Prime Minister welcomes Games as ‘catalyst for change’ as unemployed win one in ten of Olympic Park jobs

The figures show that over one in ten of the current Olympic Park workforce was previously unemployed before finding work helping deliver the Games and over a third of these workers live locally. In total local residents make up a fifth of the current workforce of 2,275.

The ODA published the figures as it set out its strategy for employment and skills during the construction of the Olympic Park which was launched today at the official opening of the new Plant Training Centre on the Olympic Park site by Olympics Minister, Tessa Jowell.

The strategy, ‘London 2012 Jobs’, sets out how the ODA will work with a range of public and private sector partners to help its contractors recruit the 9,000-10,000 construction workers that will be needed at peak in 2009/2010 whilst at the same time helping people develop sustainable skills and a long term career path after the Games.

The new Plant Training Centre will deliver practical training, tailored to the Olympic Park project, on equipment such as dumpers, telescopic handlers and excavators.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: 'The Olympic and Paralympic Games will be a fantastic sporting celebration in 2012. They offer the opportunity not only to showcase sporting talent to its full, but also to promote a range of skills and talents in the local community. The job figures and the ODA employment and skills strategy published today show that the construction of the site can be the catalyst for lasting social and economic change. With over 10 per cent of the current Olympic Park workforce previously out of work an excellent start has been made and I wish the first graduates of the plant training school every success in their future careers.'

Olympic Minister Tessa Jowell said: 'Everyone understands the physical legacy from hosting the Games in 2012 – new sports facilities, a new urban park and new homes. But just as important is the legacy for thousands of people who will acquire skills enabling them to get jobs in the Olympic park and then work for the rest of their lives. The ODA’s Employment and Skills Strategy sets out a clear approach to achieve these objectives.'

ODA Chairman John Armitt said: 'A lot of progress has been made to clean and clear the Olympic Park site and get ready for the start of construction later this year. As the figures we are publishing today show a lot of this work has been carried out by people previously out of work, demonstrating that this regeneration is more than just physical transformation, it is also about social and economic change. London 2012 will be the ‘Regeneration Games’ for these reasons and we want the Games to leave a real long term employment and skills legacy for local people and UK construction.

'We have had a rewarding start and the partnerships announced today are crucial to meeting our employment and skills legacy ambitions as the workforce increases rapidly towards and during the ‘Big Build’.'

London 2012 Organising Committee Chairman Seb Coe said: 'This is another tangible example of how the Games coming to London will change lives – on and off the sporting field. The regeneration of the Olympic Park area - one of the most underdeveloped parts of the UK, has already started, and the physical transformation of the Park site is well underway. The opening of the Plant Training Centre is an example of the social regeneration that the Games will bring to this part of east London, and leaving a strong and lasting social legacy after the Games is something we all passionately want to deliver.'

Mayor of London Ken Livingstone said: 'London's high levels of unemployment, particularly in the east of the city, show why the 2012 Games are so important and will act as a catalyst for regeneration on a scale never seen before creating jobs and giving other Londoners the opportunity to learn valuable new skills. The Olympic Delivery Authority deserves great credit for ensuring the London Games benefit workless Londoners and providing so many job opportunities at the local level. The 2012 legacy really has started and this strategy alongside the employment and skills programes that I have instigated will improve the prospects of thousands and thousands of Londoners over the next decade and beyond.'

The core elements of the strategy announced today include:

• A new jobs brokerage service, in partnership with Jobcentre Plus and the five Host Boroughs, that will match candidates living locally and elsewhere in the UK with Olympic Park job opportunities;
• As previously announced by the Prime Minister, the Olympic Park site will become part of a multi-million pound National Skills Academy for Construction, funded by ConstructionSkills, the Learning and Skills Council and the London Development Agency. It will coordinate 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. It includes a new Plant Training Centre on the Olympic Park site;
• 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.

Skills Minister David Lammy said: 'London 2012 offers a unique opportunity to create jobs and skill-up local residents, the effects of which will be felt for years to come. Our investment in the skills we need to build world class facilities and infrastructure will bring considerable benefits to London’s economy.'

Chief Executive of the London Development Agency, Manny Lewis, said:
'This strategy builds upon the excellent progress we have made with our partners in providing training and employment opportunities on the Olympic Park site. It sets the road ahead to make sure London provides the construction workforce needed to build the Games, while at the same time offering opportunities to tackle unemployment in some of our most deprived areas. It is part of the LDA's broader approach to ensure that all parts of London benefit from a the socioeconomic opportunities generated by the 2012 Games.'

Minister for Employment, Stephen Timms said: 'Thousands of jobseekers throughout the UK will benefit from the new work opportunities that London 2012 will offer. The agreement between Jobcentre Plus and the Olympic Delivery Authority will ensure that our customers get the necessary training to secure work in the run up to London 2012 and beyond.'

Speaking on behalf of the five host boroughs for London 2012, Leader of Greenwich Council, Cllr Chris Roberts, said, “The five Host Boroughs have placed the legacy for local people and businesses at the heart of their planning for London 2012. For many, the legacy of the Games will begin now, by securing access to the jobs and opportunities which are being created.

'We are delighted to be working with the ODA and LDA to ensure our residents are equipped with the skills required for the jobs that are starting to come on stream. The borough labour schemes established have a key role to play, and we have already seen a high level of take-up for courses designed to help our residents take advantage of the opportunities created by the Games.'

Figures for all Olympic Park contractors show (as of 31 January 2008):

• 2,275 workers are working on the preparations for the Games, the majority on the Olympic Park site
• 1,167 (51.3 per cent) of these are resident in London
• 408 (18 per cent) are resident in one of the five London 2012 Host Boroughs
• 237 (10.4 per cent) in total were previously unemployed and 86 were previously unemployed and are resident in the London 2012 Host Boroughs (21.1 per cent of the total Host Borough workforce)
• Nearly two-thirds of workers are construction operatives (61 per cent) and over 60 are apprentices and trainees

Full table of figures in notes below

ODA’s London 2012 Jobs strategy includes:

A new jobs brokerage service ‘London 2012 Jobs’.
The ODA will work with Olympic Park contractors to identify job opportunities which Jobcentre Plus and employment brokerage services in the five Host Boroughs (Newham, Hackney, Waltham Forest, Tower Hamlets and Greenwich) will have priority on matching to candidates they have recruited locally. If unfilled, opportunities will then be advertised through the UK-wide Jobcentre Plus network.
Target: for at least 10 to 15 per cent of the Olympic Park contractor workforce to be Host Borough residents and at least seven per cent to have been previously unemployed.

A National Skills Academy for Construction (NSAfC)
Set up in partnership with ConstructionSkills, the Learning and Skills Council, the London Development Agency and Host Boroughs, the NSAfC will coordinate training for people to get the skills they need to win work on the Olympic Park and also to help the existing workforce update and develop their skills. The Academy will coordinate a range of training providers to ensure they are equipping trainees with skills required by contractors on site. This includes a Plant Training Centre, delivering practical National Construction College training, tailored to needs on site, on equipment such as dumpers, telescopic handlers and excavators.
Target: get at least 2,000 people into trainee Apprenticeships and work placements at the Olympic Park and other London 2012 venues.

Notes to editors:

1. ‘London 2012 Jobs’ is available from our website

2. Each Host Borough has a local labour scheme offering information for local residents on Olympic vacancies as well as tailored advice on the training and other support available. By calling 0845 155 2012 residents will be automatically referred to the labour scheme in their own borough.

3. The London Development Agency has supported the Host Boroughs to develop this service.

Figures for all Olympic Park contractors show (as of 31 January 2008*)

Total number	2,275	100 per cent
Number resident in five boroughs (total)	408	18 per cent
Resident in London	1,167	51.3 per cent
Previously unemployed (total)	237	10.4 per cent
Previously unemployed (five boroughs as per centage five boroughs)	86	21.1 per cent
Operatives/craft	1,394	61.3 per cent
Professional/technical/admin	524	23 per cent
Trainees/apprenticeships	62	2.7 per cent

*Includes workforce data for the following Olympic Park contractors Murphy, Morrison, Edmund Nuttall, Team Stadium, EDF, Atkins, Balfour Beatty (railway siding relocations) and EDAW

– Ends –

For further information please contact the Olympic Delivery Authority Press Office on +44 (0)203 2012 700

Find out the latest from London 2012 HQ on our blog