Get career back on right tracks
Tomorrow the Express & Star's Jobs Careers Training event opens at Dunstall Park racecourse. Daniel Pountney explains what it's all about. School leavers, mothers returning to work, people who took early retirement and those just looking for a change in direction will descend on Wolverhampton's Dunstall Park this week to see what opportunities are on offer.
The Express & Star's Jobs Careers Training event, which has been organised in conjunction with Beacon Radio and the University of Wolverhampton, is being held on Thursday and Friday when around 70 employers and trainers will be meeting jobseekers.
Beacon Radio presenters and the Black Thunder Crew will be at the exhibition to meet listeners and give out advice on how to carve out a career in the media.
There will also be a chance for visitors to the stand to try their hands at DJ-ing and pick up some freebies.
Stability
Jobs Careers Training will also feature representatives from the construction industry, leisure and tourism, finance and computing.
High profile exhibitors include Waitrose, Birmingham Midshires, The Royal Bank of Scotland and Black Country Tourism.
People of all ages and from all walks of life have signed up to attend the two-day event.
A couple from Staffordshire are planning to put businesses to the test on their attitudes towards employing older people when they arrive.
Louis and Kathy Watton, of Hammerwich, are both out of work and have registered to attend.
Mr Watton, aged 57, is looking forward to new legislation introduced next week making it illegal for companies to discriminate against job applicants because of their age.
He says: "I used to work in IT before I was made redundant and that's an industry full of young people, but they come and go from week to week.
"Older people can offer stability. The next job I get I want for the rest of my working years."
He says he feels he has been discriminated against in the past because of his age.
Many of the exhibitors at the Express & Star organised Jobs Careers Training event on Thursday and Friday have advertised that they need people of all ages.
One such business is McDonald's where franchise owner Abdul Sirkhot said there was more to working there than just flipping burgers.
He started at the company when he was at school and now owns seven restaurants.
He says age is no barrier, with company employees ranging from school leavers to 75-year-olds.
Matt Grayson from Birmingham Midshires says Wolverhampton's biggest private employer is looking for people all the time, from those just starting their career to others who could offer the company more flexibility and stability as they were older.
Other exhibitors include include Stourbridge College and the British Army - an organisation known well to former paratrooper and motorcycle display driver Mr Watton.
Travel
He says: "I was in the Army, then I became a firefighter. I went self employed for a while. Then I had a cafe and later got in to computing.
"You could say I know all about retraining. I'm willing to go in a different direction again if the opportunity arises."
The British Army will be at the event to tell visitors about the 140 different jobs that are available in the forces - most of which offer good salaries and opportunities to travel.
Mr and Mrs Watton, 54, went to university in their 40s and would recommend it to anyone.
At the jobs fair the University of Wolverhampton will be on hand to tell visitors about all of its courses alongside Cannock Chase Technical College, the City of Wolverhampton College and Dudley College.
The Teaching Assistant College will also have a stand telling visitors about courses which allow people to study online when it suits them.
People who complete their qualifications can then work in primary, secondary and special school classrooms.
Computeach will also be represented to show visitors it is possible to get a career in IT with the correct training.
Performance Through People will have a stand to advise people on courses to maximise their potential to employers and Central Transport Training will have a stand to guide people interested in careers in the logistics industry.
Mrs Watton, who once worked at the Ministry of Defence, took voluntary redundancy from her job last year.
She says: "I just want to put some feelers out because I'm not sure what I'd like to do now. This seems like an ideal chance to look what's out there."
Jobs Careers Training is open from 9.30am to 8.30pm on Thursday, and 9.30am to 4.30pm on Friday.
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