Meadowhall £60m refurbishment creates 400 new job opportunities

Hundreds of new employment opportunities have been created as a result of Meadowhall’s £60m refurbishment programme.

The Sheffield shopping centre announced that around 400 construction jobs in total will be required for the refurbishment, which is due to be completed in late 2017.

This is in addition to the one job in every 100 the centre provides to the local area according to an independent report by Consultants PwC.

Designed by international architects BDP, and project managed by Arcadis, the refurbishment, which is the biggest investment in Meadowhall since it opened more than 25 years ago, has generated over 285 new roles in just three months at Laing O’Rourke - the refurbishment delivery partner.

These new employment opportunities has impacted significantly within the Sheffield City Region, with around 44% of the new recruits living within the Sheffield area.

Key skills that have been sourced and employed include project management, administration, demolition, mechanical and electrical engineering, steel fixing, glazing, lifting, security, cleaning, tiling, architectural metalwork, architectural finishes/cladding, vertical transportation and decoration.

Committed to offering quality work based training, Meadowhall has also placed seven apprentices on the project to date, having supported over 660 apprentice roles over the past five years.

Working in partnership with The Source, the centre has also arranged 46 days of training to date for employees covering subjects such as Asbestos Awareness, IOSH Managing Safely in Construction, Safety Leadership, ILM Mentoring and Training, CSCS, Transforming Construction Management, Revit BIM, Navisworks, Supervisor 2020, CDMC, Design Management, CDM 2015 and First Aid at Work.

Darren Pearce, Meadowhall centre director, said: “As part of our 25th anniversary celebrations, the refurbishment is an important catalyst to support additional employment opportunities within the local community and beyond.

“We are keen to ensure that whilst the new refurbishment once finished offers an unrivalled shopping experience for our customers, the build also impacts positively on the local economy. We are looking forward to continuing to welcome new members to our team and support the roles the redevelopment creates.”