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1,000 jobs available at Sunderland talent showcase

More than 1,000 jobs will be available at a top talent showcase in Sunderland this week, where candidates have the chance to show off their skills to 15 employers and hopefully secure a new position on the day.

The Shine concept combines a traditional jobs fair with a talent section, where more than 300 pre-selected candidates will demonstrate their abilities to contact centre employers from sectors ranging from financial services to food.

Many employers will be making job offers on the day thanks to the opportunity to see potential staff and carry out one-to-one interviews in one place.

Shine Sunderland, at the Stadium of Light on Thursday February 12, has been organised in partnership between recruitment and training expert CCP, MAKE it Sunderland and Job Centre Plus. Sunderland was chosen as a venue for the new recruitment model because of the area’s strong pool of talent with experience in contact centres.

CCP chief executive Shona Harper said: “We had huge interest from people interested in taking part in the talent showcase, as well as fantastic support from Job Centre Plus, in order to screen some 1,300 applicants. We now have 303 very talented candidates going forward on the day.

“We originally thought there would be around 800 jobs available but there are actually now more than 1,000. We’ve had a fantastic response from employers and we’ve noticed there’s a lot of excitement from companies about the Sunderland event.

“When we held the first ever SHINE, employers were sending maybe two people to the talent showcase – one to select the people they were interested in, and one to interview them.

“But this time, they are sending six, seven, eight assessors because the standard of the candidates is so high and they want to recruit the best and brightest from the area.

“Some companies are sending people to Sunderland from Peterborough and Edinburgh. That’s a big commitment from employers.”

The talent showcase is only one part of Shine Sunderland. The jobs fair, where people can drop in on the day, also has employers looking for management staff and provides the opportunity for jobseekers to get one-to-one advice on issues such as writing a winning CV, interview techniques, and career guidance.

Contact centre companies taking part include Barclays, More Than, Fusion, 2Touch/Parseq, BT/Manpower and Tesco Bank among others.

Sunderland is an ideal venue for Shine because it is a major player in the UK’s contact centre industry. The sector employs around 14,000 people in the city and generates more than £200 million annually for the local economy.

Deputy leader of Sunderland City Council, Councillor Harry Trueman, said: “We are proud to be supporting Shine Sunderland and are looking forward to the additional employment it will help to create for the city.

“Sunderland has an exceptionally talented workforce and the Shine approach gives jobseekers a unique opportunity to show off their skills and secure a new position in a really efficient manner. We’re expecting the Stadium of Light to be really buzzing on Thursday.”

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