The latest employment and skills figures published by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) show that the combined Olympic Park and Olympic Village ‘big build’ workforce has reached 12,635 as the ‘big build’ nears completion.
Alongside the economic legacy that is being created for people and companies working on the Olympic Park and Village thousands more people across the UK are gaining employment and training helping to deliver the venues and infrastructure for the Games.
Of the current 12,635 strong workforce a quarter (25%) are resident in the five Olympic Park Host Boroughs and more than six out of ten live in London (62%).
Programmes set up to maximise the ‘big build’ employment legacy have helped more than 1,400 previously unemployed local people gain work on the Olympic Park, delivered more than 3,400 places training people for work on the Olympic Park and other construction sites and enabled 426 apprentices to work on the project.
ODA Chief Executive Dennis Hone said: 'The Olympic Park and Village is being delivered on track and within budget by a dedicated and hard working team in London supported by thousands more people working for sub-contractors and suppliers up and down the country.
'The site and supplier workforce have done us proud, completing construction on the Olympic Stadium and Velodrome and being on track to finish all the main venues and infrastructure this summer ready for Test Events ahead of the Games.
'Alongside the immediate economic legacy of providing work, contracts and a showcase for the work of UK plc, the ‘big build’ has supported long-term career development for people living close to the Olympic Park, previously unemployed people and apprentices.'
The ODA’s ‘Jobs, Skills, Futures’ targets include delivering an Olympic Park construction workforce made up of at least 15 per cent of residents of the five host boroughs.
The ‘Jobs, Skills, Futures’ strategy to boost the Olympic Park jobs and skills legacy includes:
- A jobs brokerage service, in partnership with Jobcentre Plus and the five Host Boroughs, that matches candidates living locally and elsewhere in the UK with Olympic Park job opportunities. Since April 2008, 1,473 jobs have been filled through the brokerage, which gives local people 48 hours priority access to jobs before they are advertised more widely.
- A National Skills Academy for Construction, funded by ConstructionSkills, and supported by the Skills Funding Agency and the London Development Agency, which has delivered 3,451 training places. This coordinates training across a range of providers, which includes the Thames House Training Centre, in addition to a Plant Training centre for people to get the skills needed to win work on the Olympic Park and other construction sites and continue their career development once in work.
- A commitment to an additional 250 apprenticeships to be created on the Olympic Park and Olympic Village, bringing the total to 350, including through the introduction of a specific requirement to take on apprentices in future contracts. This clause sets a target of three per cent for apprentices in the future workforce of projects currently being procured. Currently 426 apprentices have worked on the project.
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