Battersea Academy for Skills & Employment Launches
Today, representatives of the shareholders of the Battersea Power Station development and invited guests formally launched the Battersea Academy for Skills & Employment (BASE) to encourage people to consider a career in retail, hospitality, estate management, leisure or business at the Battersea Power Station development. BASE is a new service that works 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 Battersea Power Station.
Guests ranged from Wandsworth and Lambeth community leaders to Circus West (Phase 1) employers (Pedler, Paul Edmonds, The Battersea General Store, Allens of Battersea) who 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’ that 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. BASE is a new initiative to help drive long-term access to the new job opportunities and is part of the asset management programme for the 42-acre estate. BASE is a comprehensive signposting and training service for the thousands of retail, leisure, hospitality and estate management jobs that will be created.
Recruitment for the first jobs in concierge, security, landscaping, building management, retail and food & beverage is expected to start in August 2016, ahead of welcoming the first residents 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 to be created by the wide mix of uses planned for the Power Station (Phase 2), Electric Boulevard (Phase 3) 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 and be in the best place to hear about vacancies as they become available.
Dato’ Johan Ariffin, Chairman, Battersea Project Holding Company Limited, 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 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 plans to introduce an Apprenticeship programme to ensure there are also opportunities to earn while learning.
Michelle Dawson, Director of BASE, commented: “At BASE we and our employment partners in the local area are working together to improve customer service standards across, 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.”
Leader of Wandsworth Council, 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 3. 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.