Over 400 local people attend Dover District Skills Fair

Over 400 local people took advantage of the opportunity to gain jobs, apprenticeships, further and higher education, and training opportunities at the first Skills4Dover Fair at Dover Town Hall on Thursday (19 November 2015).

There were opportunities for all at the Fair with over 40 exhibitors, including local businesses, colleges, universities, community groups and training providers.

Opportunities on offer ranged from careers with major employers, including Bakkavor, P&O Ferries, Megger and Saga, and apprenticeships with Dover District Council, to a wide range of college and university courses in key skills, including science and health with East Kent College, Canterbury Christ Church University, and the University of Greenwich.

All three armed services were recruiting, along with Kent Police and the East Kent Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust.

The event was also an opportunity for local people to find out about new jobs being created by some of the key regeneration projects in the district, with exhibition stands for the St James Development, Port of Dover Western Docks Revival, Discovery Park Enterprise Zone, and the Betteshanger Sustainable Parks. Viking Recruitment showcased the £6.5m Maritime Skills Academy currently under construction in Whitfield. Three thousand new jobs are expected to be created across the Dover district in the coming years.

Dover District Council worked with East Kent College to stage the event. Students and staff from the College organised a series of interactive skills zones for engineering, plumbing and electrical, computing and IT, travel and tourism, hair and beauty, and motor vehicle engineering.

Cllr Keith Morris, portfolio holder for skills and training, Dover District Council, said: "There was a real buzz at the event from both exhibitors and visitors. We hope it's the start of something bigger as regeneration starts to deliver new jobs in the district."