Shuttle Workers Get Job Search Help

The Office of Personnel Management and NASA are trying to do their part for the thousands of contract employees who are losing their jobs as a result of the end of the space shuttle program.

On Tuesday, the agencies hosted a job fair at the Radisson Cape Canaveral hotel in Florida. According to OPM, more than 1,000 people attended the event, hearing from federal agencies and private sector employers about job openings and getting tips on applying for federal jobs.

The workers "have these naturally transferable kinds of skills," Angela Bailey, OPM's associate director of employee services, told Greenwire. "The kinds of skills that might put the shuttle up in air are the same kind of skills used by Boeing or federal agencies to do things like green technology."

The 30 federal agencies represented at the fair included the Secret Service, Tramsportation Security Administration, Veterans Health Administration and Census Bureau. In addition, 32 companies participated.