The fantastic news of London’s Olympic Bid win was phenomenal for our region. Tessa Jowell, Secretary for Culture, Media and Sport, pointed out that staging the Games in London will produce a string of spin-off benefits for the rest of Britain. With venues like Don Valley and Ponds Forge, Sheffield is surely one of the areas that will benefit the most.
The Sport England website highlights the following opportunities for Yorkshire and the Humber in the years that run up to the Games:
- To Increase business opportunities – new jobs and contracts to supply a huge range of goods and services ranging from construction and manufacturing to catering and merchandise
- To host world-class pre-Olympic events, allowing athletes from around the world to acclimatise and familiarise themselves with the country
- To provide athlete preparation camps for visiting teams from across the globe - 200 nations are expected to participate in the 2012 Olympics and 150 nations in the Paralympic Games
- To market the region to a world-wide audience, promoting tourism opportunities that encourage visitors to base themselves in the region whilst visiting the Games
- To share in wider investment in sports provision and facilities at both the elite and community levels
- To be inspired as a nation to get active
- To be involved in a mass volunteer recruitment drive – the biggest in UK peacetime with over 70,000 volunteers required to support the 2012 event
- To be involved in a national torch relay and cultural programme
Clearly all of this will have a massive impact on the economy, with increasing employment and recruitment opportunities, both locally and across the country.
Recruiter magazine (27 July 2005) predicts that “the recruitment drive for the Games is expected to be the UK’s biggest ever in peace time”. Thousands of full time, part time, temporary and permanent positions will be created, and these jobs will clearly span a wide range of skills, including construction, IT, manufacturing, hospitality, services, administration, HR and finance.
For employers, the challenge is to start preparing now. Skills shortages have been apparent over recent years, particularly in some sectors, so companies should think about planning early for their recruitment strategies. The Games may be seven years off, but a lot of work is starting immediately and we need to ensure we are ready to support the country’s recruitment drive.
The 2012 Games is brilliant for our country and its impact on the economy will last for years to come. We need to step up the pace to ensure we rise to the challenge.
For further information contact Cliff Sewell or Philip Hill at Sewell Moorhouse – an independent and specialised accounting and financial recruitment consultancy based in Sheffield, Doncaster and Leeds.
