Gov. Edwards Hails CSRA's Louisiana Call Center Providing Hurricane Relief

BATON ROUGE, La. — Gov. John Bel Edwards today highlighted the efforts of technology leader CSRA to quickly establish a call center in Bossier City, Louisiana, that will assist the federal government’s response to Hurricane Harvey.
 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency this week contracted with CSRA to aid in the response to Hurricane Harvey and the affected region’s recovery. With support from Louisiana Economic Development, CSRA staged a job fair Wednesday at the company’s Integrated Technology Center in Bossier City to fill hundreds of temporary full-time and part-time call-agent positions in Bossier City.

Gov. Edwards said, “The people of Louisiana have been quick to jump in with rescue, shelter, and other emergency services for our fellow Louisianans and our neighbors in Texas. I am so proud of our citizens. Now, as efforts turn to recovery, a Louisiana employer is stepping up to provide this critically needed call center. We are pleased to support CSRA in getting this rapid-response call center up and running so quickly.”  

CSRA President and CEO Larry Prior said, “We are proud to help get relief as quickly as possible to those affected by disaster. Under President Trump’s leadership, FEMA has been doing an outstanding job at helping those affected by Hurricane Harvey to recover as quickly as possible. FEMA worked with us immediately so we could get our call center operational in a very short timeframe. With more potential disaster looming, CSRA stands ready to assist and scale up again as necessary.”

A total of 650 people showed up for CSRA’s job fair at the Integrated Technology Center. Because the number of qualified candidates far exceeded the 300 positions CSRA had initially advertised, CSRA extended job offers to more than 500 applicants Wednesday, with those offers contingent on applicants passing a background check. CSRA is seeking to fill 1,500 positions at three locations nationwide, including Kentucky and Virginia. 

Hurricane Harvey caused catastrophic flooding to the Houston metropolitan area and other areas of southeast Texas, and areas of Louisiana also incurred substantial damage from the storm. More than 573,000 people have already applied for federal disaster assistance and more than 53,600 people have relied on emergency shelters.

The federal government engaged CSRA Monday night to provide call center and temporary support staff to respond to incoming calls and perform data entry for individuals and businesses seeking disaster assistance. The company began planning Tuesday for Wednesday’s job fair and contacted LED FastStart® and Louisiana Job Connection for immediate support. Personnel from LED FastStart and Louisiana Job Connection attended the event Wednesday in Bossier City and provided assistance to CSRA.

“Positioned as it is at the forefront of cybersecurity, cloud computing and big data, CSRA has been a vital addition to the I-20 Cyber Corridor that we have established across North Louisiana,” LED Secretary Don Pierson said. “The company launched here in 2014 with the State of Louisiana as a key partner, and we have worked together to build its Integrated Technology Center and the National Cyber Research Park into important economic drivers for the Shreveport-Bossier area and the Northwest Region. This latest opportunity demonstrates yet again how programs such as LED FastStart and the Louisiana Job Connection bring value to our workforce and our economy in Louisiana.”

Last November, Gov. Edwards and Prior dedicated the 96,000-square-foot Integrated Technology Center, which ultimately will host 800 permanent jobs and anchor the 3,000-acre National Cyber Research Park in Bossier City. CSRA already employs nearly 600 workers at the research park, delivering next-generation IT services. CSRA also employs about 150 people at its separate Customer Engagement Center in another nearby facility in Bossier City. The new employees for the Hurricane Harvey call center will be assigned to both CSRA facilities.

CSRA continues to accept applications for the temporary call center positions via its website:

https://jobs.csra.com/job/bossier-city/data-entry-operator/3983/5585392.

Anyone seeking federal assistance as a result of Hurricane Harvey is encouraged to contact the Federal Emergency Management Agency at (800) 621-FEMA.