MORE than 1,300 people have already applied for the wave of new jobs at the SSI steelworks in Redcar.

After a website operation began at 8am on Monday, SSI bosses told the Gazette this morning that 5,515 people have registered their interest and 1,351 have actually filled in the application form. The number is a huge success, given that it is only the first two days that the jobs have been available and only the first tranche of roles have been offered.

An SSI spokesman said: “We are very pleased with the results so far and we expect that number to grow further as the process continues.

“There were a few early technical problems, but they have now been resolved and we look forward to dealing with more applicants.”

With 1,000 on offer, SSI believes as many as ten people may apply for each role on the company’s www.ssi-steel.co.uk website.

For those households without a computer, councils at Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Hartlepool have got PCs available.

The list of opportunities is long and varied, from IT and production operatives to plant managers. The company says it is not necessary to have steel experience, but there are some obvious requirements like work visas.

The company will also be starting a graduates scheme to identify the best young people across Teesside who can be taken on as graduates or apprentices to begin the next generation of employees.