ABOUT 80 employers are expected to descend on Maidstone's Chequers Shopping Centre for a huge careers fair this month.

The NHS Trust, the Royal Mail, the British Nursing Association, the Royal Navy, the Royal British Legion, the Territorial Army and Arriva bus company are among those attending the Careers, Training and Jobs Fair.

The three-day event, starting on Thursday, September 26, will be held on all three levels of the shopping centre and is expected to attract everyone from school leavers through to people wanting a change mid-way through their career.

For youngsters, academic and vocational training opportunities will be available thanks to Mid Kent College, Enterprise Training Maidstone and Rochester Independent College.

Also present will be the Learning and Skills Council and Tomorrow's People, a vocational training service based at Maidstone Community Support Centre, Marsham Street.

Recruitment companies will also be represented including Earl Street Employment Agency, Maidstone.

Event organisers the Maidstone Town Centre Management Initiative are delighted with the number of employers interested in attending the fair - far more than normal.

Sheila Sainsbury, who is helping to organise the fair, said: "Market researchers believe Maidstone is affluent and attracting business and new opportunities and that has helped to stimulate the amount of interest we have had."