‘Good turnout’ as 650 people attend Job Fair

“An employer will get to meet them and see for themselves ‘okay, this person is actually quite brilliant, they have so much to bring”.

650 people attended the Ballyfermot Job Fair on Wednesday morning at the Ballyfermot Civic Centre.

24 employers, as well as a variety of training providers and support services, were in attendance to meet with jobseekers face-to-face.

The free event was hosted by Liffey Partnership and Intreo and was open to all jobseekers in Ballyfermot and the surrounding areas.

Liffey Partnership Employer Engagement Officer Mairead Reilly was satisfied with how the fair went.

The Employer Engagement Officer said: “We had a really good turnout. It was a great atmosphere – really good buzz about the place.”

Transport, hospitality, IT and construction were among the sectors represented in the Civic Centre, with the likes of Peter Marks and Dublin Bus present at the fair.

Recruitment support that is free-of-charge is available to companies via Liffey Partnership.

A sensory-friendly hour preceded general admission at 9am, with a more peaceful atmosphere available, before doors were opened to all jobseekers from 10am to 1pm.

Attendees conversed with employers throughout the morning and were given information on the jobs and the recruitment processes connected to them.

CVs were handed over to several employers on the day of the fair and Mairead will check back with employers in the coming weeks.

“We’ll do like a follow-up with employers then in a few weeks time to kind of get a sense of how many people they recruited from the fair.”

Many job applications nowadays are processed online, with prospective employers choosing not to communicate with applicants.

CV algorithms have become a tool online applicants must become attuned to, with gaps or other issues unable to be explained due to the lack of an employer-applicant connection.

“The person could have a child with additional needs, they could be caring for a family member…they could pick up so many skills that would be actually amazing.”

The Employer Engagement Officer added that some applicants could have experienced burnout and that they should not be punished for taking time for themselves and returning to the job market when ready.

On top of this, unemployment in Ballyfermot and its surrounding areas, like Cherry Orchard, is notably higher than the inner-city rate.

The Employment Engagement Officer noted that the fair gives jobseekers in the area the chance they deserve.

She stated: “[It’s] an amazing opportunity to, I suppose, have a more personalized approach to recruitment and employment and still give people an opportunity to meet HR people, you know companies that are actually hiring and almost kind of bypass in some cases, like those online forms and stuff like that.”

Liffey Partnership offer one-on-one support for jobseekers and other supports such as work placements at various companies.

Visit their website to learn more.