Atkins worked as the official engineering design services provider for London 2012 where there job was primarily to support the delivery of the competition venues and operation centres for the Games.

The London 2012 legacy programme will see seven young people who have recently studied science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) at either college or university employed by Atkins for a three-month period

The internship will give Cedric Lungiambudi, Eamon Lahrach, Jishan Ahmed, Nisrin Benabdejlil, Phillipa Abrafi, Rory Curtis and Shamim Ahmed, who all come from East London boroughs, further skills and experience with Atkins.

"Our engineering and design work, such as cleaning up the site on which the Olympic Park was built, played an important role in helping to regenerate an entire area of East London," said Mike McNicholas, who led Atkins' work on key infrastructure for London 2012.

"However, the London 2012 legacy is as much about people as the infrastructure.

"As a design and engineering consultancy we understand the need for a diverse workforce, in our case to come up with clever solutions to complex challenges for our clients.

"The programme with TELCO will allow us to share our knowledge, experience and expertise with the interns so they will hopefully be able to pursue a successful career in engineering, as well as giving something back to those boroughs which gave such a positive reflection of the UK in the summer."


Emmanuel Gotora, the senior organiser at TELCO, was equally excited about the London 2012 legacy project.

"TELCO is really pleased to be working with Atkins to pioneer these Living Wage internships," said Gotora.

"Atkins is the first Olympic sponsor to pick up the legacy baton and provide work opportunities for East London as a lasting Legacy of the games and we hope that others will soon join them.

"This model of community investment and engagement is exactly what we need."

The interns are spread across four different areas of Atkins' businesses which are design and engineering, water and environment, highways and transportation and rail.

During the three-month period, they will also attend training seminars delivered by Atkins and TELCO covering interview techniques, CV writing and other skills which will help them in their search for permanent employment.

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