Derik Vanderford|Daily Times Cars filled the parking lot of the Union County Advanced Technology Center — as well as the stretch of Hiighway 176 in front of it — during a job fair held on Monday.

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Derik Vanderford/Daily Times More than 500 people submitted applications for possible employment at the Belk (Belk.com) Fulfillment Center which will be located in Jonesville.

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Over 500 applicants competed for 30 positions at a job fair held in Union County on Monday.

ReadySC — in cooperation with SC Works and Spartanburg Community College — held a job fair at the Union County Advanced Technology Center (UCATC) on Monday to serve as the first phase of the hiring process for order processors (receiving/putaway/picking/packing) for the Belk (Belk.com) Fulfillment Center to be located in Jonesville.

The parking lot of the the UCATC — as well as the side of Highway 176 in front of the center — remained full throughout the fair, which ran from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. and 5-7 p.m. By 10 a.m., more than 200 applicants had already been through the fair.

UCATC Director Kathy Jo Lancaster reported that a total of 513 people submitted applications throughout the day, which was 200 more than the UCATC originally expected.

“We are thrilled Belk has decided to open an e-commerce division in Union County,” Lancaster said. “The company has a long history in our region, and we are excited about supporting their presence in our community.”

As applicants entered the job fair, they completed applications and were pre-screened by an SC Works representative based on the qualifications and requirements included in the job fair advertisement. If those qualifications were met, applicants then participated in interviews by Belk representatives.

Based on the interviews, selected participants will be invited to an information-sharing session with Belk later this week. Following the information-sharing session, participants will be asked to complete pre-hire training in April, and job offers will be extended in late-April or early-May.

LaTokia Trigg of ReadySC said the initial hiring in May will be for approximately 30 positions. The fulfillment center plans to eventually hire 124 employees over the next five years.

The job fair also included information stations hosted by both Spartanburg Community College and USC Union.

Belk has posted other jobs — besides the order processing positions targeted at the job fair — at SCworks.org and careerbuilder.com.