The event was officially opened at 10.30am by Brigadier Greville Bibby CBE, Commander 15 (North East) Brigade, and the venue was extremely busy even at this point. The Brigadier thanked all organisations for attending and spoke about the large number of jobs available at the event for Service leavers to apply for. The Brigadier also spoke about the value that ex-military personnel can add to companies, particularly offering excellent qualifications, transferable skills and a hardworking and dedicated approach.
There was no let up for the employers throughout the day, and each stand was busy with Service leavers keen to ask questions and speak to representatives. Even during the planned break for lunch the stands were manned to ensure the Service leavers were able to speak to subject matter experts and experience a seamless networking and recruitment occasion.
The event was attended by around 700 Service leavers from all three Services with almost all trade groups represented. 62 companies had booked stands at the event and these included Argos, Boots, Qinetiq, SABIC and many more. Kier Group (Construction/Facilities), Siemens (Renewable Engineering), The Sector Skills Council for Energy and Utilities and International Human Resources all delivered presentations to interested Service leavers about their respective industries and recruitment processes.
Employers and Service leavers alike passed comment about the success of the event. Chris Atkins from the Sector Skills Council said that “the event was brilliant and the number of attendees was something else”; Clive Fletcher from International HR was quoted as saying “Simple statement...Brilliant day” and Kier Group said “What a fantastic day! The team were absolutely blown away by the range of skills and quality of individuals that were on offer”.
Importantly, Service leavers reinforced these thoughts; one Service leaver who secured an interview with Cape PLC said “I was amazed how quickly they offered me an interview and I was also impressed with the employment fair and the opportunities on offer”. Another individual said “the employment fair really opened my eyes to the different types of industry and the networking and employment opportunities on offer”.
From the perspective of CTP staff administering the event, the number of jobs available throughout the fair for Service leavers to apply for illustrates clearly its success, and also shows the value of attending employment fairs as part of the resettlement process.
RRC Catterick would like to extend their thanks to all the employers who attended, and wish good luck to the Service leavers.
Don’t worry if you missed out - dates for our 2012 Employment Fairs can be found in the events calendar. Book your place today!