Corporate report

High Speed Rail (London to West Midlands) Act 2017 vocational qualifications report 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018 (HTML version)

Updated 23 March 2021

This was published under the 2016 to 2019 May Conservative government

• Presented to Parliament pursuant to section 66(1) of the High Speed Rail (London to West Midlands) Act 2017
• Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed on 23 March 2019
• © Crown copyright 2019
• ISBN 978-1-5286-1093-3

1. Background

The High Speed Rail (London to West Midlands) Act 2017 (“the Act”) provides authority for the construction of the high speed rail network between London Euston and Birmingham which is known as Phase One of the HS2 project. Skills, Employment and Education is one of the 7 strategic objectives regarding the HS2 project to ensure it is a ‘catalyst for growth across Britain’.

Section 66(1) of the act requires the Secretary of State to prepare a report on vocational qualifications obtained in each financial year in connection with HS2 construction.

This is the first annual report made under section 66 and it covers the period from Royal Assent of the Act on 23 February 2017 until the end of the 17/18 financial year on 31 March 2018.

Section 66(2) of the Act requires this report to contain an account of vocational qualifications gained by individuals employed in constructing Phase One of HS2, in preparing for its construction and in connected and ancillary activities, and that they be broken down by type of qualification and activity.

Section 66(3) requires the report to contain an overall assessment of the costs of vocational training for relevant qualifications and by whom such costs were incurred.

This report covers Phase One of HS2. Vocational qualifications relating to Phase 2a (West Midlands to Crewe) and Phase 2b (West Midlands to Leeds and Manchester) are covered within a separate report pursuant to section 2(3) of the High Speed Rail (Preparation) Act 2013 .

During the course of the period covered by this report, Phase One of the HS2 project began to move into the early construction stage. The Enabling Works Contract was awarded on 15 November 2016, and the Main Works Civil Contract was awarded on 17 July 2017.

2. Vocational qualifications

The Enabling Works Contract and the Main Work Civils Contract included a requirement for the provision of apprenticeship opportunities. Once these contract awards were made, the successful contractors began to take on apprentices in line with the contractual requirement.

For Enabling Works Contracts this is that at least 2.5 per cent of their workforces should be apprentices at any one time and the figure for Main Works Civils Contracts during the build stage is 4 per cent.

During the period covered by this report, 94 apprenticeships were created and filled by HS2 Ltd and its contractors. A list of the types of activities covered by these apprenticeships is provided at Annex A.

Typically, these apprenticeships have a duration of one or two years. Many, but not all of these, will culminate in a vocational qualification at the end of the apprenticeship period. The cost of this training and subsequent qualifications is covered by the contractor concerned. A list of organisations providing these apprenticeships is at Annex B.

Meanwhile, the National College for High Speed Rail opened in October 2017 and took in its first in-take of students. The college has two campuses: one in Birmingham, which has a digital learning focus; and one in Doncaster, which has an engineering focus.

The National College has been set up to offer industry‐focused higher technical skills development which will enable a UK workforce to deliver HS2. It provides vocational training to the next generation of engineers working on HS2.

The National College delivers the specialised training and qualifications needed for high speed rail, which will benefit HS2 and other future infrastructure projects across the country. It offers the necessary technical training to make HS2 a success and ensures it can be built by skilled British workers including rail engineering, environmental skills and construction.

The National College currently has 208 students enrolled in a variety of courses. The first cohort (17 learners) from the College graduated in a Level 4 High Speed Rail and Infrastructure CertHE in July 2018, outside the reporting period.

Given that no apprenticeships had concluded, and that no students had graduated from the National College, during the period covered by this report, there is no account of vocational qualifications to set out in this report at this stage.

3. Annex A - List of the types of activities covered by the apprenticeships

• Civil Engineering Technician
• Engineering
• Rail Engineering / Rail Design
• Surveying Technician
• Mechanical Engineering
• Security Services
• Demolition Operative
• Installation/Maintenance electrician
• Construction Quantity Surveyor
• Digital Engineering Technician
• Transport Planning Technician
• Public Sector Commercial
• Business Administration
• Project Management and Operations
• Professional Accounting
• Chartered Surveyor
• Business Management

4. Annex B - list of organisations providing apprenticeships

• AECOM
• Align
• Arup
• Atkins
• BBV
• Bechtel
• Costain
• CSJV
• HS2 Ltd
• Keltbray
• Kier
• Laing Murphy
• Mott MacDonald Ltd
• NETA training
• Ove Arup and Partners
• SCS JV
• Servest
• Solihull College
• TerraQuest Solutions
• University College of Estate Management
• WSP