The Third Michael Ellis Northampton Jobs Fair: a huge success!
On Friday, I hosted my annual large-scale ‘Northampton Jobs Fair’ event at the Guildhall. It was a great success, with 40 companies attending with jobs to offer and over 1,750 visitors in less than six hours.
Each year the organisation for this event begins at my office a full six months before it happens and it is always a very big undertaking, but the purpose is important and my aim has always been to help get jobseekers back into work (or for some into work for the first time).
We had some great companies in attendance, both large and small, local and national, all looking to take people on now and over the coming months. Some of the companies attending included:
Greencore, Coca-Cola, Barclaycard, St. Andrew’s Healthcare, Nationwide, Church’s Shoes, Avon Cosmetics, HM Armed Forces, The Royal Mail, Asda, Shoosmiths, McDonald’s & The Prince’s Trust.
Alongside these hiring companies I invited several charities, training companies and organisations as well.
We also had Free Seminars running throughout the day focusing on job hunting and CV tips as well as interview preparation and many other skills which will help people in their search for work and a stable pay packet.
The event is Free for everyone, including the exhibitors, and No public money is allocated to support this Jobs Fair.
I am delighted to say that in previous years we know large numbers of people have got jobs as a result and we look forward to hearing about the results of this year’s event.
I would also like to extend my huge thanks to the following:
· Staff of Northampton Jobcentre Plus who work really hard every year to support and encourage this annual event.
· Northampton Borough Council and the building and support staff at the Guildhall who helped arrange the day- they were magnificent.
· Northamptonshire County Council for their help with the jobs skills seminars.
· All the companies, charities and organisations who attended, and
· Jobseekers who attended on the day.
The event was incredibly popular but unemployment in Northampton is down significantly over the last year and therefore the headcount was lower than 2013, mainly due to the fact that the Jobseekers Allowance register is significantly lower than this time last year- which is excellent news.