Record applications received at Careers and Jobs live and theGRADfair

Britain’s premier recruitment, jobs and training fair, Careers and Jobs Live and theGRADfair, enjoyed another record year at Olympia. Thousands of job seekers came through the doors on 31 October and 1 November looking for new careers, free CV advice and help with training to get themselves on the right track for that dream job.

Helen Rounce, Resourcing Specialist, BP was overwhelmed by the response: We brought hundreds of application forms with us but it has been staggering -
we have had over 100 application requests per hour. On our first morning
at the show we had to arrange for more application forms to be photocopied. The enthusiasm from attendees has also been great with many applicants sitting by the stand and filling the form in there and then.

Simon Cook, Area Convenience Manager, BP agreed: The show has really exceeded expectations, the team has almost been besieged! We are absolutely thrilled by the calibre and cross section of people we have seen at the show.

The event, hosted by Jarvis Exhibitions, had a variety of blue-chip exhibitors offering thousands of opportunities. Amongst the exhibitors at Careers and Jobs Live were: Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, BP Oil, British Gas, National Air Traffic Services, Department for Education and Skills, NHS, Tesco, First Group Buses, Met Police and The Teacher Training Agency. PJG Recruitment also ran a CV clinic offering advice to jobseekers on how to construct or improve their CV.

At theGRADfair, which was open solely to Graduates and Undergraduates, were Independent Newspapers Ltd, Fremantle Media, Just IT, ACCA, Enterprise Rent A Car, James Thornton Training Academy, The University of Middlesex School of Health, the Department for Trade and Industry and GCHQ among many others. Graduate specialists, the Graduate Recruitment Bureau, offered targeted CV advice.

Bruce Birchall, Exhibition Director said: Following the success of our show at ExCel in March, this was another good quality event for the careers, education and training marketplace. Blue chip exhibitors return year on year, which is testament to the success of Careers and Jobs Live and theGRADfair. Jarvis Exhibitions has built an unrivalled reputation for innovation, attracting a diverse range of quality candidates. Once again, the show was a platform for us to introduce these quality candidates to nearly 100 exhibitors with current job or training opportunities.

Other exciting features at the show included cookery demonstrations from London and Edinburgh Inns and regular features of the show were back by popular demand - the Wall of Opportunity - a jobs board which was posted with over a thousand current opportunities available at various stands and Profile Plus - a form that can be filled out on the day which acts as a mini CV. New this year was a free Crche, which was very well utilised.


Quotes:

Cleo Smith, Britannia IT
For us, theGRADfair is the best Graduate show around, in terms of suitable people. We don’t just have opportunities for graduates however, we have collected a lot of details from all age groups today - about 250 so far.

Phil Gardner, PJG Recruitment
We have been inundated with requests for CV advice. As the official CV Clinic at Careers & Jobs Live, we believe it is important to make jobseekers realise how important a good CV is.

Chantel Phippen, EHWLC
As a college for the 16 plus age group, we are very pleased with the demographic of the visitors to the show. We have had over 500 enquiries and have run out of application forms.

Maarusi Mnyonge, Profile Plus
The Profile Plus form is an excellent initiative unique to Careers & Jobs Live. The form is really for people without CVs, but even those with CVs have been taking the forms as a back up.

Colin Gregg, Farriery Training Service
This is the first time we have attended this type of show and we have had some interesting enquiries. It has also been an invaluable opportunity for us to network. We are traditionally a male dominated trade and are now trying to get more ethnic minorities and females to apply. There are other exhibitors here that specialise in reaching these markets, so they have been able to offer us invaluable advice.