The annual West Lindsey Jobs and Training Fair brought together businesses, charities, training providers and employment skills coaches from across the district to offer job opportunities, training and employment support to jobseekers and residents in the district.
In total, over 23 local employers and organisations attended, with almost 250 jobseekers visiting throughout the day on Wednesday 8 October.
Hosted by the West Lindsey Employment & Skills Partnership, the free and informative event gave both students and adults the opportunity to speak with employers, course providers and employment experts face-to-face to help them make their next step in their job searches.
West Lindsey Council sponsored the event and helped with encouraging businesses to attend. Amanda Bouttell, who is the employment and skills lead for West Lindsey District Council and helped organise the event, said she was delighted to see a variety of people attend.
She said: “We’ve had some really good feedback from both employers and providers which is great. There was a good selection of employers and covered a wide range of recruitment opportunities across the sectors. We’re delighted to say that multiple jobseekers have secured interviews at the fair.”
One local employer who attended the event was Realise, a training provider who offer free teaching assistant training for people looking to step into teaching support roles by gaining nationally recognised teaching assistant qualifications. Their free courses are funded in partnership with Lincolnshire County Council.
Sarah-Jayne Kidd, Operations Manager at Realise said: “We’ve had quite a few referrals today, which is really good. It’s our third time attending the event and we always get a good number of people to talk to. I would definitely recommend this fair to jobseekers and businesses alike; there is a good variety of careers and employers here.”
Acis Group, who employ around 300 people across a wide of specialisms. Riverside Training, who are part of Acis Group, were there to offer people support to people looking to gain confidence and develop their employability skills.
Jo Marsh, from Acis Group, said: “It’s our second year here and we’ve been able to talk to quite a few people. That also includes those who are not quite at that stage of moving into employment today, but we help with building self-esteem and resilience which then encourages them to make their first step into applying for jobs and attending interviews.”
Andy Ayre, from The Salvation Army Employment Plus, was there to promote their service which offers tailored support to help people become job-ready.
He said: “We’ve had some good conversations with people. A lot of people come across the same issues with getting into employment, so it’s good to help them. This event has been good for picking up self-referrals, but also for making connections with other employers, support networks and referral partners in the area.”
Michael Simms, Recruitment Manager at 2 Sisters Food Group in Scunthorpe, attending the event as part of their recent recruitment drive.
He said: “We’re here today to recruit locally across the Humber and Northern Lincolnshire, so we saw this is a great opportunity to meet people face-to-face and tap into any opportunities for extra staff.
The Jobs and Training fair, held at the Riverside Rooms in Gainsborough, was part of the West Lindsey Employment and Skills Partnership, which is made up of 12 organisations that work together to improve skills and employment outcomes across the district.
Find out more about the West Lindsey Employment and Skills Partnership here: https://www.west-lindsey.gov.uk/jobs-volunteering-employment/employment-skills