More than 40 major employers converged on the Greenwich Jobs and Skills Fair for the second consecutive year but some jobseekers said they wanted more face-to-face time with recruiters.
The November 6 jobs fair at The Valley, home of Charlton Athletic Football Club, aimed to connect jobseekers with employers from disparate sectors. The NHS, Amazon, Berkeley Group and the Royal Navy were at the event. Non-profit organisations and educational institutions such as the King’s Trust, London South East Colleges, Flower Skills and GCDA also attended. Recruitment agencies such as Placing People Direct and Global Recruitment Group were present.
But many jobseekers said they were disappointed their conversations ended with the same line, “scan the QR code and register online.”
Samir Ebadi, 28, who has been looking for work for the past three months, said, “I applied to work for Amazon, and they asked me to do it online.”
Greenwich Council hoped for a good turnout as more than 900 people attended the first jobs fair. Final figures for this year have not been released so far but anecdotally, this year’s attendance may have been lower.
Some recruitment agencies were unsure what positions would be available and when and asked applicants to check the website.
As a result, even after speaking to the representative of a company or institution, jobseekers were often left with limited information about potential roles and no clue when, or even if, they might hear back.
But Lucy Laxton, labour manager of Global Recruitment Group, said conversations at the fair could be useful to jobseekers. “Register with us, when we have something that comes available, we’ll be getting in touch with you because you’ll be added to our database,” she said. Her company recruits for the construction and industrial sector and she said callbacks ultimately depend on client demand.
Alongside news of vacancies, attendees could also access advice on managing the cost of living and practical support to improve employability and personal development.
