Clutha Developments, Heartland Services and the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) co-operated to organise the event, which was attended by more than 200 students, school leavers, jobseekers and older residents interested in an employment income stream.
"Right now the employment market isn’t ideal. There are more people looking for work than there are jobs at the moment," Heartland Services co-ordinator Laura Baldwin said.
"There are quite a few professional positions which require qualifications and experience available, but we need more entry-level and on-the-job training positions suitable for school leavers and people with more general skills," she said.
Changes in primary industries resulted in changes in local job markets.
"About 94,000ha of farmland has [been] converted to forestry in recent years," MSD work Broker James Creighton said.
"That’s showing up with the seasonal workforce requirements for animal processing with local employers like Silver Fern Farms.
"I have about 10 vacancies I can follow up on after today’s event."
Otago Polytechnic’s stall was promoting its 2025 arboriculture and horticulture programmes in particular.
"Arborists look after trees and forests and they are in global demand," arboriculture lecturer Ben Fentiman said.
"These sectors are after skilled, qualified people for immediate start [and] only Otago Polytechnic and Hamilton are running specific courses at the moment."
The organisers said they were very pleased with the response from employers and hoped to make the careers expo an annual event.
