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Academy launched to put local people at the front of the queue when the wave of new jobs arrives

Battersea Power Station is launching a new academy match local people’s skills with employers’ specific needs as jobs become available in Nine Elms on the South Bank.

BASE

Published on
July 19, 2016

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A new academy aimed at putting local people in pole position for new jobs in leisure and retail is set to be launched in Battersea.

The Battersea Academy of Skills Excellence (BASE) is being set up by the Battersea Power Station Development Company to encourage people to consider a career in retail, hospitality, estate management, leisure or business.

The academy will work in partnership with existing local job programmes to match local people to the 17,000 long-term jobs that will become available over the next decade at the 42-acre power station site.

Guests at the official launch of the academy on Thursday 14 July ranged from Wandsworth and Lambeth community leaders to Circus West (Phase One) employers, Pedlar, Paul Edmonds, The General Store and Allen’s of Battersea.

They joined the BASE team, local gardening charity Thrive and work experience students from Year 12 at Harris Academy Battersea to complete the planting of the academy’s “living sign”, which will be part of BASE’s premises when it opens in Circus West next year.

The Battersea Power Station shareholders, Sime Darby, S P Setia and the Employees’ Provident Fund are committed to extending the socio-economic benefits of the development into the site’s neighbouring communities.

Recruitment for the first jobs in concierge, security, landscaping, building-management, retail and food and beverage is expected to start next month ahead of the first residents being welcomed to Circus West through a phased move-in programme starting later this year.

Circus West is expected to support some 300 jobs, with thousands more job opportunities set to be created by the wide mix of uses planned for the Power Station (Phase Two), Electric Boulevard (Phase Three) and future phases.

People interested in careers in retail, hospitality, estate management, leisure and business at the Battersea Power Station development are invited to sign up to the BASE talent pool at www.baseskillsacademy.co.uk to be in the best place to hear about vacancies as they become available.

Battersea Project Holding Company Limited Chairman Dato’ Johan Ariffin said: “BASE is set to take the interest in Battersea Power Station to fuel ambitions and empower exceptional people to be part of London’s most exciting new neighbourhood.

“BASE, Wandsworth Council and the local partners working with the team will assist our employers to recruit and train the best people for the thousands of job opportunities ahead. Our vision is that the generosity of spirit and the understanding of the site’s heritage offered to our customers will make the difference between a great and outstanding experience.”

Working with BASE is an embedded team from Wandsworth Council’s Work Match service who, together with Lambeth Council’s Lambeth Working, Battersea Power Station’s retailers, hotels, restaurants, office tenants and estate management contractors, will help attract, grow and retain local talent through a Service Excellence skills programme that will be tailored to the employers’ specific needs and build on their own in-house training programmes.

The academy will introduce an apprenticeship programme to ensure there are also opportunities for local people to earn while learning.

BASE Director Michelle Dawson said: “At BASE we and our employment partners in the local area are working together to improve customer service standards across the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors.

“Our bespoke service-excellence programme will equip people working at Battersea Power Station with exceptional skills for their time with us here and future careers, as well as helping our businesses to stand out as employers of choice.”

Wandsworth Council Leader Cllr Ravi Govindia, said: “BASE will provide a direct route into the huge pool of jobs, apprenticeships and training roles within Battersea Power Station’s new town centre and commercial hub. The council’s Work Match recruitment team is embedded within the academy and together they will ensure Wandsworth residents are first in line for new vacancies and have the specialist support and training they need to take full advantage.”

The first employers to be confirmed as taking commercial space at the Battersea Power Station development range from specialist operators such as florist Philippa Craddock and hairdresser Paul Edmonds in Circus West, to the 160-room luxury lifestyle art’otel in the Foster and Partners’ designed Battersea Roof Gardens in Phase Three. Further commercial tenants will be confirmed for Circus West in the coming months and contracts for residential and leisure services such as concierge, gym and residents’ club operations, are also being finalised.

– Ends –

Picture: (l-r) BASE director Michelle Dawson with Thrive’s Ellen Swygart and Becs Baumer


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