London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jan 15, 2026

Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games: Talks with Army as 5,000 jobs vacant

Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games: Talks with Army as 5,000 jobs vacant

Five thousand short-term jobs still need to be filled ahead of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, with the Army on standby to help out.

There are 50 days before the start of the event, which runs from 28 July to 8 August across the city and wider West Midlands.

Chief Executive Ian Reid said they had spoken to the military to take steps if necessary.

Leaflets have been put through doors as part of a recruitment drive.

Organisers say they want to give people opportunities to get skills that will help in finding work after the Games.

Jobs in security, catering and cleaning still need to be filled.

The games start in 50 days as shown by the countdown clock in Centenary Square

The volunteer outfits, designed by students from across Birmingham, were unveiled recently


Mr Reid said: "Up to 5,000 roles are still to be put in place. We're seeing a huge uptick of the back off the marketing campaign but there is still a lot of recruitment to be done over the next few weeks."

Speaking from the Sandwell Aquatics Centre earlier, he said they had a plan A and B in place, the latter being bringing in the Army, and they were monitoring the situation closely.

In 2012, up to 13,500 military personnel helped to provide security at the London Olympic Games.


Analysis: Phil Mackie, BBC News Midlands correspondent


So far the preparations for the Games have gone smoothly.

The major venues - the Alexander stadium in Birmingham and the Sandwell Aquatic centre - are finished but, like many large employers at the moment, they are facing recruitment problems.

Chief Executive of the Organising Committee Ian Reid said lessons had been learned from London 2012, when the Army had to help at venues because of shortages of security staff.

Mr Reid said that unlike London they were working with a number of different security providers, instead of a single organisation, to spread the risk.

Chief executive Ian Reid, visiting Sandwell Aquatic Centre, said the situation is being monitored closely


Richard Smith, from the Department of Work and Pensions, who was at a jobs fair at Villa Park, said people were still needed to fill roles in security, hospitality, stewardship and cleaning, which, he added, were also needed in the "wider economy" beyond this summer's international sports event.

Thomas Phipps, assistant branch manager at Verve People Birmingham, which is aiding recruitment, said the operation was "huge" for his agency.

"The demand is going to be there because thousands of people are going to be coming into Birmingham to watch the [Games]."

Posts range from three weeks to three months and people can fill in an expression of interest form online.

Tom Overton said he wanted to help local people increase their skills


Tom Overton, resourcing team leader for the summer jobs campaign at Birmingham 2022, said he wanted to use the opportunities to "upskill" local people who may not have formal qualifications but wanted to get into work.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Launches First-Ever ‘Town of Culture’ Competition to Celebrate Local Stories and Boost Communities
Planned Sale of Shell and Exxon’s UK Gas Assets to Viaro Energy Collapses Amid Regulatory and Market Hurdles
UK Intensifies Arctic Security Engagement as Trump’s Greenland Rhetoric Fuels Allied Concern
Meghan Markle Could Return to the UK for the First Time in Nearly Four Years If Security Is Secured
Meghan Markle Likely to Return to UK Only if Harry Secures Official Security Cover
UAE Restricts Funding for Emiratis to Study in UK Amid Fears Over Muslim Brotherhood Influence
EU Seeks ‘Farage Clause’ in Brexit Reset Talks to Safeguard Long-Term Agreement Stability
Starmer’s Push to Rally Support for Action Against Elon Musk’s X Faces Setback as Canada Shuns Ban
UK Free School Meals Expansion Faces Political and Budgetary Delays
EU Seeks ‘Farage Clause’ in Brexit Reset Talks With Britain
Germany Hit by Major Airport Strikes Disrupting European Travel
Prince Harry Seeks King Charles’ Support to Open Invictus Games on UK Return
Washington Holds Back as Britain and France Signal Willingness to Deploy Troops in Postwar Ukraine
Elon Musk Accuses UK Government of Suppressing Free Speech as X Faces Potential Ban Over AI-Generated Content
Russia Deploys Hypersonic Missile in Strike on Ukraine
OpenAI and SoftBank Commit One Billion Dollars to Energy and Data Centre Supplier
UK Prime Minister Starmer Reaffirms Support for Danish Sovereignty Over Greenland Amid U.S. Pressure
UK Support Bolsters U.S. Seizure of Russian-Flagged Tanker Marinera in Atlantic Strike on Sanctions Evasion
The Claim That Maduro’s Capture and Trial Violate International Law Is Either Legally Illiterate—or Deliberately Deceptive
UK Data Watchdog Probes Elon Musk’s X Over AI-Generated Grok Images Amid Surge in Non-Consensual Outputs
Prince Harry to Return to UK for Court Hearing Without Plans to Meet King Charles III
UK Confirms Support for US Seizure of Russian-Flagged Oil Tanker in North Atlantic
Béla Tarr, Visionary Hungarian Filmmaker, Dies at Seventy After Long Illness
UK and France Pledge Military Hubs Across Ukraine in Post-Ceasefire Security Plan
Prince Harry Poised to Regain UK Security Cover, Clearing Way for Family Visits
UK Junk Food Advertising Ban Faces Major Loophole Allowing Brand-Only Promotions
Maduro’s Arrest Without The Hague Tests International Law—and Trump’s Willingness to Break It
German Intelligence Secretly Intercepted Obama’s Air Force One Communications
The U.S. State Department’s account in Persian: “President Trump is a man of action. If you didn’t know it until now, now you do—do not play games with President Trump.”
Fake Mainstream Media Double Standard: Elon Musk Versus Mamdani
HSBC Leads 2026 Mortgage Rate Cuts as UK Lending Costs Ease
US Joint Chiefs Chairman Outlines How Operation Absolute Resolve Was Carried Out in Venezuela
Starmer Welcomes End of Maduro Era While Stressing International Law and UK Non-Involvement
Korean Beauty Turns Viral Skincare Into a Global Export Engine
UK Confirms Non-Involvement in U.S. Military Action Against Venezuela
UK Terror Watchdog Calls for Australian-Style Social Media Ban to Protect Teenagers
Iranian Protests Intensify as Another Revolutionary Guard Member Is Killed and Khamenei Blames the West
Delta Force Identified as Unit Behind U.S. Operation That Captured Venezuela’s President
Europe’s Luxury Sanctions Punish Russian Consumers While a Sanctions-Circumvention Industry Thrives
Berkshire’s Buffett-to-Abel Transition Tests Whether a One-Man Trust Model Can Survive as a System
Fraud in European Central Bank: Lagarde’s Hidden Pay Premium Exposes a Transparency Crisis at the European Central Bank
Trump Announces U.S. Large-Scale Strike on Venezuela, Declares President Maduro and Wife Captured
Tesla Loses EV Crown to China’s BYD After Annual Deliveries Decline in 2025
UK Manufacturing Growth Reaches 15-Month Peak as Output and Orders Improve in December
Beijing Threatened to Scrap UK–China Trade Talks After British Minister’s Taiwan Visit
Newly Released Files Reveal Tony Blair Pressured Officials Over Iraq Death Case Involving UK Soldiers
Top Stocks and Themes to Watch in 2026 as Markets Enter New Year with Fresh Momentum
No UK Curfew Ordered as Deepfake TikTok Falsely Attributes Decree to Prime Minister Starmer
Europe’s Largest Defence Groups Set to Return Nearly Five Billion Dollars to Shareholders in Twenty Twenty-Five
Abu Dhabi ‘Capital of Capital’: How Abu Dhabi Rose as a Sovereign Wealth Power
×