Hundreds of job-seekers took the chance to meet employers at yesterday's Leicester Mercury Jobs and Training Fair.

Cathrine Mashonga, 43, from the Saffron Lane area of Leicester, was among the job-seekers at the fair, at the Leicester Tigers ground, in Welford Road.

She said: "There were a lot of interesting employers there and a lot of people looking for work, too."

Cathrine has been out of work after a temporary job ended in June last year. She said: "I've been looking for quite a while now but I'm very grateful I attended yesterday. It was a good experience and I'm quite hopeful I might find something because of it."

The event included seminars and stalls by employers including Caterpillar and the Army, as well as colleges and training schemes including South Leicestershire College, Brooksby Melton College and the Intraining apprenticeship provider.

Jessica Boonham, 22, from Wigston said: "I've been looking for work since I graduated in July and it's been tough. There was a lot of information about recruitment and apprenticeships and it was interesting."

Jessica was looking at jobs in childcare and mental health and spoke to people including Carol Burland, a manager with Bush Babies, which has seven nurseries in the Leicester area.

Carol said: "It was the first jobs fair we'd been to and we just thought we'd give it a try. It was excellent and well worth it."