Thousands turn out for Blackpool Jobs Fair 2026
Last week a massive 5,000 people walked through the doors of the Winter Gardens Conference Centre for Blackpool Jobs Fair 2026.
Around 120 exhibitors had set up first thing to offer around 2,000 jobs between them. By the end of the day, more than 1,000 roles had been secured there and then. Thousands more CVs were handed over and interviews lined up. Conversations started that will turn into jobs over the coming weeks.
Jobs Centre staff, who worked so hard alongside my staff in the lead up to the jobs fair and on the day, will now gather the full figures and track how many positions are taken up in total. We’ll also keep in touch with jobseekers so we can follow their journey into work, training and new careers. Because this isn’t about one day, it’s about what happens next.
On the morning of the Jobs Fair, new figures from the Office for National Statistics showed nearly a million young people are not in education, employment or training – a national crisis of opportunity.
With some of the brilliant service providers on the ground floor of Blackpool Jobs Fair. Photo (and main): Elizabeth Gomm
The barriers people face are not just about job availability but the multiple challenges people face in communities like ours that have been abandoned by previous governments. To give people the best possible chance of securing work, we hosted several support services on the ground floor – offering careers advice, CV help, training, mental health and wellbeing support and other practical help.
One organisation there, which does amazing work in Blackpool, was The Platform, Blackpool Council's service for 16-to-24-year-olds that helps them find a job, access training or education. In January alone, 26 young people registered with them. In that same period, 21 moved into education or training and 12 progressed into employment. That is what focused, local support can achieve.
I was really proud that the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Pat McFadden, accepted my invite to come and open the fair. He spent time with employers, service providers and attendees and saw the scale of demand for himself. He told me that Blackpool Jobs Fair was a fantastic example of what he wants to see right across the country:
Opening the fair alongside Secretary of State Pat McFadden. Photo: Daniel Martino, Blackpool Gazette
“Tackling the crisis of opportunity facing young people, which we inherited, is a top priority of this government which is why we’re investing £1.5 billion to tackle youth unemployment and backing businesses to hire young people. We’re fully funding apprenticeships for SMEs, rolling out 50,000 more apprenticeships in priority growth sectors and offering relief on National Insurance contributions for businesses to employ young people.”
He added that he’s “determined that every young person has a clear route into a good job and a rewarding career and it was brilliant to see so many local employers ready to give young people in Blackpool that opportunity”.
Employers gave strong feedback about the quality and volume of candidates. They met people who were prepared, motivated and ready to work. They saw ambition, determination and a real willingness to get on.
Photo by Elizabeth Gomm
Welcoming around 2,000 more people attend than last year was a great achievement, as word of the quality of the jobs fair has spread, but it also brought pressure and means that the 2,000 jobs available could not meet the demand. It also tells a bigger story about the huge need in our town.
We are tackling the problem step by step and this jobs fair is a step in the right direction. Bringing employers into one room, backing apprenticeships, connecting people to real pathways in engineering, healthcare, digital, public service and skilled trades and making sure support sits alongside vacancies – the jobs fair is the physical embodiment of my ambitions for our town, and this government’s ambition for our country.
I want this fair to grow again next year – in quality, scope and the range of careers on offer. But I also want fewer people to need it. Success for me is not a bigger queue. It is more people in stable work, more young people in training and more families with stable incomes.
Blackpool works when opportunity meets ambition. Last week proved our residents have the ambition – let’s keep bringing them the opportunities they need.
Photo by Daniel Martino
