How the Leeds Digital Job fair is boosting the region's economy

Herd founder Amy De-Balsi (left) who organised the event. She is pictured with Helen Wright, who also took part in the fair.

>Sky to open new creative studio >Advisers support global firm Exhibitors said they were delighted with the quality of potential recruits at Leeds Digital Job Fair 5.0. Around 50 employers were joined by more than 1,500 job seekers at the event, which was staged at the First Direct Arena.

Organised by Herd founder Amy De-Balsi, with support from sponsors Leeds City Council, Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP), Bruntwood SciTech and Fruition IT, the high profile gathering included a career health check service – also provided by Fruition IT - and tech talks on the Hey! conference stage.

David Collings, Head of Marketing at automotive industry experts cap hpi, said: “The Leeds Digital Job Fair gave cap hpi the opportunity to speak with lots of digitally-focused people looking for employment in the Leeds area. We had some great conversations with a variety of people, from those taking their first steps in the employment arena, all the way through to those who were looking for their next challenge.”

Samantha Mitchell, HR Coordinator at AHC, said: “The Digital Fair gave us a fantastic platform to showcase some of the exciting projects that we have worked on as well as an opportunity to meet enthusiastic new talent.

“There are several candidates that we have decided to progress through our recruitment process and we are excited to see where this takes us.”

Amy De-Balsi, who established the Leeds Digital Job Fair in 2016, said she was thrilled by the feedback.

She continued: “It was the most relaxed Job Fair we’ve staged so far and the informality – which is a characteristic of the Leeds digital sector – really helped employers and potential recruits to properly chat on the day.

“There was also an increased number of experienced tech professionals present, which offered employers the chance to showcase the wide range of vacancies and career progression opportunities available for candidates at all levels.”