Early next month, the World Games will kick off in Birmingham, which means planning is well under way to prime Alabama for the two-week spectacle’s estimated infusion of more than a quarter-billion tourism dollars — money that’ll be spent not only in Jefferson County, but in neighboring places like Cullman.

The games’ official website anticipates $256 million in additional spending from the quadrennial event, which is set to kick off on July 7 and conclude on July 17. That figure represents the projected economic effect across the Birmingham metro’s multi-county region, spurring retailers, restaurants, and hotels in Cullman County to go on an early hiring spree before the spectators — not to mention the games’ 3,600 athletes — arrive.

With an already-tight labor market placing a premium on staffing, local economic leaders are staging a community job fair in Cullman on June 23 to meet the demand. Though industries and manufacturers will also be on hand to take advantage of the applicant turnout, the job fair is primarily timed to aid area food, beverage, and retail businesses in shoring up their workforce before the games begin.

“We want to be able to serve out-of-towners in the best way possible,” explains Jamie Blackmon, the director for Center for Career and Workforce Development at Wallace State Community College. With help from state-provided funding through the community college system, Wallace State is coordinating the job fair in partnership with the Cullman Economic Development Office.

“This job fair came about because of Birmingham hosting the World Games, and an event of that scope will affect not just Birmingham, but a lot of the surrounding areas,” Blackmon said. “Hotels, food, and service: This is a convenient way to bring businesses and potential employees together in one place. and because everybody needs workers, it’s kind of an added bonus to have both those businesses as well as local industries represented at a single job fair.“

The job fair is free to all participants, whether they’re Cullman County-based businesses looking for staff or prospective local employees looking for work. It’ll take place at the Donald E. Green Center (1625 Cleveland Avenue SW) in Cullman, and will run from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 23.

Organizers aren’t just getting the word out to applicants; they want interested businesses to know about the job fair in advance and — if they need employees — to get on board. Contact Blackmon by email at jamie.blackmon@wallacestate.edu or by phone at 205-746-5176 for information on how to register, including access to scannable QR codes that allow both employers and applicants to separately sign up in advance.

Though registration is encouraged, it’s by no means required: The job fair is meant to cast as wide a net as possible to ensure businesses and prospective employees find each other. “Walk-in applicants are completely welcome,” said Susan Eller, retail & workforce development manager for the Cullman Economic Development Office.

“Scanning the QR codes, which we’ve placed on all of the job fair fliers that you may see around town in the next couple of weeks, just streamlines things and makes it more convenient. But we welcome walk-ins, regardless of whether they’ve registered.”

Wallace State’s involvement isn’t just limited to the job fair itself; the college will also use the event to enroll applicants into a food-and-beverage vocational program that begins the very next day, while presenting additional training and scholarship opportunities for applicants in other career fields. Participation in the two-day food an beverage course, which begins on June 24, is free, said Blackmon.

“It will allow people who are going into food service to learn healthy practices; all the things you need to know in any type of restaurant environment,” she explained. “If you attend, we’ll begin that class on June 24, followed by some additional virtual learning. There’ll also be a lab at Wallace State where they can come in and practice serving food and beverages and make sure that they’ve mastered the competencies of the course. We have funding to offer scholarships to those who are interested.”