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 (Pedlar, Paul Edmonds, The General Store, Allen’s 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 Property, 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.”

About Battersea Power Station
Battersea Power Station is at the heart of one of central London’s largest, most visionary and eagerly anticipated new developments, which will see this vast 42-acre former industrial brownfield site become home to a community of homes, shops, cafes, offices and 18 acres of public space. The outline planning application for architect Rafael Viñoly’s masterplan for the site was approved by Wandsworth Council and the Mayor of London in 2010 and approved by the Secretary of State and permission granted in August 2011.

The £8bn project will see the creation of a vibrant, mixed-use development, a new town centre for London serviced by an extension to the Northern Line and the restoration of the Grade II* listed Power Station. Battersea Power Station is contributing up to £211m to the NLE, which was guaranteed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne in the Autumn Statement of November 2012. According to Prime Minister David Cameron, it is the ‘jewel in the crown’ of central London’s significant regeneration area, Nine Elms on London’s South Bank.

The overall project is divided into seven phases, with each designed by a range of specialist architects. These include SimpsonHaugh and Partners and De Rijke Marsh Morgan (dRMM) in Circus West (Phase 1), Wilkinson Eyre Architects in The Power Station (Phase 2), and Foster + Partners and Gehry Partners in The Electric Boulevard, Battersea Roof Gardens and Prospect Place, (Phase 3).

Construction work officially began with Phase 1 on July 4th, 2013 - the 80th anniversary of this historic building. The overall development is anticipated to be completed in 2025, with The Power Station itself expected to be open to the public for the first time in over 30 years in 2019.

The Battersea Power Station site is owned by a consortium of Malaysian investors comprising S P Setia, Sime Darby and the Employees’ Provident Fund. The development management of the project is being undertaken by British based, Battersea Power Station Development Company.

About Sime Darby Property Berhad
Sime Darby Property is the property arm of Sime Darby Berhad. On the back of a successful 40-year track record of developing sustainable communities, Sime Darby Property has to date built 21 townships/developments with a global reach that encompasses assets and operations across the Asia Pacific region and the United Kingdom. In the UK, as part of a Malaysian consortium, Sime Darby Property is the developer of the iconic Battersea Power Station project in central London.

Sime Darby Property is a multiple award-winning property group with numerous local and international accolades. It is the first Malaysian property developer to be awarded the International FIABCI Prix d’Excellence Awards twice for its Subang Jaya and UEP Subang Jaya townships. The company bagged its 6th consecutive Gold at the Putra Brand Awards 2015 and its 5th consecutive Top 10 Developers Awards at the BCI Asia 2015. Sime Darby Property has also been recognised as top 3 developers in Malaysia in the annual The Edge Top Property Developers Awards, a recognition which the company consistently receives since 2009.

For more information, log on to www.simedarbyproperty.com
 

MEDIA CONTACT:
  
Sherliza Zaharudin
Head, Corporate Communications
Sime Darby Property Berhad
Mobile: 019-2676346
E-mail: sherliza.zaharudin@simedarby.com