Dunedin City Council economic development manager Peter Harris said local employers needed to be aware that others from outside the region were interested in employing the workers.
A job seminar planned for November for the workers had attracted registrations from 60 employers, but only 15 were from Dunedin.
A Work and Income survey of the 430 workers set to lose their jobs when F&P closes its Mosgiel plant and moves production to Mexico showed that more than 90% wanted to stay in the area, if they could find jobs, he said.
The first redundancies were expected in December, with the last in May next year.
"In the end the F&P staff will make their own decisions, but the vast majority want to stay here.
"Employers have to realise that this can't be like an arts festival when they book the day before.
"These staff will be made all sorts of offers."
The challenge for Dunedin employers seeking staff was to make sure they did not miss out. The F&P staff were skilled and had worked in a world-class situation.
It would be terrible for those skills to be lost to the city, Mr Harris said.
Otago Chamber of Commerce chief executive John Christie said there were businesses prepared to take on skilled and semi-skilled workers, and he hoped they would take on the F&P workers.
He was not surprised the workers wanted to stay in Dunedin but that depended on job availability.
"Some employers say they have the jobs if they can find the people, but others are only considering it, as they feel we are going into an economic decline."
A lot of the F&P workers could get a job immediately but they had to wait to be released from their current work, he said.
Maintaining a skilled workforce in Dunedin should be a priority.
It was easier to retain the people with skills than try to attract them back later, Mr Christie said.
Otago-Southland Employers Association chief executive Duncan Simpson was happy to spread the message throughout the association's network.
"The indications are that people are running a tight ship, although one or two say they are struggling with skill shortages."
There was higher demand in Invercargill and Southland than Dunedin and Otago, he said.
An Invercargill-based employer phoned Mr Simpson last week, urgently seeking five staff, but they were more at an entry level than the type of worker being made redundant from F&P, who were regarded as top-of-the-range.
Redundancies were still happening in Otago but there was some optimism for the future among exporters.
"The planets are not quite lining up but that can change rapidly as the exchange rate falls.
"Things could be good again by November," he said.
Dunedin deputy mayor Syd Brown said last month two manufacturing companies were heading to the city, attracted by the skills of F&P workers.
Cr Brown told a Dunedin City Council economic development committee he knew of at least two firms which were going to establish businesses in Dunedin solely because of the workforce coming on stream from F&P.
Companies told him they could go to Auckland and pick up employees, but they would not get workers as reliable as those at the Mosgiel plant.
One company had already bought land in the Dunedin area.
