The newest Ikea store opened in Greenwich last week after hiring 270 resident from the borough.

The council’s employment service Greenwich Local Labour and Business, which provides residents with training and job opportunities, worked in partnership with the furniture retailer.

Together they held recruitment roadshows across the borough, which were attended by almost 1,500 people, and delivered pre-employment training to more than 200 unemployed locals.

The new store has employed more than 350 people from across Greenwich and neighbouring boroughs, with 270 Greenwich residents accounting for more than 60 per cent of new employees.

READ MORE: 'Climate emergency' call in Greenwich as Ikea blamed for traffic increase

Cllr Denise Hyland said: “GLLaB is committed to supporting more residents into employment and we’ve been working with Ikea to ring-fence jobs for locals, so we’re very pleased that more than half of their new staff live in the borough.”

Sik Li, who lives in Blackheath, initially joined a GLLaB project to receive support to improve his CV.

Through his involvement with GLLaB he learnt about Ikea job opportunities, and after attending the pre-employment training which was delivered in partnership with London South East Colleges, he went on to successfully land a job as a kitchen planner.

Sik said: “Since I retired from nursing and took a year off, it was always my plan that I wanted to work again but I wanted to do something new and part-time only. I also preferred to work locally so I would not need to spend time commuting.

READ MORE: Greenwich Ikea blamed for extra traffic causing gridlock on roads

"The opening of my local Ikea in Greenwich was a perfect opportunity for me.

“I found the two weeks pre-employment course very helpful. It prepared me for a sector I knew nothing about. Without it, I probably wouldn’t have done as well in the assessment process and eventually got offered a job.”

Gillian Justice, HR manager at Ikea Greenwich, said: “Ikea Greenwich is committed to being a good neighbour and making a positive contribution to the local community. Recruiting from the local area is fundamental to achieving this, ensuring we create good jobs for local people who are all paid the real living wage (as determined by the Living Wage Foundation)."