People hoping to boost their careers -- or start new ones -- had more than 50 options at the 2001 Career Fair yesterday.

And the turnout of several hundred students, business people and parents at the Number One Shed venue was hailed a success by Labour Minister Terry Lister, who promised Government would be pro-active in helping those made jobless by the economic slowdown.

"We want to make a difference," Mr. Lister said. "Government has taken the lead in tackling the challenges of September 11, and it requires a multi-faceted approach.

"We are training at Employment Services and we are working very closely with employers to see how we can get that person who has been laid off, redeployed in another area.

"We want to make sure that every Bermudian is working and that's what we are focusing on at Government Training and Employment Services."

Premier Jennifer Smith, who officially opened the fair, said it was the place to be" if people were looking expand career opportunities".

Government departments, the media, banks, insurance companies, international business, hotels and restaurants were all represented among the 50 booths.

And Mr. Lister said the fair was needed now more than ever.

"We have worked together with the Hamilton Rotary and The Royal Gazette planning this for quite some time. At the time, we had no idea that the events of September 11 would occur. We had no idea that we would find that people were at a point that they would be really be having to rethink their careers and their futures."

Students agreed with organisers that the event allowed them the maximum opportunity to become informed about what direction they hoped to take. Saltus senior student Monisha Bean said: "I found it interesting."I actually had a choice to go home, but I decided to come here. I wanted to get an idea of what was out there. My interests are veterinary medicine. But there really isn't anything up here that talks about that.

"But I think it is excellent, especially for the young ones, I think this is a good way to open their eyes to the careers on offer. It really gave us as students a different perspective about what is involved in certain careers."

The Bermuda Hospitals Board booth caught the eye with its X-ray machine and a heart monitoring machine.

"It is a hi-tech area," said a medical engineer. "We try to explain that medical engineering is about electronics and people need to have a strong grasp of maths if they are interested.

"We have had people here interested in looking at the bells and whistles of the equipment, they like to look at the lights and what have you, but we have had some serious inquiries today."