Doors are opening to one of Eastbourne's biggest jobs fair

East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, Balfour Beatty and East Sussex County Council will all play a key part in The Opening Doors jobs fair on Thursday, November 2.

The fair will welcome jobseekers of all ages and abilities to the Town Hall in Grove Road between 10am and 12.30pm.

An initiative led by long-established employment charity People Matter has seen the charity working with local businesses to bring a new dimension to the town’s recruitment market.

The ambition has been to engage with refugees, veterans, those in temporary accommodation and ex-offenders, to help employers fill their vacancies. The late-autumn event is a follow-up to a very successful recruitment fair held some 18 months ago.

People Matter CEO Ann Gillard said: “Like other towns, Eastbourne has had to think differently about who will take those jobs that are proving difficult to fill, particularly since Brexit and the pandemic.

“We’re finding many capable people who are willing to work. Among them are refugees with a right to be employed in the UK, who are here with their families and want to give something back the community.

“And in the past year, we have successfully helped into work a good number of Ukrainian guests, whose talents have been welcomed by local employers. They include pharmacists, accountants, administrators and care workers.”

Mrs Gillard added: “There are also still people out there who lost their homes and livelihoods during the pandemic and who just need someone to give them a chance. We’ve made that our mission.”

In staging the jobs fair, People Matter has been partnered by East Sussex County Council’s ESTAR (Employability for Supported and Temporary Accommodation and Refuges) team and supported by Eastbourne Borough Council and the DWP (job centre).

With the help of an initiative known as Moving On Up, the ESTAR team is able to offer financial incentives to both job-seekers and employers, in bringing them together.

Businesses ranging from hotels and hospitality to retail, warehousing and construction firms, will be among 30 exhibitors at the fair and the ESTAR team will be on hand to talk to employers. The event is also supported by Eastbourne Chamber of Commerce.

Said Mrs Gillard: “Some employers already have an enlightened approach. If we can change the mindset of others, we can make a big difference within the jobs scene locally.

“It’s a case of thinking differently. Come and meet some of these job-seekers at this event and hear how your business can benefit financially at the same time.”