An employment and skills event held at the Villa Marina saw more than 1,000 young people turn up to explore their future career options.

The event is the island’s largest career exploration event, and aims to help ensure the Isle of Man workforce has the skills required to meet the needs of a growing and diversified economy.

It is usually held annually but because of the pandemic it has not been held since 2019.

Secondary school and University College Isle of Man (UCM) students were able to chat to professionals from sectors ranging from engineering and beauty to finance and farming.

In preparation for the event, schools asked those attending to research at least two roles of interest and explore a third ’wildcard’ option.

Meanwhile, employers were encouraged to speak openly about their own career journey, including previous roles and to highlight the transferable skills they value most.

Julie Edge MHK, Minister for Education, Sport and Culture, said: ’It has been a challenging few years for our young people and this event is a fantastic opportunity for them to speak to professionals across a range of employment sectors.

’We hope these interactions have inspired the young people who attended and will support their decision making around career choices in the future.’