FREE psychometric tests and career counselling sessions are on offer at this year's career and education fair to help job seekers improve their chances of landing jobs during the economic slowdown.

About 15,000 jobs are up for grabs at the fair, which will be held next month, at the Suntec convention centre.

Many of the job openings being advertised this year are from the public sector, such as teachers, nurses, counsellors and social workers.

However, jobs are still available from the private sector, such as aeronautical engineers, retail staff, and various roles for Resorts World at Sentosa casino crew and supervisors, as well as staff for Universal Studios, which will be located in the integrated resort.

The four-day event will be held from March 5 to 8, and will bring together about 400 organisations from 12 countries.

Representatives from overseas and local education institutions will also be on site to hold seminars for those looking to further their studies.

For the first time, the event will feature a Master of Business Administration corner sponsored by Citibank, where visitors can inquire about programmes offered by nine education institutions, such as the University of Adelaide, Nanyang Business School and Manchester Business School Worldwide.

Organisers expect about 500,000 people to visit the event.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.