Central to the whole London 2012 project has been ensuring the Games are inclusive and open to everyone – irrespective of their age, race, disability, sexuality, gender or belief. This applies to our workforce as well.
A new construction workforce
The Games have provided thousands of people with jobs and training during a difficult time for the economy, leaving long-term social and economic benefits for London and the UK.
London 2012 developed employment and training programmes with partner organisations and contractors to encourage women, black, Asian and minority ethnic people (BAME), disabled people, and those who were previously unemployed to improve their skills and apply for jobs in construction and other areas where they have traditionally been under-represented.
These innovative schemes included the Women into Construction project, which recruited and placed women directly into jobs on the Olympic Park.
Others included an apprenticeship scheme and a ‘digger school’ on the Olympic Park, which gave people – including women and disabled people – the chance to train in operating construction machinery.
In addition to these programmes, three groundbreaking outreach recruitment initiatives were launched at London 2012 HQ: > access now, where disabled people who meet the minimum age criteria for a role are guaranteed an interview; > attitude over age, for younger and older people; and > action on inclusion, an outreach programme for BAME people. Find out more about our workforce programmes.
The London 2012 Games Maker programme, which involved a search for 70,000 volunteers to help make the Olympic and Paralympic Games happen, was the largest peace-time recruitment campaign since World War II. The programme included the development of a phased application process for disabled people to give them more time to consider their application. As a result, we recruited volunteers from a diverse range of backgrounds.
Find out more about London 2012’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.
An accessible Games
The regeneration of east London has left a legacy of a highly skilled workforce that can go on to have sustainable and rewarding careers in construction after 2012. What has been built by these newly qualified professionals is inclusive for people of all cultures, faiths and ages, and fully accessible to disabled people with a wide range of impairments.
London 2012 has set an excellent standard of accessibility, ensuring that the Olympic Park and venues are accessible to all types of visitors, including wheelchair users, families and people of all ages.
What we have built for 2012 and beyond is inclusive for people of all cultures, faiths and ages, and accessible to disabled people with a wide range of impairments.
For example, the parklands have been designed with shallow gradients and seating at regular intervals so that they are accessible to everyone, including older people, disabled people and those with pushchairs.
Joining in
As well as initiatives to recruit a diverse and inclusive workforce, London 2012 has gone to every effort to make the Games accessible to people across the UK. There has been unprecedented demand for tickets to both the Olympic and Paralympic Games, resulting in sell-out venues that will generate an electric atmosphere.
For the Olympic Games, ticket prices started at just £20 across all sports, with 90 per cent of tickets costing £100 or less, and special ‘pay your age’ tickets for people aged 16 and under were available in more than 220 sessions across every sport. For the Paralympic Games, tickets starting at just £10 and day passes are opening up Paralympic sport to a whole new audience.
Diversity and inclusion have also been at the heart of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Torch Relays. The Olympic Flame will be carried through more than 1,000 cities, towns and villages, coming within 10 miles of 95 per cent of people in the UK. People of all ages – from 12 to 99 – are counted among the Torchbearers.
The Paralympic Torch Relay will see the whole of the UK celebrate the positive impact of human endeavour. Four separate flames will be lit in London, Greater Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff before they are united to create the Paralympic Flame at Stoke Mandeville, the spiritual home of the Paralympic Games. As many people as possible are encouraged to join in – through Flame Festivals, lantern processions and as part of the final 24-hour Torch Relay to London.
