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.

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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.

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."

(CD/JM)