THE ANNUAL Fás Opportunities career exhibition begins today at Dublin's Croke Park conference centre.

The event, the largest of its kind in the State, this year includes a number of new features in addition to the more traditional careers pitches from the public and private sector. One such innovation comes in the Euro Opportunities Village, where exhibition visitors will be able to seek advice on careers in 18 other European countries.

Fás director of corporate affairs Gregory Craig said the widening of the event underlined the breadth of the agency's role. "Fás is a lot more than filling vacancies - it is also about helping people reach their full potential through training and career advice," Mr Craig said.

"I know that many people want to take the opportunity to travel to broaden their skills and experience, so the current European mobility trend is something we should encourage," he added.

Among the individual recruiters exhibiting at the opportunities event are Bank of New York Mellon and MBNA, both of which are seeking financial staff. Allianz and Quinn Direct are also seeking employees in insurance, while technology firm SAP is hoping to attract people with business, language and IT skills as part of a 2008 recruitment drive.

Dublin Bus, Tesco, DPS Engineering and Canon will also be in attendance, while more adventurous jobseekers may consider the Ryanair cabin crew positions being promoted by Workforce International and Dalmac.

A special section within the overall event will offer information on the range of apprenticeships and training provided by Fás.

Demonstrations on careers such as hairdressing, media training and equestrian pursuits have been scheduled over the course of the exhibition, which ends on Sunday evening. Admission is free of charge.

www.fasopportunities.ie