THE first Belfast Community Jobs and Training Fair has been hailed as a huge success as hundreds of people flocked to St Comgall's in search of a new career.

The event, organised by the Andersonstown News alongside our event partners Huhtamaki, Belfast International Airport and Belfast City Council, saw people from across the city and beyond descend on the former Divis Street school to find out what career opportunities are available in various sectors across the city.

Opening the jobs fair, West Belfast MLA Pat Sheehan, said: "Whatever the job, there's a dignity about being in employment. It can provide a sense of independence and achievement.

"It doesn't matter whether a job involved physical or mental labour, all jobs can be challenging and fulfilling in their own ways.

"I've always been envious of people who work with their hands. A bricklayer for example, 50 years after building a house can still admire his work and show it off to his children or grandchildren."

Mr Sheehan told the crowds of his many jobs over the years – from a labourer on building sites, a bouncer, a part-time lecturer, door-to-door salesman, an advocacy worker for political ex-prisoners and also setting up his own business as a fruit and vegetable wholesaler, before entering the political arena as an MLA.

"So I've had a wide variety of jobs and I have given equal respect to them all. I've learned something from every job and gained a certain amount of satisfaction from them all. 

"Having a job will bring with it a certain amount of responsibility and discipline. On the other hand, it will also give you greater independence, especially from a financial point of view. But importantly also, it can give people the confidence to stand on their own two feet even if their job involves working as part of a team."

Huhtamaki's Sales Director, Paddy Crilly said that they were delighted to be sponsors of the inaugural Belfast Community Jobs and Training Fair.

"This is a fantastic initiative by The Andersonstown News and shows how rooted in the betterment of the community they are. Congratulations to all those involved in making this happen. 

"At Huhtamaki we too are firmly rooted in this community. We employ up to 500 people in our Kennedy Way facility with hundreds more in our sister sites all over the country; from our cup-print site in Ennis County Clare, to our fibre facility in Kurgan and our paper straws site in Antrim."

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Paddy explained that Huhtamaki are a global business with 38 production facilities and divisions, operating in 114 countries including their food-safe, recyclable and compostable packing facility in the heart of West Belfast which produces packaging for some of the worlds biggest names including McDonalds, Diageo, Kelloggs, Nando's and Subway.

"People are at the heart of every community and the same is right for an organisation like Huhtamaki. We invest in our people to help them develop long term professional careers in printing, die-cutting, engineering, logistics, finance, technical, sales, marketing, HR, supply chain, health and safety and procurement.

"The training and development received at Huhtamaki can shape your career path into the future as well as providing opportunities to specialise and achieve recognised technical qualifications.

"Developing our local community and giving back is central to our philosophy and we welcome applications for all roles and will keep names on file for future opportunities as they arise.

"So, thanks again for your initiative in providing such a platform for the local community and for the businesses who operate here."

Event coordinator for the Belfast Media Group, Susan Donnan, added: "It was wonderful to see such a buoyant event in a building which has been restored to its former glory.

"We were particularly pleased to have school pupils from across the city join us while the involvement of the multicultural groups ensured we reached in to every section of the community.

"We learnt a lot from our first jobs fair and are grateful to our partners Huhtamaki, Belfast International Airport and Belfast City Council for making it possible.”