MAJOR regeneration projects in Middlesbrough worth £500m are beginning to bear fruit with hundreds of new jobs set to be filled.
Employers advertising positions at last week’s Jobs Fair at Middlesbrough Town Hall have described the event as “fantastic” and one boss said he was in “no doubt” he had found his new workforce.
Meanwhile, one jobseeker told how she was looking for a new career as she did not want to be “sat on my backside all the time”.
Key employers looking to recruit included Axa Insurance, On A Roll Sandwich Manufacturer, SK Chilled Foods, First Source Business Solutions, Marston’s pub group the NHS and Redefine BDL Hotels.
Redefine are the main operators of Holiday Inn who are opening their 138-room Express hotel soon in Middlesbrough’s Centre Square.
General Manager Mark Winter said: “It was absolutely fantastic. We must have had 800 people who have applied for a position and it’s great to see that people want to work and want to work at the Holiday Express.
“We are looking for personality in our employees and we have seen plenty of that here. There’s no doubt in my mind that I have met the team for the Holiday Inn Express Middlesbrough.”
One Middlesbrough resident looking to work in the hotel industry was Mary Watts, 55, from the town’s Newport ward.
She said: “If I get myself a job I would be absolutely ecstatic. I would rather do something than be sat on my backside all the time. If I could work in one of the hotels I would be over the moon, it would be a great new career for me.”
The event reflected the huge transformation which is taking the town to a new level on the back of major investments totalling £500 million, which have been chronicled in the town’s Middlesbrough is Changing campaign.
Available jobs being highlighted during the recruitment event were in the hospitality, customer service, finance, health and social care and manufacturing sectors.
Vehicle hire company Northgate were also represented at the event and have already started two people in their new positions less than a week on.
Cllr Charlie Rooney, Middlesbrough’s Deputy Mayor and Executive Member for Regeneration, said: “When we launched our Middlesbrough is Changing campaign last year it was to highlight the current £500m investment being seen in the town.
“The 300 jobs being recruited for at this event are, in part, the fruits of that investment as well as the confidence being shown by existing employers to take on new staff here in Middlesbrough.
“We are delighted that so many people have taken the opportunity to attend the fair and everyone should be assured that we will continue to do all we can to bring more jobs, investment and prosperity to the town.”