Network Rail and delivery partner Mace today joined Birmingham City Council in pledging to open up job and training opportunities for local people involved in the redevelopment of Birmingham New Street station.

The project, the biggest building project in the West Midlands is worth £400m to the construction industry and will create up to 1,000 jobs during construction.

The pledge came as Councillor Mike Whitby, leader of Birmingham City Council and Richard Thorpe, a director for international consultation and construction company Mace today (22 November) formally opened the Birmingham Gateway Construction Academy. The academy will provide a dedicated training and resource facility which will aim to maximise skills opportunities and help secure employment for local people.

Speaking at the launch, Councillor Whitby said: "The redevelopment of New Street station is an integral part of our Big City Plan to attract jobs and investment to the city. The new John Lewis store will create 650 new jobs but before we get there, we expect around 1,000 people to be involved in the construction of the new station. Today's announcement represents an important commitment from Birmingham City Council, Network Rail and Mace to open up those opportunities to the people of Birmingham and the West Midlands."

The procurement strategy of the project has been structured in a way to allow local firms to bid for contracts. Local companies such as Coleman & Co, based in Perry Barr have successfully bid for multi-million pound contracts, creating job opportunities for local people. Other local companies working on the project include Lyndon Scaffolding, based in Garretts Green, Birmingham and Thomas Vale Construction based in Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire.

Jake Cooper, 18, from Chelmsley Wood who recently started work for Coleman & Co as an apprentice demolition supervisor on the Gateway project said: "Before I joined the scheme, I was unemployed and on benefits. I looked for apprentice opportunities online and made lots of applications but was never called back. I also signed on with some agencies but there was never much work coming through. I was feeling down and demotivated as there didn't seem to be many jobs out there.

"I was then contacted after I applied for the apprentice opportunity online and asked to attend the 'meet the employer' session as part of the recruitment campaign, which gave me a really good impression and made me to want to work for the company. Now I'm working and training at the same time, earning money while gaining new skills."

Richard Thorpe, director for project delivery partner Mace commented: "This is an exciting opportunity to showcase what the construction industry has to offer in terms of employment, training and skills development on such a high profile and complex project in the heart of the Birmingham community. The academy embodies the whole principle of our investment in local people and our need in the business for highly skilled managers and workers for the future."

Anyone interested in working on the Birmingham Gateway Project should contact a member of Birmingham City Council's employment access team, which is working with with Jobcentre Plus, the Skills Funding Agency and individual suppliers to the project to match local skills and resources to relevant vacancies:

Employment Access Team, Birmingham City Council

(Monday to Friday 10am-4pm)

0121 464 2112 / eatgateway@birmingham.gov.uk

Alternatively, complete the Expression of Interest (EOI) form on-line at: http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/eat-eoi

The Birmingham Gateway project is supported by Network Rail, Birmingham City Council, Centro, Advantage West Midlands and the Department for Transport.

Network Rail is delivering the project alongside its delivery partner, Mace.

The redevelopment of Birmingham New Street will double passenger capacity, improve access down to the platforms and improve pedestrian links across the city. The project will deliver:

- a concourse that is three-and-a-half times bigger than at present and enclosed by a giant, light-filled atrium

- more accessible, brighter and clearer platforms, serviced by over 40 new escalators and over 15 new public lifts

- a stunning new station façade

- better links to and through the station for pedestrians, with eight new entrances

- the stimulus for the physical regeneration of the areas surrounding the station

Mace is an international consultancy and construction company with a projected £850m turnover in 2010, employing 3,000 people and operating across 65 countries. Mace's core business is programme and project management, construction delivery, cost consultancy and facilities management, but it is truly multi-disciplinary with services spanning the entire property and infrastructure lifecycle. For more information visit: < > http://www.macegroup.com www.macegroup.com