Last summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games is having a positive legacy for jobs and employment in and around the Olympic Park.

At a briefing to update the media on progress to return part of the Olympic Park to the public in July, Colin Naish, director of infrastructure at the London Legacy Development Corporation, said that there were around 60 apprentices on site helping to transform it ready for public use in July, after which it is due to be renamed the Queen Elizabeth Park. 

“Taking on this number of apprentices is a fantastic achievement for a project with such a short duration [18 months],” he added.

Lise Evans, partnership manager at Reds10, the company that employs the apprentices, tells Recruiter that where individuals don’t complete their training on the Olympic Park project, “we will support them into completing apprentices elsewhere”. 

Evans says the company had worked closely with local borough brokerage services and charities to source apprentices from under-represented and hard-to-reach groups, such as ex-offenders and people with disabilities. 

Naish added that around 1,000 construction workers are currently on site. 

More apprenticeships are planned as Taylor Wimpey steps up activity to build nearly 900 homes in the new Chobham Manor neighbourhood, one of five new housing areas planned for the Olympic Park.