Severn Power, developers of an 850 MW gas-fired power station being built near Newport in South Wales, and their main construction contractor, Siemens, will be joining other local employers at the Newport JobCentre Plus jobs event at the Newport Centre on Friday 18 September 2009 from 10am – 1.30pm.  The event is a jobs fair targeted specifically at local people who are registered unemployed, offering the chance to discuss opportunities with local employers and to apply for temporary and permanent jobs

As well as stands from Severn Power and Siemens, there will be representatives present from their local employment agencies, Vital and Omega as well as sub-contractors on the project.  

A new web portal for potential contractors and employees will be launched at the same time.  The web address will be: www.siemens.co.uk/severn

Ian Crummack, director of Severn Power said:
“We have a lot of sympathy with local people affected by unemployment especially following the recent job losses in Newport.    

“Severn Power and the lead contractor, Siemens, have gone to considerable lengths to attract local suppliers and to encourage local job applications for this project, and joining in this event, specifically targeted at unemployed people, is another step we can take to improve communications about any opportunities on the construction site and during operation.

“We look forward to hearing from suitably qualified and motivated people from Newport who want to participate in the success of this major project.”  

Alan Wilds, Managing Director, Siemens Fossil Power, said:
“We look forward to supporting the Newport job fair and hope that clarifying the route for applications and highlighting the kind of roles we expect to be hiring over the project at Severn Power, will be helpful. Siemens has already received approximately 1,000 applications via the Newport Job Centre, which have been passed on to our employment businesses.

“Siemens has two trade employment businesses at the Severn Power site whose aim is to facilitate recruitment with due focus on local applications when there is a requirement to supplement the core workforce of the nominated contractor. This is in addition to the sub contract awards that have been made to local companies.”

“Whenever vacancies arise on site, we will continue to work with these employment agencies and the local Job Centre to ensure opportunities are accessible to local workers. For example to date 14 out of the 20 vacancies within the Operation and Maintenance area of the Power Station have been offered to and taken up by local people.”  

Key facts:

1. Siemens is building a high-tech 850MW gas-fired power station for Severn Power, which is providing high quality local employment and will continue to bring value to the local economy for the next 20-30 years. We must hire the best contractors and permanent staff for the job and we must act fairly and with due regard to all the applicable UK and European employment and trade laws.

2. Severn Power is being built adjacent to Uskmouth Power, a 360MW coal-fired power station that has been operating since the 1960s.  Uskmouth Power is owned by Scottish and Southern Energy, and is entirely separate from Severn Power.

3. 83% of employees that are currently safety inducted to work on or regularly visit the Uskmouth site are British or Irish. We have inducted in total more than 1,700 people who can work or who regularly visit site.

4. Currently we employ 500 people at the Severn Power site.  More than 50% of the workers engaged in engineering roles are British/Irish.

5. Siemens is managing the design, engineering, construction, commissioning, testing and management of the new 850MW combined cycle gas turbine plant at Severn Power. The station due to start commercial operation in 2010 following a 30 month construction period and four months of commissioning.
   http://www.siemens.co.uk/en/news_press/index/news_archive/1april08.htm

6. Siemens is a global company that employs more than 18,000 people in the UK

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