A NATIONWIDE hunt for 1,000 skilled workers started in the North-East yesterday, with queues of prospective candidates mounting a claim to a lucrative job.

Recruitment specialists are scouring the country for staff wanting to work on the construction of a multi-billion dollar oil processing plant in Alberta, Canada.

Last night, it was revealed that more than 50 people from the Teesside area have already been offered contracts and are expected to fly out to Canada in only a few days' time.

They will be joined by a further 100 local workers, who are hoping to see the new year in, in a new country.

Roevin Management Services, which has offices in Newcastle and Redcar, east Cleveland, has struck a deal with Canadian engineering firm Flint Energy Services to provide specialist workers for the two-year project.

The company has started the search to fill the £50,000-a-year positions with a three-day long search, at the Wilton Centre, near Redcar, east Cleveland. However, the employment exhibition was shrouded in secrecy, with The Northern Echo barred from watching the presentation or from interviewing prospective workers.

Roevin managing director Alex Wright said: "This is the first of a series of recruitment drives we are conducting around the country. We do not yet know how many people will turn up, but we are only looking for highly experienced workers."

The job package offers pipe-fitters, electricians, shuttering joiners and steel workers the opportunity of a lifetime to work in northern Alberta for up to 12 months.

Roevin has been asked to provide 1,000 workers for the oil sands project at Long Lake, near Fort McMurray.

The booming Canadian oil industry has led to the company being forced to look abroad to fill the posts.

Kerri Johnson, the general manager of workforce recruitment for Flint Energy Services, said: "We are looking for workers who can complement our Canadian workforce. They will have to pass a tough journeyman test to prove they are up to the high standards expected of their work.

"The Canadian government requires us to employ highly experienced, skilled workers."

The successful candidates will be able to work in Canada on a temporary 12-month work visa, which is organised by the company.

So far, 53 people from the Teesside area have been contracted to work on the project and are expected to fly out to Canada on Sunday, Oct-ober 23.

A further 100 are expected to leave on January 4. For more information on jobs available, call 0161-935 2050 or visit www.roevin.co.uk