Gatwick Airport is recruiting more than a thousand seasonal summer staff to assist with its busiest time of year.
The employment boost for the local community marks a 40% rise in the number of seasonal summer jobs the airport advertised for last year. Roles are available across the airport’s retail and restaurant offerings, with Accessorize, WH Smith, JD Wetherspoons, Boots, World Duty Free and Dixons among the outlets offering positions.
Rachel Bulford, head of retail at Gatwick, said, “It’s great to see so many job opportunities opening up throughout our retail and restaurant offering at the airport. These roles will help to ensure we provide excellent service in all our outlets as passenger numbers increase over the busy summer period.
“A large proportion of our staff are based in the surrounding counties, making us one of the largest economic drivers for the South East.”
A recent Oxford Economics report underlined Gatwick’s role in the local and regional economy, showing that the airport’s GDP on the geographical area between the airport, London and Brighton, known as the Gatwick triangle, has risen to £2.3bn (US$2.8bn) and 36,000 jobs.
This means 10% of the Diamond’s economy can be traced back to the airport and is estimated to support one in every 12 jobs in the region.
Jamie Nelson-Singer, Control Centre duty manager at Gatwick, added, “I started working at Gatwick as a temporary member of staff in 2004 and worked three summers here while at university, before securing a permanent role at the airport upon my graduation.
“Since then, I’ve been lucky enough to work in a number of different teams across the airport, including Surface Transport, Engineering, Terminals and now in the Gatwick Control Centre, the team which leads across airport coordination.
“A seasonal role was my foot in the door to the airport and one of the best decisions I have ever made, and educated me on the other different opportunities at Gatwick.”
