Well over 100 Newham job seekers joined contractor John Sisk & Son for an “Employment Opportunities Open Day” at the Rathbone Market regeneration site in Canning Town where they met potential employers from the local area.

John Sisk & Son was joined by subcontractors Reddington, Lindners Facades, Haydon, Electrical Management Services, Errigal and Altech who were available to discuss the next phase of the Rathbone Market construction, with opportunities from carpentry, plumbing and plastering to construction and project management.

Newham Council attended the event with recruitment centre Workplace and representatives from local universities and colleges. Munnelly Support Services were also present and recruited new employees from the Anchor House residential and life skills centre in Canning Town for its new waste management project.

Councillor Paul Schafer, who officially opened the event, said:

“It’s encouraging to see so many people take advantage of this day and especially to see our local businesses getting involved in the community. Newham is looking forward to an important and exciting year in 2012 with the Olympics and it’s great to see our residents embracing the increasing opportunities to contribute to the regeneration of the area.”

As part of its contract on the Rathbone Market project, John Sisk & Son is committed to employing at least 25% of its entire workforce from the Newham area.

Anthony Greene, Senior Site Manager at John Sisk & Son, said, “The day was a great success and we were really pleased with the turnout. We have been doing a lot of local community work while based in Canning Town, primarily with children, so we are pleased to be able to do something for local adults seeking work.”