An employment fair was hosted in Alloa Town Hall last Friday (23 January), giving job seekers the chance to kick-start a new career.

Arranged by Keith Brown MSP, in association with Skills Development Scotland’s My World of Work initiative, the event gave people the chance to learn information about potential job and career opportunities as well as providing a range of training options.

Mr Brown spoke to the Advertiser about the third jobs event he arranged. He highlighted that in 2015 the event was being held in January as many employers found they have more opportunities for people around this time of the year.

The MSP said: “[The event is about] bringing some fairly big employers right to the doorstep of people in Alloa. Scotland is doing well in terms of employment, it is higher than the rest of the UK. But we still have a number of people in this area who need jobs and training opportunities.

“Some of the people I’ve talked to were very interested to see the range of employers we have here. [For instance] it hadn’t occurred to some of them that Edinburgh Airport has job opportunities, I think some of the people that I’ve talked to and came for a job had a quite pleasant surprise in the range of opportunities here.” According to the employers, who were waiting for job seekers at their stalls from around 10am, there was a good, steady flow of people who were interested in what they have to offer.

There were a wide range of employers present from across the Forth Valley and beyond including the NHS, Police Scotland, Network Rail, the RAF, Scottish Fire & Rescue, Home Start Clackmannanshire, Mears, Ceteris, ASDA and many more.

Iain King, recruitment co-ordinator at Webhelp UK, was at the fair looking for potential employees for the firm’s Larbert-based contact centre facility.

He said: “We are looking for part-time and full-time customer advisers. We offer permanent contracts, a good salary and free Sky – you cannot go wrong with that.

“So far we had a good turnout, a good mix of different age-groups and backgrounds. I think we’ve got a few people who are genuinely interested and we will give them a call on Monday-Tuesday.

Mr King agreed that holding a fair in January has its advantages, certainly for his company.

He added: “We really had a successful start to 2015, we secured a lot of additional contracts, so we have a lot more seats to fill. 2015 is a year of expansion for us.”