Speaking at the Buying Greener Trade Fair event at Gillingham, Kent, the Minister said:
" I want to see every young person, every business and every community in the region benefit from this once in a lifetime opportunity.
He added:
"A key priority is building on the South East's existing strengths with a thriving and innovative environmental technologies sector which can contribute to deliver the commitment to a low carbon games. It is also a great opportunity to lead the way in sustainable development and the challenge is to leave a lasting and long term legacy by doing it well."
The South East Partnership for the 2012 Games is aiming to deliver at least £10 million of new business for this sector and is promoting a greener procurement policy.
Jonathan Shaw announced that a new Olympic business club would be launched on 20 February called 'CompeteFor'. The new service will match businesses with complementary skills and experiences to access large contracts. It will be a key route to public sector procurement markets and will help grow this sector.
In his speech to the audience of local authorities and businesses at the Priestfield Stadium, Gillingham, Kent, he highlighted the importance of improving the skills of the workforce in the region to meet the demands of the construction industry. It is estimated 52,000 new workers will be needed over the next four years to deliver the housing and improved transport.
