· News

BP offers 250 graduates Olympic work opportunity

BP is to increase its annual UK graduate recruitment by 50%, to nearly 250 graduates, in 2012. ??

BP has also confirmed that it will offer all of these graduate recruits an opportunity to work with the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) before they start their careers in September.

The successful graduates will start working with LOCOG in June.?LOCOG and BP have agreed to offer up to 100 of the graduates the opportunity to pursue short-term secondments in areas such as the main operations centre, transport or city operations.

BP secondment places are being offered on a first-come, first-served basis.? Throughout their secondments, BP will provide the graduates with a BP internship salary, accommodation and transport costs.

Emma Judge, head of UK graduate recruitment at BP said: "BP is hiring more bright young minds than ever before and I'm sure the UK's young science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) community will be pleased to hear we are ramping up our recruitment again this year

Being an Official Partner of the London 2012 Games, we wanted a special welcome for the graduates joining BP this year, so what better way than starting their careers with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. This will be a memorable experience - a fantastic opportunity for students in a truly unique setting."

Universities and Science Minister David Willetts added: "It is excellent news that BP will be offering more opportunities for graduates this year. They recognise the importance of recruiting the brightest and the best talent in the UK. Working with the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) will give these graduates a fantastic, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the Olympics. This will be particularly welcome news for graduates and a reassuring sign that the recruitment market is improving thanks to companies such as BP."

]The BP pool of graduates will be trained by BP before they start in the summer, and will be further trained by LOCOG when they undertake their roles. They will work with LOCOG over different periods and stages during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, before starting their full-time roles with BP in September 2012.

Seb Coe, chairman of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, said: "Without the tens of thousands of people working on the London 2012 Games, they simply wouldn't happen. We look forward to working with BP's high-calibre graduates who will no doubt help us make the London 2012 Games a great success. We are also glad that these graduates will be gaining skills and experience that they will be able to use for many years to come, helping us leave a lasting legacy long after the Games have finished."