NATCHEZ — Hundreds of people streamed into the Natchez Mall Tuesday shopping for a job.

Representatives from the local hospitality industry lined the inside of the mall, stationed behind tables with applications and information about their companies.

The job fair, which was a collaboration of Alcorn State University, Natchez Inc., the WIN Job Center and the Natchez Mall, was open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Prospective applicants were at the mall by 9 a.m., though, Alcorn’s Special Assistant to the President for Community and Economic Development Ruth Nichols said.

The main focus behind the job fair was luring applicants for French America Line’s new riverboat Louisiane, whose business headquarters will be in Natchez.

French America Director of Human Resources Shawn Reppel said the company received approximately 220 applications by 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Reppel said he was surprised to learn local entities would team together to support workforce recruiting for French America.

“Everyone has just been fantastic in helping,” he said. “We have gotten some really good applicants.”

Reppel said French America would hire approximately 65 employees for the Louisiane. The company will also hire an additional 65 for a second boat — the Evangeline — that is expected to cruise the river by the end of the year, Reppel said.

Natchez residents Earltrella Canselo and La’Dasha Fountain walked though the mall Tuesday evening picking up applications and information from prospective employers.

Both women said they were surprised to see Natchez host a job fair with good participation from companies and residents.

Canselo said she was thankful the job fair made it simple to connect with local companies who are hiring.

“I’m just looking for a job fast,” she said. “I have two kids to support.”

Canselo said with two children, she did not think she could manage the schedule of working for French America. She and Fountain said they had their eyes on jobs at the Hotel Vue.

Hotel Vue General Manager Wendy Grandin said the hotel received more than 150 applications at the job fair.

“We had a great turnout,” she said. “We had a lot of good applicants, and people presented themselves professionally. We are well stocked with great candidates.”

In addition to applications submitted to local companies, Nichols said approximately 200 residents signed up to take the WorkKeys assessment from ACT, Inc., so business and industry recruiters could obtain a snapshot of the labor pool’s skills to have available for potential job creators.

WorkKeys is part of the Miss-Lou Work Ready initiative, and Nichols said preparing the local workforce is instrumental in economic development.

Those who signed up Tuesday put WorkKeys beyond its goals for participation, Nichols said.

“If a company wants to locate here … they need a good workforce, and they need to know what kind of workforce they’re working with before they get here,” she said.

Nichols called the job fair a success and said cooperation between business entities in the area is essential for progress. The fair’s goals included recruiting hospitality workers, promoting WorkKeys and driving traffic to the mall.

“I think we accomplished all of those things today,” she said.