Pop-up employment event draws 500 job-seekers

More than 500 people eager to find a new job or try a new career surged into a pop-up employment event in Dunedin yesterday.

Options 2020 was a one-stop-shop for anyone seeking work or considering a career change.

The gathering was organised by a consortium including the University of Otago, Otago Polytechnic and job recruitment firms.

A similar three-hour event, also backed by the Ministry of Social Development, had attracted 400 people to the Glenroy Auditorium at the Dunedin Centre last year.

MSD regional labour market manager Emma Hamilton, of Dunedin, said more people had attended this year’s event, at the same venue, partly because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Because of high demand, the event opened 15 minutes early, at 1.45pm, and 100 people were already inside before the official start.

More than 40 organisations also took part, enabling job-seekers to meet employers, recruitment agencies, and career professionals.

The event was a "fantastic" success, and the Covid-19 lockdown, resulting job losses and concerns about job security had added to the intensity of some of the job hunting, she said.

Some students were concerned their usual tourism and hospitality jobs might no longer be there this summer, but many good jobs were still available, both in the city, and in rural work such as fruit picking, she said.