More than 1,000 people visited the second Argus Careers and Training Fair of the year.

Some of Brighton's biggest companies were at the show, designed to give jobseekers and employers the chance to meet.

Among the exhibitors at the Hove Centre were American Express, Panorama Holidays and communications company NTL.

Also represented at yesterday's show were Hove Business College and the Sussex Careers Service, whose experts gave job hunters advice on work and training.

The day was hailed a success by organisers, who were delighted to see so many visitors forego a day at the beach to attend.

The fair proved such a draw there was already a queue outside the centre when the doors opened.

One of the most unusual features of the fair was a guide to psychometric testing, given by the careers service.

The technique is being increasingly used by employers in interviews to assess candidates' strengths and weaknesses and to obtain a personal profile of them.

There were seminars on the tests and even the chance to go through some of the questions used to determine a jobseeker's profile.

Pip Bolton, telephone sales manager for The Argus, was one of the show's organisers.

She said: "It is a wonderful opportunity for both employers and employees. It is almost the only way for people to come face-to-face.

"People do come here and end up arranging a job interview for the following week.

"The lovely thing about it is that this sort of thing can change someone's life - that is the kick we get out of it.

"About a third of the visitors have come with the intention of speaking to people on one particular stand. Others have just come to see what is on offer.

"We are also keeping right up with current trends, as the seminars on psychometric testing show."

She said many of those at the fair were school-leavers looking for their first experience of the workplace, although visitors of all ages had come through the doors.

She said: "We have had a brilliant turnout. We thought people might prefer to be in the sun but there was a queue to get in in the morning."