Help at hand for local job seekers

(Date of issue: Monday, 7 September 2009)

The county’s biggest Jobs Fair will be held at The Sands Centre, Carlisle between 10am and 4pm this Friday (11 September).

More than 1,000 visitors are expected to attend the free Carlisle City Council event. Help will be at hand for local residents who want to seek out a job or find about more than 1,000 different training courses, ranging from one-day courses to degrees.

There will be a range of organisations on hand to talk about higher education, volunteering opportunities, training opportunities, support and advice services.

More than 50 stalls and 40 employers, representing public, retail, manufacturing, construction, technical and caring sectors, will be in attendance throughout the day, including Debenhams, Center Parcs, Neuropartners, Tescos, Cumberland Building Society and the Royal Navy. All will be actively looking at filling current vacancies.

This year, additional help will be available for people wanting support with CV writing and filling in application forms. The CV workshops will be provided by Aspirant HR.

Those looking to develop skills or change career direction, including setting up your own business, will also be catered for. There will also be a range of other organisations on hand to talk about higher education, volunteering opportunities, support available and advice services.

Cllr Marilyn Bowman, Portfolio holder for Economy, said:

“We need to help our workforce gain new skills and we also need to work with local employers to ensure that they are able to address their recruitment issues and skills gaps. During these hard economic times, events of this type provide much needed professional support.”

The Carlisle Jobs & Training Fair has been organised by Carlisle City Council in partnership with Cumbria County Council, Invest in Cumbria, Job Centre Plus, Northwest Regional Development Agency and the CN Group Ltd.

For more information about the event telephone Carlisle City Council on 01228 817415.