Mayor of London announces £20m programme to get London’s unemployed into Olympic jobs

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, today announced almost £20 million (£19.6 million) in new funding to seize the unique job opportunities generated by hosting the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Despite signs of recovery, the recession hit Londoners hard, with one in ten (373,000 people), who are able and want to work, currently without a job - an increase of almost 40 per cent over the last two years. Employment levels are not expected to return to where they were pre-recession until 2016, making it a top priority for the Mayor that London’s jobless benefit from the forthcoming Olympics.

On the same day that the latest national unemployment figures are expected to show hard times for Londoners, Boris has confirmed two major schemes to find jobs for London’s long-term unemployed during and after the Games.

Employment in the five Olympic host boroughs is significantly below the London and national averages. However, the 2012 Olympics are expected to create around 173,000 work opportunities (including volunteers and short-term contractor jobs). This will provide the perfect opportunity to re-engage London’s workless population, and leave a positive labour market legacy in London by ensuring that those who get Olympic jobs stay in work once the games are finished.

As part of his ongoing drive to get London working, the two projects announced by the Mayor today are geared towards under-represented groups, and will provide the skills and work experience needed for those currently out of work to compete for jobs in the future.

The two projects are:

- Five Borough Skills and Employment project: £15 million from the London Development Agency (LDA) and £12.8 million additional funding from the boroughs to get the long-term workless into work for 12 months, including Olympic jobs, specifically in the five host boroughs.

- 2012 Employment Legacy project: £4.6 million from the London Development Agency (LDA) focused on getting those out of work across the capital into jobs during the Games whilst also providing the support needed to find sustainable employment after the games have finished.

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said:

“The signs are that London has turned the corner out of recession but we know from previous experience that the labour market is a tough place to get back to for those who are currently unemployed. These new projects are a great example of how we are working with the boroughs to seize the unique opportunities afforded by hosting the 2012 Olympics.

“We want to make sure that plenty of the 173,000 opportunities created by our investment in the Olympic and Paralympic Games are accessed by people in the five host boroughs and across London. We are creating jobs to equip unemployed Londoners with the whole range of necessary skills, to remove the barriers that prevent them from getting into work and staying employed.”