IT is set to create 500 jobs - and you could have one of them.

WestQuay Watermark is on the road in Southampton this week to help local people find work in the £85m retail development.

Free training and advice will be available for anyone looking to work in the scheme's shops, bars, restaurants, cinema and management offices.

The events take place in Northam Community Centre today and Townhill Park's centre tomorrow. 

Training in food hygiene and customer service will be available, with officials attending from Southampton City Council, the Department of Work and Pensions, Surestart employment support services and the People First plan.

Job hunters can also work on their CVs and interview technique with specialist advisers.

Formal recruitment is expected to start in September ahead of the centre's opening in late December.

WestQuay declined to comment on whether it would be open in time for the Christmas rush.

When complete, phase one of Watermark will include up to 20 restaurants, a new retail unit and a public square.

Phase two, which has yet to win detailed planning permission, could include a tower block as high as 27 storeys, plus restaurants, shops, office space, a hotel and an underground car park.