job-seeking military veterans.

Again.

The RecruitMilitary Opportunity Expo will be held at the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts on Feb. 18, just two months after the organization staged a similar expo at the same location.

RecruitMilitary holds dozens of job and education fairs around the country every year, with interest rising in tandem with the unemployment rate. (Florida's unemployment rate is at a near-record high of 11.8 percent.) Seventy-three events are scheduled for 2010.

Group spokeswoman Karen Galvin acknowledged it's unusual to schedule events so close together in the same locale. But that didn't dampen interest — if anything, it's increased.

More than 30 employers and educational organizations plan to attend next week's fair, up from 23 in December and 24 in April. Organizers also anticipate a bigger turnout.

"We historically have better veteran attendance early in the year for Tampa events," Galvin said.

Among employers and education institutions scheduled to attend are Aegis LLC, APPTIS, Inc., Argosy University, Broward County Sheriffs Office, the CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency, DeVry University, the FBI, Military Sealift Command, the New York Film Academy, New York Life, Northrop Grumman, Troops to Teachers, the U.S. Navy and Walgreens.

The event is slated to run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Cincinnati-based RecruitMilitary was founded in 1998 to connect employers with job seekers who have military backgrounds. It has held job expos since 2006.