People speak directly to possible employers

HUNDREDS of people got in line to find work at the Bristol Evening Post jobs exhibition.

Roles in finance, administration, sales and health were among the jobs presented at the Marriott City Centre hotel throughout the fair yesterday. More than 1,000 people attended the event to apply for jobs throughout the day.

Evening Post recruitment manager Gary Edwards, who arranged the exhibition, said: “It is so good to see people actively looking for work; it has been non-stop all day.”

Several employers set up stalls at the event, including Carewatch, Randstad, RBS and the Army.

Dave Pearce, 42, a business unit performance manager for Lafarge said: “We have had big queues at the stall all day.

“The minute the doors opened people flooded in. We brought 400 goody bags with us today, and half were gone in the first hour.”

Claire Pearce the centre manager of Allianz said: “This is the busiest we have seen it. We have been swamped all morning. There is a lot of change going on in Bristol, with many people losing their jobs, so we are glad to be able to offer positions.”

People of all ages attended the free event, which was organised by the

Rafael Dunn, 18, of Bedminster, has just finished college and is looking for work.

He said: “If you read an advert there is only so much they can tell you; the employers here can give you much more information.”

College friend Anthony Chan, 18, of Kingswood, added: “Reading job descriptions gets tedious. Speaking to employers directly is much more useful.”

Phil Clem, 30, of Longwell Green, has been looking for work for five years.

He said: “It is an easy way to find work. There should be more events like this.”

Denise Di Caro, a civil servant said: “It is good to be proactive and seek jobs.

“With the job market being so unstable, events like these are really useful to see what else is out there.”

Other employers on the day included Gogen, UKSH and Constellation Europe.