6 days ago
Meet the jobs matchmaker filling roles at Sizewell C
Stuart Allsopp has met hundreds of local job seekers over the last year. As Jobs Service lead at Sizewell C, he's one of the team responsible for making sure that opportunities at the project are matched up with people in the local area.
'There is a massive appetite for jobs in this region, and people are coming out to our Sizewell C jobs fair in big numbers,' said Stuart. 'My role is all about trying to deliver those jobs to people, to connect them with the best opportunities for them. It's what I love doing.'
Sizewell C offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity for jobs and careers in this region. Of the 1,500 apprenticeships the project is creating, 540 will go to local people. At least a third of the 7,900 jobs on offer during the peak of construction will go to people in this region. And once constructed, the power station will employ 900 people in highly skilled, well-paid jobs.
'We've got to make sure people are aware of the thousands of opportunities on offer,' said Stuart. 'And that means going out and putting the opportunities in front of them.'
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Sizewell C has so far run jobs fairs in Leiston, Lowestoft and Ipswich, with a second jobs fair in each town to come later in the year.
'We signed jobs pledges with Jack Abbott MP in Ipswich and Jess Asato MP in Lowestoft, so these jobs fairs are one way we're delivering on those pledges. And we've already seen so many good news stories coming out of these events – of local people linking up with new jobs, either directly on the project or with one of the businesses in our supply chain.
Engineering apprentices at Sizewell C (Image: Sizewell C) 'It's such a satisfying feeling when you can match up someone with a job – that's no small thing, that's about improving people's lives. And that is happening on an ever-increasing scale because of this project. It's amazing.'
As well as jobs fairs and local advertising, the Sizewell C Jobs Service has been a successful way of making people aware of all the opportunities available.
'We want to make it easy for people and the Jobs Service does that. People can sign up on our website to get notifications of the latest opportunities – and we put all our vacancies on the website too, both roles directly with us and with our supply chain partners. There are well over a hundred opportunities live on the website at any one time.'
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Last week, Sizewell C announced that it was taking transformative steps to develop the skilled workforce it needs to build the power station: it's set to build a new post-16 college for Leiston, in partnership with Suffolk New College, as well as an apprenticeship and trainee hub to support hundreds of Sizewell C apprentices, and a Centre of Excellence focused on developing skills in civils, mechanical, electrical, welding and more.
'It's going to be phenomenal,' said Stuart. 'The difference it will make to young people in the Leiston area is difficult to overestimate – having those facilities on their doorstep will mean hundreds of young people can get the training, the skills, and the career pathways they want, without having to do an hour and half trip to a college out of town.
The Jobs Service is a great way of keeping up to date with opportunities on the project (Image: Sizewell C) 'In the short term, that means an even bigger pool of local talent for me to match up with roles here at Sizewell C. In the longer term, it means we can develop the skills and retain those skills for Suffolk here well into the future – it's a legacy in the truest meaning of the word.'
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The next jobs fair is in Ipswich in August, and Stuart is expecting hundreds more people to come along as jobs on the project continue to increase.
'We had over a thousand people on site at the start of the year and we expect double that by the end of the year. We've got over 60 apprentices already and we expect to double that by the end of the year too.
'There is the supply of jobs to meet the clear demand we're seeing across the region – and this will have a positive ripple effect across our local economies. It's a joy to be involved in.'
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This article is part of the EADT's Clean & Green campaign, which aims to promote our region as the biggest in the UK and Europe for all forms of renewable energy.
