At the half way point between London winning the bid for the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Opening Ceremony in 2012 the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) today released new figures showing that a total of up to 30,000 people will help build the London 2012 Olympic Park and Olympic Village over the next few years.

Thousands of job opportunities will be created this year for, among others, bricklayers, wood workers, steel fixers, electricians, security guards, engineers, plumbers, scaffolders, concreters and machine operators as well as administrators and support staff.

As the ‘big build’ accelerates in 2009, the workforce is expected to more than treble from the current level of 3,315 to a peak of 11,000 on the Olympic Park and Olympic Village in 2010 and approximately 30,000 workers in total over the different phases of the project to 2012.

The ODA also made a new commitment to boosting the Olympic Park jobs and skills legacy.

Two hundred and fifty new dedicated Apprenticeship opportunities are to be created on the Olympic Park, including the Olympic Village, on top of an existing commitment to 2,000 training and apprenticeships. To support this pledge the ODA will contractually require companies to provide the average level of apprenticeships for England and Wales (3% of workforce) and exceed the average for London and the South East, for new contracts worth a total of around £500 million.

The ODA also issued new images of progress on the Olympic Park alongside a timeline of London 2012 achievements to date, which include:

- Cleaning and clearing of the majority of the contaminated 2.5 sq km Olympic Park site

- Starting construction early on the Olympic Stadium and Aquatics Centre and work getting underway on the Olympic Village and infrastructure such as energy networks, roads and bridges

- Removing pylons from the skyline with power now running through two new tunnels dug beneath the site

Completing construction on the first London 2012 venue with Weymouth and Portland sailing facilities finished on time and on budget

- LOCOG has raised well over £450 million in domestic sponsorship revenue

ODA Chairman John Armitt said:

'Half way to 2012 we are right on track. The Olympic Stadium is taking shape, the Aquatics Centre and Olympic Village are coming out of the ground and the first venue - the sailing facilities in Weymouth and Portland - are complete. We are making good progress but we are not complacent, there is still a big challenge ahead.

'We are also delivering vital business, jobs and training opportunities in a tough time for companies and workers. Maximising Apprenticeships on the Olympic Park is an important boost to this legacy.'

LOCOG Chairman Sebastian Coe said:

'It is exactly three and a half years to the Opening Ceremony in London in July 2012. At this halfway point, we are exactly where we want to be - and in some cases, ahead of schedule. This is a large and complex project, and we don’t have a day to waste, but I’m delighted with the progress the teams have made to date. In 1,287 days, the eyes of the world will be on London as we light the Olympic flame and deliver a truly memorable games which the whole country can feel part of and be proud of. We have lots of hard work ahead, but we will be ready, and we won’t disappoint.'

Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell said:

'What today's announcement shows is that London 2012 is a key part of the Government’s economic recovery plan, providing jobs, training, and billions of pounds worth of contracts for UK firms.

'The Olympic Park alone will generate work for 30,000 people and hundreds of new apprenticeships, showing how important the Olympics are to the economy. British firms and workers are already winners and with half a billion pounds worth of contracts on the Olympic Park still up for grabs there's more benefits to come.

'As we reach the halfway point we have achieved everything we have wanted so far, but we are not complacent. There are some big challenges ahead and we are ready to meet them.'

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said:

'I have always made it clear that I believe the 2012 Games will be a shot in the arm for London as well as UK plc. The Games bring with them much needed employment, providing work for 30,000 people over the next four years for bricklayers, plumbers and support staff, to name a few. Progress is bang on schedule and I’m glad that everyone’s efforts are paying off for a great Olympic Park and Games in 2012.'

London 2012 - from bid win to halfway

- July 2005 - London Awarded the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games

- July 2005 - First dedicated Olympic Lottery game, 'Go For Gold' launched to raise funds for the Games

- March 2006 - London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Bill receives royal assent

- March 2006 - Then Chancellor Gordon Brown announces record public sector investment of £500 million for elite sport

- April 2006 - Creation of Olympic Delivery Authority, the body with responsibility for the construction of the venues and infrastructure for London 2012

- April 2006 - start of the first construction project, the tunneling needed to put the overhead powerlines underground

- March 2007 - London 2012 budget published

- April 2007 - Lloyds TSB unveiled as first London 2012 domestic sponsor. To date eleven sponsors have been secured – Adidas, BA, BT, EDF Energy, Lloyds TSB, BP, Nortel, Deloitte Cadbury, Adecco and BCG – providing well over £450 million;

- June 2007 - London 2012 Brand launched

- July 2007 - ODA take control of the Olympic Park. To date, the vast majority of the site has been cleaned and cleared with 200 buildings demolished and 500,000 cubic metres of soil cleaned of contamination such as petrol, oil, tar and heavy metals such as arsenic and lead. More than 90 per cent of demolition materials have been recycled or reused.

- October 2007 - Planning permission secured for the Olympic Park - one of the biggest planning applications in European history

- March 2008 - Pre-Games Training Camp Guide launched, with over 700 venues and facilities throughout the UK selected as possible Training Camps for 2012;

- May 2008 - Construction begins on Olympic Stadium ahead of schedule

- June 2008 - Launch of £140 million free swimming initiative to boost sport and fitness; and Legacy Action Plan to ensure a lasting sporting legacy from London 2012

- June 2008 - Construction begins on Olympic Village on schedule

- July 2008 - Construction begins on Aquatics Centre ahead of schedule

- August 2008 - Team GB wins 47 medals at Beijing 2008 Olympics, finishing fourth in the media table; London becomes next host city

- September 2008 - Paralympics GB wins 102 medals at Beijing 2008 Paralympics, finishing second in the medal table; London becomes next Paralympics host city

- November 2008 - Sailing facilities at Weymouth and Portland become first venue to be completed

- November 2008 - money raised from dedicated lottery games reaches £375 million, halfway to target of £750 million

- December 2008 - first signs of the regeneration of the area with the removal of the overhead electricity pylons that dominate the site, £250m project completed on time and to budget

Olympic Park jobs and training legacy

The latest figures show that to date around 7000 people have worked delivering the progress on the Olympic Park and of the current 3,315 workforce:

- Nearly a quarter is local residents (23%)

- Over half is from London (57%)

- Just under one in ten (9%*) was previously unemployed before finding work helping deliver the Games and over half (51%) of these workers live locally

- Almost one in ten is a trainee or Apprentice (9%)

- Three quarters are directly employed (76%)

The ‘Jobs, Skills, Futures’ strategy to boost the 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. Over 300 people have been placed into jobs through the brokerage since May 2008.

- A National Skills Academy for Construction, funded by ConstructionSkills, the Learning and Skills Council and the London Development Agency. This coordinates training across a range of providers for people to get the skills needed to win work on the Olympic Park and continue their career development once in work.

- As part of this Academy a Plant Training Centre on the Olympic Park site providing local people with practical training tailored to the needs of contractors. 315 people have graduated from the Plant Training Centre since its launch in February 2008 and 166 are now working on the Olympic Park.

- A Construction Skills Certification Scheme health and safety test centre opened on the Olympic Park in December 2008 to help applicants achieve the basic health and training to access a job on this and other sites.

- A target of 2,000 trainees, Apprenticeships and work placements working on the Olympic Park and other London 2012 venues, including a programme aimed at specifically at placing women into construction jobs. There are currently 303 trainees and Apprentices working on the Olympic Park.

- A new commitment to 250 extra dedicated Apprenticeships and a new contractual requirement for future ODA contractors to commit to 3% of their Olympic Park workforce being Apprentices which will cover new contracts worth a total of around £500 million.

Notes to editors:

1. Before and after images of the Olympic Park and key venues can be downloaded from http://mm.gettyimages.com/mm/nicePath/locog?nav=pr120456028

* of the 85% of Olympic Park workers that voluntarily provide this information 9% were previously unemployed

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