15,000 job seekers to attend FÁS recruitment fair over weekend

ATTENDEES flooded to FÁS Jobs Ireland Munster yesterday morning, hours before the curtain was formally raised at the Nemo Rangers GAA complex in Douglas, Cork.

Open yesterday andtoday, about 15,000 jobseekers will attend this year’s third annual recruitment fair. Apple, Abbott Ireland, Citco, the Defence Forces, Lidl and McDonald’s are among this year’s near 50 exhibitors, all of whom are actively recruiting.

Employment Minister Micheál Martin said: “It is a tribute to the vibrancy of the region that Munster merits its own jobs and career opportunities expo.

“New job initiatives continue to come on stream such as Vistakon, a division of Johnson & Johnson, which exports contact lenses and is planning to create another 75 jobs at its Limerick plant, and Eli Lilly, a world leader in biopharmaceuticals, which is planning to add 200 employees to its workforce in Dunderrow, Kinsale,” he added.

“Waterford is to benefit from a major investment by Genzyme, creating an additional 170 jobs at its plant in the city, while Dungarvan will benefit from an extra 100 jobs created as the result of the takeover of Microchem by Lancaster Laboratories.”

The minister noted employment in Munster has risen from 450,000 in 2002 to 520,000 in 2006 — an increase of 15%.

The population of the region also rose by 70,000 over the same period to 1,173,000, of whom 41,000 came from outside the province. As the national training and recruitment authority, FÁS has a vital role to play in maintaining that progress.

FÁS director general Rody Molloy said the Cork Training Centre is the largest in the national FÁS network, with more than 800 places and in excess of 3,700 persons completing courses each year. “It provides a broad range of training opportunities from traditional craft apprenticeships to places on information technology, technical and business courses,” he said.