The Mayor of London visiting the Great Nortern Hotel meeting one of the apprentices learning about heritage restoration. - © John Sturrock
© John Sturrock
Roger Madelin of King's Cross Central and the Mayor of London meet apprentices learning about heritage restoration at the Great Northern Hotel. - © John Sturrock
© John Sturrock
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, signs the Construction Employment and Training Charter for King's Cross Central. - © John Sturrock
© John Sturrock
The Mayor of London visiting the Great Nortern Hotel meeting one of the apprentices learning about heritage restoration. - © John SturrockRoger Madelin of King's Cross Central and the Mayor of London meet apprentices learning about heritage restoration at the Great Northern Hotel. - © John SturrockThe Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, signs the Construction Employment and Training Charter for King's Cross Central. - © John Sturrock
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1 July 2009 - Back

Building for tomorrow, training opportunities todayBuilding for tomorrow, training opportunities today

King’s Cross Central awarded National Skills Academy for Construction project status.

Confirmation that training, skills and jobs are at the centre of Europe’s largest city centre regeneration scheme.

Training model at King’s Cross Central will support the estimated 26,000 jobs created during the construction phase of the 8 million sq ft scheme over the next 15 years.

The innovative construction skills and training approach at King’s Cross Central has been given the seal of approval and awarded National Skills Academy for Construction project status.

A celebration event was held on 1st July and was attended by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.

The National Skills Academy for Construction is a partnership between ConstructionSkills, employers, clients, colleges and funding providers, to deliver project-specific on-site training.

In addition to celebrating the National Skills Academy award, the main site contractors and King’s Cross Central signed a Construction Employment Charter at the event on 1 July. The four main contractors on the site, BAM Construction, BAM Nuttall, Carillion and Kier, are working in partnership with the developer to achieve ambitious targets for jobs and training.

The Charter will play a pivotal role in providing a work force with the required level of skills for major development, matching skills to job opportunities and coordinating training and development plans across the site – Europe’s largest city centre regeneration scheme.

A central focus of the Charter is to ensure that local communities benefit from the job opportunities created at King’s Cross Central during the construction phase. For example, those contractors who sign up to the Charter will be encouraged to identify jobs that can be filled by suitably experienced local unemployed people and use local companies as suppliers where appropriate.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said:

“The construction sector is not only vital to helping London through the current downturn, it will also play a major role in its future economic prosperity, delivering the critical infrastructure improvements that will ensure the capital remains competitive. Over the coming years we are going to need many highly skilled workers as we deliver hugely important regeneration projects like Crossrail, the 2012 legacy and King's Cross Central - and these are just for starters. The outlook for London is very good, but we must maximise the benefits that come with these major development projects. So I applaud these contractors who are working together to set new standards in the delivery of skills and training, as well as ensuring that local people are benefiting too from the many opportunities that are being created."

Roger Madelin, Joint Chief Executive of Argent, the Asset and Development Manager of King’s Cross Central, said:

“We have always said that King’s Cross Central is not only about building an exciting new part of central London for the future, it is as much about creating new jobs and training opportunities today. The success of King’s Cross Central relies on the quality of men and women working on site – those laying the foundations, operating the cranes and restoring architectural gems, and this award recognises our commitment to training excellence.”

600 construction workers are currently working on the 8 million sq ft development, with the University of Arts London’s relocation firmly on track for 2011 and a new site-wide energy centre being built. Planning permission is for a development which includes up to 2,000 new homes, 20 new streets, almost 5 million sq ft of office space, 10 new major public spaces and the restoration of 20 historic buildings and structures which are to be retained and refurbished.

Overall, the construction phase of King’s Cross Central will generate an estimated 26,000 (full time equivalent) jobs over the next 15 years, making the scheme the most significant development opportunity in London. The scale of the project creates the ideal platform for King’s Cross Central to promote excellence in construction skills and training. The partners delivering King’s Cross Central – Argent, London & Continental Railways and DHL Supply Chain - have delivered, and handed over to Camden Council, a state of the art construction skills centre. Following its official opening in March, it will continue to support training initiatives in the years to come and some 360 apprentices will pass through its doors over the next 3 years.

Steve Geary, Director of Skills Strategy for Construction Skills said:

“We are delighted to be here to recognise this achievement at King’s Cross Central. The National Skills Academy for Construction project here will help ensure relevant, timely and top quality training is delivered for the lifetime of the project. This approach will continue to put employers in the driving seat and enable training to be delivered where it is needed most.”

Councillor Keith Moffitt, Leader of Camden Council, said:

"Camden is leading the way in London for training and skilling-up the local workforce. The regeneration project at King’s Cross Central is already bringing a huge variety of benefits to the local area and will continue to do so over the lifetime of the project. The King's Cross Construction Skills Centre will be especially important in delivering training, qualifications and apprenticeships for local people that will mean that they are well placed to make the most of the opportunities brought by the development.”

Councillor Andrew Marshall, Deputy Leader of Camden Council, said:

"Camden Council is committed to helping local people find the training and jobs they need. The King's Cross Central development and the Construction Skills Centre have been crucial to what we have achieved so far - helping 2200 people into training and a further 1200 into jobs in the construction industry. Achieving National Skills Academy status is a great accolade for both the development and the centre."