Private security jobs for the London 2012 Games will be filled, says security boss

[richard]

There will be no issues recruiting and training suitable candidates for over 10,000 London 2012 private security jobs, despite less than four people applying for each position, it has been claimed.

A recent study from a major recruitment website claimed that an average of 23 people were chasing every job in Britain, yet with only 34,000 applying for the Games security positions interest is well below that mark.

But Mark Hamilton, managing director of Olympic security provider G4S, said they were currently exceeding their recruitment targets for this stage.

At the launch of a Newham-based recruitment centre for the jobs, Hamilton said that 4,500 of the positions had already been allocated and insisted that there had been a strong interest from Londoners, with over 50 per cent of applications coming from the capital.

They will be paid wages that start at £8.50 an hour – higher than the London Living Wage – and will receive a security license which permits them to work in the industry for three years.

"The recruitment drive is above target in terms of the number of applicants we expected at this time," said Hamilton. "We're very happy with the response so far. We've launched this recruitment centre today to make people aware of the fantastic opportunities available here.

"By working as a security officer you will get a license which acts as a permit to work for another three years and gives you the chance to enter into the security industry well after the Games."

Employment of British people in London has come under scrutiny in recent weeks, with Mayor Boris Johnson commenting on the 'Pret a Manger phenomenon', which sees a relatively low number of British staff employed at the successful sandwich chain's London branches.

But Hamilton insisted that every effort would be made to find jobs for those living locally to the Olympic Park, before pointing to the fact that 20,000 Londoners had already applied.

"Our recruitment drive offers unique employment opportunities to thousands of Britons," he said.

"We're encouraging everyone to apply, particularly [those] around the host boroughs surrounding the Olympic Park. We already have a high number of employees deployed around the Park who live in the six boroughs."

Newcomers to the security industry will be trained so they can operate alongside 13,500 military personnel, 3,000 unpaid volunteers and the police, to make up a 23,700-strong security force for the Olympics and Paralympics.

The private security officers will carry out a number of duties including bag and vehicle searching.


Source
By Nick Pearce
Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph - Telegraph