[Dawn]

Hi Kirsty
we went to one of the expo's in London this time last year and I have to say we didn't find it very helpful at all and we were disappointed. We went imagining it would be a big buzzy (and I do mean with a bit of a buzz) event with loads of people to talk to and lots of free information on offer. Neither my partner nor I have prescribed occupations i.e. we're not doctors, nurses, midwives, teachers, IT consultants, plumbers,.....you know what I mean and we felt that the shows were set up primarily for these types of people. There were lots of health boards represented, one stand for teaching, there was one other recruitment agency that I can't remember the name of. The rest of the stands were removal companies, banks, real estate agents, a stand about university education for overseas students, very few others, oh NZIS of course, but the queue was the full length of the hall and didn't alter all day. I think they were mainly there to answer any questions you may have about filling in your forms and you could pick up the forms there as well. The seminars were quite informative but were at an extra cost and only really told us what we already knew about the points system and the different options for entering the country available. To be honest, we've probably learned more from the people on this forum.

We travelled from Nottingham, not as far as some other people we know, and with hindsight, wouldn't have bothered. However, if you are looking for work in any of the afore mentioned areas it could be well worth your while, there have been people from this forum that actually secured their jobs at these events (telephone interviews pending).

So that's what we think, hope this helps :)