Organisers say one in 10 of the current workforce of 2,275 preparing the site for the construction of the venues was previously unemployed.

 

The long-term target is that seven percent of jobs will be filled by those who had been unemployed.

 

The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) also claims one fifth of the workforce lives in the local East London area, which is recognised as one of the most nedy parts of the Capital most in need of regeneration.

 

A training centre was opened today by Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell so the expected 10,000 workforce employed at the peak of construction in 2009 and 2010 will be fully qualified.

 

"The Olympic and Paralympic Games will be a fantastic sporting celebration in 2012," Brown said.

 

"They offer the opportunity not only to showcase sporting talent to its full, but also to promote a range of skills and talents in the local community.

 

"The job figures and the ODA employment and skills strategy published today show that the construction of the site can be the catalyst for lasting social and economic change."

 

Sebastian Coe, the London 2012 chairman, said the employment figures demonstrate the determination to leave a physical and social legacy from the London Olympics.

 

"This is another tangible example of how the Games coming to London will change lives -- on and off the sporting field," he said.

 

Demolition work on the site is now virtually complete and work on the Olympic Stadium and other main venues in the Olympic Park is scheduled to begin later this year.

 

Mayor of London Ken Livingstone said that the employment and skills strategy, along with his own skills programmes, create sustainable employment opportunities and deliver new skills to many thousands of Londoners across the capital in the run up to and beyond 2012.

 

Livingstone said: "London's high levels of unemployment, particularly in the East of the city, show why the 2012 Games are so important and will act as a catalyst for regeneration on a scale never seen before creating jobs and giving other Londoners the opportunity to learn valuable new skills.

 

"The Olympic Delivery Authority deserves great credit for ensuring the London Games benefit workless Londoners and providing so many job opportunities at the local level.

 

"The 2012 legacy really has started and this strategy alongside the employment and skills programmes that I have instigated will improve the prospects of thousands and thousands of Londoners over the next decade and beyond."

 

Manny Lewis, chief executive of the London Development Agency, said: "We are delivering a skills legacy for London now to maximise the benefits of the 2012 Games.

 

"Many of these projects such as the Personal Best volunteer programme and the Opportunities Fund are aimed at those furthest away from the job market so we can achieve our goal of getting 70,000 people into work by 2012.

 

"On top of working with the ODA and other partners to provide construction training, we are also focusing on other industries that will benefit from the Games by developing targeted training programmes in tourism, sports coaching and catering."