Over 12,000 thousand people – many of them local - have or will have been given work within the Camden neighbourhood as a result of current construction projects in Camden and Islington, says the construction company behind the several major local projects with national significance.
The estimate comes from BAM Construction which is currently working on four projects - the new home for the University of the Arts at the huge Kings Cross redevelopment, a prestige new headquarters on Euston Road for the UK’s largest public sector union, UNISON, new clinical buildings for Great Ormond Street Hospital, and local landmark the Angel Building, part of which will become the HQ for Cancer Research UK.
Construction Director Andy Mason, says ‘Our company has been involved in project in Camden since 1881 - the Hospital for Consumption at Mount Vernon. Our green and orange colours can be seen around the neighbourhood on our hoardings and equipment. Camden is a special place for BAM – many of our site teams live locally in this vibrant and multi-cultural area of London and they understand why these projects are such an important thing for people living and working here.‘
The company has recruited onto its sites many apprentices, graduates and trainees. BAM is strongly supporting the iCAM initiative and the company has revealed today that it has so far placed over £25million of orders with local suppliers and contractors (for example Gratte Brothers, based off the Caledonian Road).
BAM has gone a step further with its ‘Ready-Steady-Work’ programme. Reaching out to people who are not in work in the area by offering help with training and support to get the skills and experience they need to find new opportunities. Working with the communities around projects is central to BAM’s idea of what construction should be about. The company believes that you have to leave something positive behind apart from the building.
On Monday 22 March BAM is hosting an ‘employability day’ for students at Parliament Hill Girls School to gain an insight into interviews, presentations and inter-personal skills. They then compete in interviews for a series of work placements during the summer.
Andy Mason concludes, ‘It’s great to see adults and young people taking advantage of these opportunities.’
