
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, March 23, 1991                   TAG: 9103230019
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MAG POFF BUSINESS WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

300 APPLY, 1 GETS REFERRAL FOR KUWAITI JOB

The Virginia Employment Commission's Roanoke office, which has received more than 300 applications from people wanting to work in Kuwait, said Friday it has been able to place only one person.

The first jobs in Kuwait listed with the local VEC office all relate to aircraft, said Virgil Thompson, a supervisor. The jobs are for pilots of helicopters and fixed wing planes and for three types of aircraft mechanics, he said.

The office was able to refer only one applicant, he said. The applicant had experience in aircraft sheet metal work, one of the listed specialties.

Thompson said the jobs in Kuwait pay $40,000 to $50,000 for pilots and $25,000 to $30,000 for mechanics.

Most of the job-seekers the local office has seen are in construction trades, Thompson said.

He said the staff at the Roanoke office believes that relatively few jobs will be available for reconstruction of Kuwait. He said most of the international firms with contracts there already have their own construction crews.

Thompson was told that Bechtel, the major international construction company working in Kuwait, received 40,000 inquiries about jobs within three days of signing a contract with the Kuwaiti government.

by CNB