Over 1100 people have visited the Selby District Jobs Fair organised by local MP, Nigel Adams.

The Jobs Fair, held in the Abbey Leisure Centre on Wednesday, had stalls from over 50 companies, employment, training and advice organisations.

Nigel organised the fair after pledging to help the region’s unemployed during his election campaign. He said he hoped the event would prove successful enough to become a regular fixture.

He said: “It has been a huge success, with more than 800 people through the door in the first three hours, and over 1100 in total. It’s also good to see some employers have already recruited at the fair and dozens of interviews have been set up. Those looking for work who attended have seemed really positive and I have been very encouraged by what they said, and hope I shall be doing it at least twice a year.”

Simon Chappell, CEO of Backup Technology, which is based at Thorpe Park, near Leeds, said the standard of people who had visited his company’s stall had been very high, and he was confident that a number of the CVs which had been handed in would lead to permanent job offers.

He said: “We have been really impressed with the quality of candidates we have seen.

“I think it’s great that Nigel has done this. We constantly try to recruit, but today we get to see 1,000 people rather than using agencies or word of mouth...Hats off to the MP"”

Peter Harrington, of Selby-based SimVenture, said: “This is a really good example of what needs to be done to get people back into work. I think everyone who came here today will get something out of it.”

Representatives from stands around the hall, including online retailer Amazon, Sainsbury’s, NHS North Yorkshire and York, Clipper Logistics and others, said they were confident that a number of recruitments would be made.

Mr Adams said: “This is exactly what I wanted to happen, matching employers with jobseekers and opportunities. I shall be following up with the employers to see how many people found work or training but from initial soundings, it's been a huge success and already we have 16 interviews completed and 6 offers of employment made.”