JOBSEEKERS could use tomorrow’s (Thursday) Huntingdonshire Business Fair to scout out potential new employers, business leaders believe.

Well over 100 local employers are expected to be exhibiting at the event at Wood Green Animal Shelter in Godmanchester, enabling anyone thing of applying for a job or changing employer in future to get a feel for the sort of company he or she might work for, according to Malcolm Lyons, chairman of one of the organisers, the Federation of Small Businesses.

“It’s not an employment fair, and people are not going to be recruiting there, but that doesn’t mean contacts can’t be made,” Mr Lyons told The Hunts Post, one of the sponsors.

“Although it’s primarily intended as a business-to-business event, it is freely open to members to the public, who can get an idea of the sort of business that goes on in Huntingdonshire and neighbouring districts. That may also including scouting out firms they might want to apply to for jobs if they become available.”

Mr Lyons said there were indications that small companies were once again expanding their employment opportunities as well as their business activities in the area.

“I detect more confidence in recruitment so, if you have skills to offer and are looking for a job or a change of job, the fair would be a good place to be on Thursday. It’s a chance to judge whether you would want to work for these businesses if the opportunity arose.

“When it starts recruiting, the small business sector can make a quite considerable difference to overall employment,” he added.

Companies with fewer than 50 employees account for around nine out of every 10 jobs in Huntingdonshire.

Last year’s event attracted nearly 150 exhibitors from Huntingdonshire and the Cambridge and Peterborough areas, and this year there was evidence that they were booking larger stands, Mr Lyons said.

The event, which is jointly organised by Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce and also sponsored by Urban and Civic, owners of Alconbury Airfield and the company behind the new enterprise zone there, and Purple Haze VA, will be officially opened by Neville Reyner, chairman of the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Local Enterprise Partnership. It will be open between 11am and 4pm.