SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) -
MGM's Springfield casino is scheduled to open this fall.

Construction is moving right along and so is the process of hiring thousands of employees for the casino.

There are lots of jobs and lots to do before everyone is hired.

These are busy times for MGM Springfield.

Construction continues on the $950 million casino in Springfield's South End.

A view from the Western Mass News SkyDrone shows an overview of the casino site and the work that's been done so far.

When the casino opens in the fall, MGM will have hired 3,000 employees, most of them full-time jobs.

"We're going to have approximately 2,200 of the 3,000 will be full-time positions and depending on the position really depends on experience, so we're averaging $40,000 to $45,000 across the entire campus," said Marikate Murren, vice president of human resources at MGM Springfield.

Among the jobs at MGM Springfield will be table game dealers, positions in food and beverage, and retail, as well as jobs in hotel, human resources, and marketing.

"Think of MGM Springfield as a small city, so anything that gives you passion, we're really going to hire that," Murren added.

To help in the hiring process, MGM has opened a new career center at 1259 East Columbus Avenue.  The center will help screen and hire employees.

People can also go to MGM's website at mgmspringfield.com to search for available jobs.

On the menu is a category called 'SkillSmart' to tell applicants how their career skills match up with available jobs.

Among the hot jobs are those for casino table dealers.

"I think the important thing is to create the urgency.  The main thing that's happening is gaming school.  Go to mccti.org, which is our partners with community colleges.  Get in there, register for the gaming school," Murren explained.

MGM said that it hopes to have hired all 3,000 by at least two to three weeks before the casino opens in the fall.

As part of MGM's host-community agreement with the city of Springfield, the casino aims to hire 35 percent of its workforce from the city and they tell us they're right on track with their numbers.

MGM will be hosting several informational sessions on the jobs and training needed to be a table games dealer.  They are free and open to the public.