AN apprenticeship open evening is being held as part of Nestlé’s pledge to create nearly 2,000 jobs.

The York-based confectionery giant announced in November that it would be looking for 1,900 youngsters to fill roles across the UK over the next three years.

Nestlé UK and Ireland revealed more than 600 employment opportunities will be available each year, including 300 paid work experience placements.

At the time of the announcement the figures were not broken down into how many jobs would be created at each site.

However the company is now beginning a recruitment drive in York, marking the start of more than 60 apprenticeship opportunities that will become available at the Haxby Road factory every year over the next three years.

On Thursday, the company will be hosting a food operations apprenticeship open evening as it looks for eight people to join the new scheme.

This will be in addition to three places offered on the engineering scheme.

The evening, from 6pm to 8pm, will offer an informal chat with “real people doing real jobs”.

Although Nestlé announced it was making jobs available to tackle youth unemployment, there are no age restrictions for applicants, other than being 18 or overdue to shift patterns.

In addition to the apprenticeship vacancies, Nestlé will also be offering work-experience opportunities, and graduate and intern placements in York.

People interested in the open evening are asked to register by contacting Steve Colquhoun on 01904 603960 or emailing stephen.colquhoun@uk.nestle.com before Monday.