Gordon Brown has unveiled plans for a National Skills Academy for Construction on the London 2012 Olympic site as part of a £9bn Thames Gateway scheme.
Speaking at a forum on site, the prime minister said the academy would train people to help build facilities including roads, houses and schools in the Thames Gateway redevelopment project.
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The government has pledged £9bn until 2011, and also increased its estimate of jobs to be created at the site to 225,000 by 2016 from an initial projection of 180,000.
Brown said the Olympic academy would provide at least 1,000 job placements for people enrolled on local further education college construction courses, 1,000 other training placements for local people, and 500 apprenticeship places.
