Crossrail in talks to take on Olympic trainees

The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) is committed to 350 apprenticeships but it is understood there are just 68 on site. Talks are now taking place between the ODA, Crossrail and the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) over a possible transfer after 2011.

A source close to the talks said the ODA was “fudging” its responsibilities and claimed any transfer would be complicated because Crossrail is a different sort of project to the Olympics and apprentices might have to travel over a much wider area.

A Crossrail spokesperson said: “We are in dialogue with the ODA and the NAS and will, over the coming months, assess the options for ensuring Olympic trainees are given every opportunity to complete their apprenticeship post-2011.”

The news follows comments by Rob Holden, Crossrail’s chief executive, last week that funding for the project was “vulnerable” because of spending cuts.

It has also emerged that a new group had been granted £600,000 from the EU to rescue apprentice programmes that have been hit by the recession.

The project will be led by training provider Consign Construction Skills Solutions and business development organisation Exemplas, and will allow firms to share apprentices depending on workload, enabling displaced trainees to finish their courses.

According to industry training body ConstructionSkills, almost 2,000 apprentices have been laid off in the recession.

The programme, which is based in eastern England, aims to have 250 companies signed up by 2010. Each firm will initially commit to providing apprentices with one month’s work, which can then be extended.

Martyn Price, chief executive of Consign, said: “The idea was initially scoped out prior to the downturn, but the landscape has now changed, and we need to help the large number of displaced apprentices now at risk.”