100,000 eye Olympics security jobs with G4S

As many as 100,000 people have expressed interest in the 10,000 security jobs being made available at the London Olympics, G4S said today.

In the biggest manned security operation the group has undertaken, the prisons-to-security company will provide 23,700 personnel, including volunteers and military, to keep the Olympics and Paralympics safe.

With the contract reportedly worth £200 million, G4S said the training of staff and security for venues and test events across the country contributed to a 7 per cent rise in underlying revenues in the first quarter of 2012.

Shares in the company, which is the largest employer on the London Stock Exchange with more than 650,000 staff worldwide, were the biggest riser in the FTSE 100 Index today following the trading update.

A spokesman said some 100,000 people have expressed an interest in the jobs online, and it has already interviewed more than 80,000 applicants.

So far, 10,000 people are in the process of being trained, including volunteers, but the company is still looking for more staff.

Its workforce will conduct physical searches, operate X-ray machines and carry out perimeter searches at the Games, which are expected to attract 10 million spectators.

PA