A pledge to secure employment and training opportunities for local people to help deliver the latest phase of the multi-million pound transformation of Dundee Waterfront has been made by the partners backing the project.

Dundee City Council, Discover Opportunities and contractor Farrans have signed up to an agreement that will see local people given the chance to work and train on the £6m removal/replacement of the Tay Road Bridge ramps.

Will Dawson, convener of Dundee City Council's city development committee who attended the signing ceremony at the site office on the Waterfront said: "The agreement we have reached with Farrans is important because it means the company will help provide training and employment opportunities to local people looking for work in the construction sector.

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"The contractor and sub contractors on the ramps phase of work will support a broad range of initiatives, including work experience for young people, promoting workforce development and the notification of all vacancies on site to the Construction Skills Bank which holds details of unemployed people with relevant skills and matches them to employers' vacancies."

Set up in 2007, Discover Opportunities acts as a single first point of contact for access to a wide-range of services on offer to jobseekers, in recognition of the fact that no single agency or organisation has all the answers.

It has been backed by money from both the UK and Scottish governments to help deliver a number of key initiatives which aim to reduce the number of young people not in education, employment or training; set out local actions to help people back to work; and tackle specific challenges which prevent people of all ages getting work.

Work on the project to remove and replace part of the off ramps at the Tay Road Bridge started in May and is expected to last until autumn next year.

The works, to remove and replace the westbound off ramp with a more compact and realigned exit that will tie in initially with the South Marketgait and then with the proposed new southern boulevard, were carefully planned to minimise disruption.

Diversion signs and temporary traffic lights will be in place when they are needed.

(GK)