DOZENS of recruiters and training firms will be looking to fill hundreds of vacancies at the Derby Telegraph jobs fair later this month.

Derbyshire County Cricket Club will be playing host to the event which is expected to attract around 2,000 job-seekers.

As well as companies looking to recruit, there will be training providers such as Derby College, Care Training East Midlands, Derby Adult Learning Service and TBG Learning.

Representatives from East Midlands Airport will also be attending the show.

They will be on the look-out for candidates for both the airport's own operations and those of the many of the businesses that have bases inside and around the airport.

Last April, East Midlands Airport set itself the challenge of recruiting 1,000 people within 12 months.

It is now just 200 recruits short of that target and hoping that the jobs fair will help it reach the 1,000 total by the end of March.

Dawn Price, East Midlands Airport employment network manager, said: "There are probably about 200 vacancies still to fill and we are confident of being able to find enough people to fill those roles.

"Most of the jobs available are on the passenger side of the airport and we are recruiting people to work in the shops, in security and on the check-in desk for Jet2."

In addition to customer-facing roles, the airport will also be hoping to recruit people for aircraft cleaning vacancies, baggage handlers and warehouse operatives.

"The jobs fair gives me a chance to meet people face-to-face rather than just relying on pieces of paper, which is useful because I can get a better idea of what kind of skills someone has," Ms Price said.

Another company exhibiting is Dellner Woodville, a Somercotes-based rail business that is going through a renaissance.

Its principal business is designing and making gangways that fit between train carriages.

Veronica Dunn, global human resources manager, said: "At the moment we have a number of open positions and potential roles within our business. We are always interested in people who have a background in polymer technologies because those skills are quite rare."

Three years ago, the company employed fewer than 100 people. Since then, it has expanded its global presence and its premises provides work for more than 150 employees.

"A lot of people think that there is no work of this kind available any more but polymer engineering is one of our core competencies and is essential to our business," Ms Dunn said.

The Derby Telegraph jobs fair will take place at the Gateway Centre, Derbyshire County Cricket Club, Nottingham Road, Derby, between 10am and 4pm on Wednesday, February 29.