St David's Jobs Fair is Huge Success

Extract:

More than 2,500 potential new recruits queued for over two hours to learn how they can bag themselves a career in retail and be a part of the largest shopping centre opening this year.

Article:

More than 2,500 potential new recruits queued for over two hours to learn how they can bag themselves a career in retail and be a part of the largest shopping centre opening this year.

Today [03 July] the Millennium Stadium hosted a St David's and Job Centre Plus jobs fair, at which there were 30 stands offering recruits information and advice on how to get a job at the £675 million retail development.

There were people of all ages, backgrounds and experience at the jobs fair all keen to learn about a career at the shopping centre. Sarah Curtis, 26 from Newport believes that the two hour long queue was worth the wait, she said: 'This has been the most productive jobs fair I've been to, I am unemployed at the moment but am really keen to work in retail and with St David's on the door step it is the perfect opportunity for me.'

During construction St David's has created over 1000 jobs for local workers and ultimately 4000 jobs will be available throughout the centre, from retail and catering roles to management and security when it opens. Catrin Wood, 20 and her sister, Bethan, 18, travelled down from Pontypridd to attend the jobs fair. Catrin said: 'We've both worked in retail before and are really excited about the possibility of working at St David's. It's a massive shopping centre and some the brands that are coming are amazing. We've been talking to everyone from Hugo Boss and John Lewis to Clarks and H&M, all we know is that we both want to work in the shopping centre!'

The Jobshop, a partnership between St David's, Cardiff Council and Job Centre Plus, were on hand assisting job seekers with the application forms and advising them on training options available.

Steven Madeley, Centre Director at St David's said: 'With 4000 jobs on offer, St David's is by far providing the largest number of jobs in South Wales this year. I was amazed at the dedication and calibre of the potential recruits that came to the jobs fair, retailers are going to have a very highly skilled pool of people to choose from.

'As well as working hard with the public we are also working behind the scenes with all retailers that have signed up to the scheme and potential retailers to find out exactly what skills set they are after and what roles they are looking to fill. This information is then passed on to our Jobshop team and uploaded onto www.stdavidsjobs.com.'

Ian Williams, Jobcentre Plus district manager, said: 'It's important for people to know that there are jobs available at the moment, and this jobs fair has allowed us to bring people face-to-face with employers and discuss what jobs they have on offer.

'There's a variety of roles on offer at the jobs fair, and I think it says a great deal about the local jobs market that we are still able to hold an event like this, with so many opportunities available.'

Council Leader Rodney Berman said: "St David's is bringing thousands of much welcome jobs to the city. There will be a wide range of job opportunities as a result of this development and people in Cardiff should take full advantage of what will be on offer. It is also well worth visiting The Jobshop staff in the new central library, who are in a position to offer the best advice to job seekers and help them onto an exciting career path."