THE pilots, call centre workers, mechanics and journalists of tomorrow descended on Manchester's G-Mex centre yesterday to get advice on what work is really like.

About 8,000 youngsters and parents visited the first day of the SkillCity - the city's biggest-ever interactive exhibition.

They were inundated with information about career opportunities from more than 100 companies and organisations including the RAF, Royal Navy, the NHS and Gorton Monastery.

Some teenagers got to grips with an interactive call centre, where they answered phones and dealt with recorded requests, while others learned how to change a tyre.

Visitors were treated to cookery displays and some even took part in a mini-football tournament.

Organisers are predicting nearly 26,000 people will visit the skills and careers exhibition before it finishes tomorrow and say it has been so successful they are already planning another.

Momentum

Liz Davis, executive director of the Learning and Skills Council, said there will be another SkillCity later this year.

She said: "We are already looking to hold another event, as we would like to sustain the momentum if we can.

"We are looking for a follow-up event so we can build it into the curriculum for education in Manchester."

It was not just youngsters who were interested in career prospects. A 67-year-old man inquired about a job at two B&Q stores which open in Trafford Park and Cheetham Hill later this year.

Steve Fowler, who will be general manager of the Trafford Park store - which will be the biggest outside China - said: "We have actually had a lot of people inquiring who come from an engineering background."

Another exhibitor is the Guardian Media Group, including the Manchester Evening News, ManchesterOnline, Greater Manchester Weekly Newspapers and Channel M.

A-level student Charlotte Thornton, 16, from Salford, who is keen on a career in journalism, felt the exhibition provided her with information she needed.

She said: "It gives a lot of information about their future careers. It is good that it can help you decide if a career is not a good one."

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