Organisers of the biggest employment expo in the region are gearing up to welcome thousands of job seekers to Mandurah on October 18 in an event that aims to hook-up employers to prospective employees.
The Peel Employment Expo, which will be held at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre, will put the spotlight on careers and industry sectors in the Peel region while giving job seekers the opportunity to meet employers and get real world advice on getting the dream job.
The federal government’s special employment facilitator for the Peel region, Maryanne Baker, said the top priority for the expo was finding jobs for job seekers.
“The object is to showcase what we have as a Peel region for employability and then make sure those who are experiencing unemployment within our region can see what’s available and that there are jobs available at the moment,” she said.
Read more: Hundreds flock to Mandurah Forum’s job fair
“We’re going to have a jobs board on the day so job seekers will literally be able to take the job off the board and apply for it there and then.
“We’ll have a support service here, the career bus here, where they can have help with editing their resumes and make sure that they’re interview ready.”
Robert Shaw from SMYL Community Services said more than 2500 people attended the event in 2016.
He said the industries the expo was planning to showcase included retail, agri-business, tourism, the music industry, mining and construction.
“In this area out here, outside, there’ll be the career bus, but we’ll also have have the farriers association because Peel industry is quite big with horses,” he said.
“We’ll also have a building and construction stud wall that the young people will actually build there on the day.”
Mandurah Taxi’s Julie Murray, who will be at the expo looking for staff, said she hoped employers would also benefit from the event.
“We just want to promote that there’s all sorts of different opportunities so it's not just about employing full time staff but training opportunities,” she said.
“Another focus of ours is that we’re looking towards the future so we're developing more of a tourism strategy because tourism to going to be another big growth industry hopefully in the Peel region.”
Peel Development Commission chairwoman Paddi Creevey said the expo was a positive story about employment in the region.
“The expo creates an opportunity for people looking for work to connect directly with employers, see what vacancies there are and take up job opportunities in the Peel region,” she said.
“There will be many exhibitions, industry representatives, informative speakers who will be able to showcase their trade and let people know what is available and this will give hope and encouragement about the future to those looking for work”.
Employers wishing to be involved are encouraged to email peelemploymentexpo@smyl.com.au.
Nathan Hondros
Senior Journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, and Fairfax Media.
Senior Journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, and Fairfax Media.
