When you're looking for an associate it's often hard to find the right combination of skills and industry experience and that's where our approach to resourcing wins over other methods.

If you browse our directory you'll see the wide range of business and technical skills available as well as the extensive industry experience that many of our consultants have. But most of our clients find that it's much easier to post an advert because then they only get responses from people who are available to help out straight away.

In your advert you can explain whether you have an immediate need or are just looking to expand your associate base (either is fine with us) and give an indication of location and rates - both of which help consultants to work out whether to respond.

If you're not looking for anyone right now why not register for our free trial - you can identify the skills you normally need and we'll show you the consultants who match.

Our members include many individual consultants and most are familiar with the idea of working as an associate for a larger organization or partnering to take on a bigger project.

So if you're an established consultancy you'll find Skillfair a good place to find professional and highly skilled associates - plus there's no commission involved which helps you keep costs down.

If you're just starting to think about linking up with other consultants to deliver larger projects you'll find plenty of like-minded consultants here. We recommend that you start building a network of potential associates before bidding for any specific projects as that  gives you time to establish relationships before you meet with the client.

So if you're looking for associates why not post your request now?

Advertising your first project on Skillfair is free - and there's no commission to pay once you've chosen someone to work with. After that, project adverts are £30 a time.

So why wait? Just tell us what you're looking for and we'll get you the help you need.

If you regularly use associates you'll find our consultant membership very good value as it also offers daily client project and tender alerts and the chance to respond to other companies' requests for associates.

At £144 per year excluding VAT it includes 5 project adverts and members can buy further adverts for just £20 each.

Skillfair consultants are generally highly qualified and experienced, but as the client you decide exactly what you're looking for. To help you select the right person for your needs we encourage consultants to load a full CV and details of their qualifications and experience.

We also run a quality-checking system to give you confidence that consultants take a professional approach - this includes taking up references. Each member's quality status is displayed on their profile - if you see against a consultant's name it means they've provided 2 referees as well as evidence of their professional standing.

We also provide a response management system to help you work through scoring the responses and arrive at a short-list with the minimum effort.