A jobs fair in Cumbria next month is particularly important in the wake of redundancies and economic uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
That’s the message from Leigh Williams, who is organising the online event on behalf of The Building Better Opportunities Getting Cumbria to Work (BBO GCtW) project.
“The fair, on Wednesday, October 21, is free for anyone to take part in,” said Ms Williams.
The BBO GCtW project supports people in the Barrow and South Lakes area aged 18 and above, who are either unemployed or economically inactive and are furthest removed from the labour market.
“The jobs fairs are something we do for participants and potential participants on the BBO GCtW project, but we are also opening the doors wide to the whole community in recognition of the significant state of redundancies and potential redundancies locally following the pandemic,” said Ms Williams.
“Usually the fairs are held in a physical location but this year’s event will be held online.”
Companies attending the jobs fair will include representatives from the retail, marketing, health and social care and building trade sectors.
There will also be organisations which help put employers with vacancies in touch with potential recruits, including All Together Cumbria, which supports clients with resourcing challenges by identifying, attracting, recruiting, redeploying and retraining local people and St John’s Staff Hire, which operates within a 10-mile radius around Windermere and supplies staff of all natures to businesses in the hospitality, retail and care sectors.
“The online jobs fair is a way to find out about a variety of employment and training opportunities for anyone who is interested in changing careers or anyone who is unemployed or training and wanting additional support, advice or information,” said Ms Williams, who is chief executive of Cumbria Alcohol and Drug Advisory Service (CADAS), one of the BBO GCtW project partners.
“It will be useful for anyone who is furloughed and anyone who is at risk of redundancy or who has been made redundant. It will be an ideal opportunity for them to come along and find out about different sectors.”
The jobs fair is on Wednesday, October 21. There will be two separate sessions – from 10.15am-11.15am and from 11.30am to 12.30pm. People can book their place on one of the sessions by visiting www.trybooking.co.uk/ttd or calling 0300 111 4002. Once booked in, people will receive a link to join in an online session.
BBO GCtW is funded by the European Social Fund and the National Lottery Community Fund and is run by Cumbria Council for Voluntary Service (CCVS) in partnership with five charitable organisations – The Well Communities at Barrow, Imagine Independence, Right2Work, Barrow Women’s Community Matters and Cumbria Alcohol and Drug Advisory Service (CADAS).
