Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen has today (15 March) thrown open the doors to the new £1million Teesworks Gatehouse as he launches a new jobs service for local people.

The revamped entrance includes a new modern gatehouse, car parking areas, bespoke street lighting and modern landscaping to create a welcoming arrival for visitors and international investors. A purpose-built 3.7-metre-high LED screen has been installed onto the newly decorated bridge as a feature to showcase the capabilities of the industrial zone.

The new 30metre digital screen will display vacancies from the newly launched Tees Valley Jobs website.

The past couple of weeks have seen a number of major announcements, including Teesworks becoming home to the UK’s largest Freeport, GE Renewable Energy creating a facility on the Teesworks site and that the Treasury North will be set up in Darlington.

These have brought with them opportunities for jobs in both the short and long term and the new jobs website will be a one stop shop where local people can find out about the all the jobs on offer. The website covers all industries, with roles relating to these new developments when they become available, and vacancies from across the whole of the region.

Constantly updated with new positions of all kinds, businesses can also create accounts to allow them to add their own vacancies.

Mayor Houchen said: “It’s fantastic to be able to officially open the doors to our brand new gatehouse, which sets the tone for our modern, forward-looking Teesworks site and is sure to wow investors.

“This is rounding off a fortnight of much-welcomed good news stories for our region, including our successful Freeport bid, the multimillion-pound investment by GE Renewable Energy to set up a wind turbine blade manufacturing facility on our under-development port, and the civil service jobs coming to Darlington, all of which mean more good-quality well paid jobs coming to the region for local people.

“Of course, all the hard work we’ve been doing to secure these jobs for the region would be for nothing if people from across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool can’t access them. That’s why we’ve developed a new, single location where all of these roles can be advertised – from vital construction jobs needed to drive forward these opportunities to the high-quality, well-paid jobs that will come out of their completion, plus many more in the region besides.

“The website will also complement our Teesworks Skills Academy, which is working to give local people the skills that they need to secure the jobs on site that we’re creating.

“My plan for jobs has already created over 500 skilled, well paid jobs on the Teesworks site with many, many more to be added in the coming days and weeks. So if you’re searching for a new role or are a business who wants to advertise your opportunities, I’d urge you to take a look.”

Mary Lanigan, Leader of Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council said: “This new gatehouse sends another message to business and the wider world that the doors are well and truly open at one of Europe’s biggest and most important industrial zones which is right by a major, deep water industrial port and in the middle of an area with fantastic transport links with a highly skilled workforce.

“The digital screen also sends a message to people right here at home that this is about bringing high quality jobs to our area. The hard work of ourselves and partners of many years to release the huge potential of our area and the skilled, hardworking people of the Tees Valley is starting to pay off.”

For more information, visit www.Teesvalley.jobs