Hundreds of jobs on offer at Gatwick Job Fair

Crawley College cabin crew students at last year's Job Fair

To support job seekers, a video pod will be available to practice and build confidence at interviews, head chefs will demonstrate food preparation to showcase careers in catering and a fashion show will display affordable recycled clothing to show how dressing to impress can be done on a budget.

Gatwick is the largest employer in the region and currently supports 24,000 on-airport jobs.

The airport says that proposals set out recently in Gatwick’s draft master plan would not only protect existing jobs, but could also potentially generate a further 8,000 on-airport jobs and £2bn of economic benefit.

A wide variety of career opportunities are on offer at the Fair with employers representing retailers, hospitality, food and beverage providers, engineering teams, airlines and their handling agents, operations and support companies.

The Executive Chef from the Arora Hotel, Crawley, and the team from Jamie Oliver’s Gatwick restaurants will be on hand to provide ‘Yes Chef’ food preparation demonstrations to help showcase behind the scenes at a busy restaurant.

The ‘Yes Chef’ team will also highlight the many different roles in the food, beverage and hospitality sector that may go unnoticed, to help inspire those dreaming of starting their own coffee shop or who want to learn how it all comes together.

Volunteers from St Catherine’s Hospice – which operates a chain of local retail outlets – will run a fashion show demonstrating how affordable recycled clothing can help build confidence at interviews, with Gatwick and Arora staff, and visitors to the Fair, also donating suitable adult clothing to support the event.

Work coaches from a range of companies will be on hand to support visitors to the fair – and in particular less confident job seekers - with Crawley College, Jobcentre Plus, Employ Crawley and Croydon Works also attending. Presentations on recruitment-related topics will also be given by a variety of different employers at the Fair.

Employers looking for new recruits at the Fair include British Airways, Norwegian Airlines, DHL, Jamie Oliver Group, Wagamama, Pret A Manger, Nando’s, Dixons Travel, Hugo Boss UK Ltd., Moneycorp, W H Smith, Next, Hamleys, World Duty Free, Govia Thameslink Railway, Border Force, Kier Construction, Sussex Police, North Air, and Wilson James.

Gatwick’s Job Fair will take place on Thursday (November 1) at the Aurora Hotel in Crawley – opening at 8.30am and closing at 6pm and is being wideky promoted across the airport’s social media channels, including Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Andrew Currie, Head of Recruitment, Gatwick Airport, said: “Gatwick is the employment base for over 24,000 people and the next airport Job Fair will once again showcase a wide and diverse range of opportunities available for local people.

“As one of the largest employers in the region, it is important that we do everything possible to protect existing positions while also creating new jobs.

“Our new draft master plan sets out how we might do this and shows how Gatwick could generate a further 8,000 on-airport jobs for future generations and £2 billion of economic benefit.

“As Gatwick grows, we remain committed to investing in our local communities and people, including helping and inspiring people to find jobs at the airport.”

For more information about the Jobs Fair or if you are interested in pursuing a career at Gatwick, visit Facebook or www.gatwickairport.com/airportjobs

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