Cornwall hospitality jobs fair

Since our Cornwall Work Routes service launched in 2016, we have filled almost 2,500 Cornwall vacancies with local, unemployed people signed up to the service. And thanks to funding from the European Social Fund, the service is completely free to jobseekers and employers alike: there is never a recruitment cost.

As Cornwall hospitality businesses tentatively prepare to reopen in the hope that lockdown restrictions will soon ease, Work Routes is offering free recruitment support to Cornwall employers, including sourcing, screening, and placing jobseekers who are ready to start working as soon as the law allows.

Preparing to reopen

In spite of the uncertainty around lockdown ending – and what life will look like afterwards – Cornwall in particular is expecting an influx of tourism; according to a Cornwall Live report today, most Cornish holiday lets have been booked up for summer.

To help Cornwall businesses prepare for a potentially rapid turnaround and flurry of customers, Reed in Partnership is holding an online event to connect hospitality employers with currently unemployed jobseekers – all participants on our Cornwall Work Routes service - who are ready to start working as soon as possible.

Employers can exhibit for free at the virtual event on 24 February. They’ll meet directly with Work Routes participants to speak about their upcoming vacancies, assess attendees’ suitability for roles, and essentially generate a pool of candidates ready to start working as soon as they reopen.

As well as saving on potentially large recruitment costs, by hiring unemployed jobseekers employers will be doing their part to aid Cornwall’s economic recovery from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Minister for Employment Mims Davies MP said:

“It’s great to see local initiatives like Work Routes Cornwall help jobseekers back into employment by highlighting vacancies in the area, and keeping them connected to the jobs market so they’re ready to bounce back into work as we push for recovery.

“Our Plan for Jobs is focused on creating and spreading opportunity as we level up and build back better, offering localised and tailored support which will give jobseekers the best possible chance of finding employment.”

Dan Lutherborrow, Senior Operations Manager for Cornwall Work Routes, said:

“It’s important for businesses to be proactive now in preparation for the relaxing of Covid-19 restrictions at some point this year. After a year of uncertainty, we want to help them to do that quickly, effectively, and incurring as little cost as possible.

“Work Routes has always been free to Cornish jobseekers. But lots of employers might not know that we’re free to them too: even if you recruit a Work Routes participant, there’ll never be a cost to you.

“I hope that lots of hospitality employers will join us on the 24 February and take advantage of an event that would normally be costly. You’ll get full support from our Cornwall-based Work Routes team throughout the day and beyond. Get ahead of the game and start lining up your workforce now!”

If you are a Cornwall based employer in the hospitality sector, find out more about the virtual jobs fair: contact Sarah King today.

If you are a Cornwall resident who would like free support to find local employment, please visit workroutes.co.uk to find out more.