Puy du Fou has teamed up with an Oxford-based college group to provide pre-qualified staff for its planned £600 million UK theme park near Bicester.
Puy du Fou has signed an agreement with Activate Learning, which operates several local colleges, to form a “working partnership” to provide training and employment opportunities for local young people.
French theme park company Puy du Fou started looking for its first UK site in 2023.
It later confirmed plans to build the new destination in Cherwell by the M40, and then held the first period of public engagement in July 2024, followed by a second public consultation earlier this year.
The new park is scheduled to open in 2029, and when it does, it will deliver 2,000 direct jobs and 6,000 indirect jobs.
In a press release, Olivier Strebelle, chief executive of Puy du Fou, said: “There is almost a perfect symmetry between the many job types Puy du Fou will require and the existing courses on offer at Activate Learning’s colleges, particularly Banbury & Bicester College, City of Oxford College, and Blackbird Leys Technology Campus.”
Jobs on offer at Puy du Fou’s UK park
Puy du Fou’s UK park will need performers, engineers, digital and marketing specialists, hotel and catering staff, animal welfare specialists, technicians, grounds staff and more, Strebelle said.
Additionally, some of Puy du Fou’s early recruits will receive additional training at its current theme parks in France and Spain.
“Our thinking at all our parks is ‘recruit locally’. We are very focused on delivering local jobs for local people in Bicester and Banbury and the surrounding area,” Strebelle added.
Gary Headland, chief executive of Activate Learning, said: “This collaboration presents a wealth of exciting opportunities for our learners of all ages, underpinned by a thoughtfully co-designed curriculum that will deliver truly immersive and enriching experiences.
“This is a genuinely unique opportunity for our region.”
Recruitment for Puy du Fou roles will start in 2028 “to ensure a trained workforce is in place by 2029” for the opening, Headland said.
Images courtesy of Puy du Fou
