NEXT week sees the first Opportunity Thurrock jobs fair. The brainchild of South Essex College and the heads of our secondary schools, it intends to showcase the many job opportunities in Thurrock.

Running from 9am to 9pm, the day is aimed at young people, the evening at adults. Some 70 businesses have signed up, but there is still room for more.

I have said before there are many opportunities in Thurrock. And while it is deeply disappointing Coryton closed its doors as a refinery last week, it has not become the regional economic disaster that some predicted.

Claims it would devastate the Thurrock economy are wide of the mark. The truth is more jobs are being created in Thurrock than are being lost.

Unemployment has fallen every month since March and if we look at youth unemployment, it is the same story.

An impressive 56 per cent of jobseekers in Thurrock find work within three months. So while it is difficult for those who have lost their jobs at Coryton, it is not all doom and gloom – there are opportunities out there. People should stop talking Thurrock down.

Talking Thurrock down will only undermine confidence and risks becoming self-fulfilling, when the truth is the economy in Thurrock is proving remarkably resilient. Which brings me back to Opportunity Thurrock.

It is great to see the leadership and imagination that the team have shown in putting this event together.

I am pleased to give my support to this initiative and I look forward to it going from strength to strength in the coming years.