HUNDREDS of people yesterday attended a jobs fair where about 600 posts in the contact centre industry were up for grabs.

The event included representatives from Barclays, T Mobile, EDF Energy, Junction, Northern Rock and Citifinancial.

Sunderland call centre development officer Gary Barnfather said: "The development of the industry is resulting in significant quality jobs being created and we are committed to ensuring that a skilled workforce is readily available for investors.

"The jobs make a vote of confidence in the city, so anyone considering a change in the future would benefit from seeing what a career in this industry could do for them."

A spokesman for jobs fair sponsor Junction said: "The companies taking part were impressed with the number of applications and quality of applications."

The firms involved in the event, at the Winter Gardens, were last night still totting up the figures.