Local Jobs & Skills Fair a huge success as over 140 people attend in search of new opportunities

The Jobs & Skills Fair took place at Roehampton Sport and Fitness Centre last week on Friday 19th November. It was a huge success with over 140 local people turning up in search of new skills and good job opportunities.

The event was organised by Fleur Anderson, MP for Putney, and lots of local organisations including Spear, South Thames College, Regenerate, The Feel Good Bakery, Well Kneaded, Work Match, Roehampton BASE, and Wandsworth & Putney Exchange Job Centre Plus. There were over 20 exhibitors there on the day and many of them offered out positions then and there.

Fleur Anderson, MP for Putney, said:

“It was fantastic to see so many young people coming along in search of new opportunities. It’s always a bit nerve-racking putting on events like this because you never know if you’re going to get ten people or 100!

“But as we were starting, I spoke to an employer who had already offered someone an apprenticeship and I was just so pleased! It’s exactly what I was set out to achieve with the fair.”

Max, a local young person attending the event, said:

“I’ve just been walking around and talking to everyone, it’s really lovely. I’ve been here for about ten minutes now and I had a really good conversation with one of the people over there, and they actually offered me a job which is really nice!”

There were lots of apprenticeships and jobs offered on the day, but there were also ‘Job Ready’ workshops delivered by Spear to help people to build their skills and confidence for future applications and interviews.

Fleur Anderson, MP for Putney, continued:

“It was great to have Spear with us too. Their workshops were excellent and I spoke to lots of people who said they had found their confidence after attending.”

As well as Apprenticeships and Kickstart positions, there were also lots of local employers advertising jobs at the event.

Fleur Anderson, MP for Putney, continued:

“We wanted to involve as many local businesses as possible, so we set about dropping into shops, cafes, restaurants, and estate agents in the area just to see if they had vacancies. Through that we found more than 70 jobs and we were able to advertise those to everyone who came in.

“There are lots of good opportunities out there and lots of eager and talented people in Putney, Roehampton and Southfields ready to take those opportunities

with both hands. I’m just glad I was able to use this event to make those vital introductions.

”I would like to say a huge thank you everyone involved in the organising the fair, especially the fantastic team from the local Job Centre. I look forward to working with all the partners and local employers to keep helping people into work.”

The vacancies for local businesses can be found here. Please note that these vacancies were shared with us around 19th November 2021 and may not still be available.