A large number of job hunters attended a recruitment open day for a new Broughty Ferry restaurant on Thursday.
Forgan’s Restaurant held an open day at the Beer Kitchen in Dundee, with more than 60 job applications received for the 40 positions available.
The new restaurant is due to open in the autumn, in the old Robertson butchers premises on Brook Street.
Employment rates across the UK have risen, but the number of unemployed males in Dundee was over double the national average in 2015.
Of the eligible population, 12.2% of men in Dundee were unemployed last year, in comparison to 6.5% in Scotland and 5.3% across the UK.
Aoiylin Suloo, operations manager for the G1 group, said: “The open day employment fair for Forgan’s has gone much better than we had anticipated.
“We had 15 confirmed attendees prior to Thursday morning, but just after 10 o’clock we had already had more than 20 people down interested in some of the positions. It shows that people are keen.
“We had anticipated perhaps 30-40 applications overall- including online applications- to fill the 40 positions we have available. By the end of the fair though, we had received over 60 applications.
“We had applications for jobs across the board, from management positions to sous chefs and bar staff.
“As well as a restaurant, we will be hosting ceilidhs and acoustic music nights on a regular basis, along with regular children’s arts and craft events.”
Euan Guthrie, 19, has been looking for work for some time. He said that he liked the idea of being able to meet potential employers face-to-face, as the lack of experience on his CV meant it was just being ignored.
He said: “I have been looking for work for about three to four months. It is quite challenging, I think, at the moment to find work.
“I know from when I’ve been applying for work on job search websites, lots of people have been applying for them.
“There was one new store that was looking for eight positions, and I could see on the website that more than 200 people had applied for it.
“As someone with a lack of experience on my CV, this can make it quite difficult. Being able to meet the employers at an open event could work more in my favour.
Alanah Herd, 22, was at the open day looking for a full time job.
She said: “I came down to the open day after seeing it advertised on Facebook.
“I’ve been looking for a number of jobs, but haven’t been looking that long.
Eugenia Scilise, 29, has been living in Dundee for two years, and was looking for full-time work.
She said: “I saw the job advertised on the website. I am looking for full-time employment and I have worked in the catering industry before.”
Sarah Menzies, 23, was looking for a job closer to home, as she currently commutes to St Andrews for work.
She said: “I am pleased that the job application process has taken place in the bar. The informal setting means that everything is more relaxed.”
Forgan’s currently has a restaurant in St Andrews, where US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton dined when she was visiting St Andrew’s University in 2013.
