Jessica Tabinor Rail and Transportation
HS2 Ltd is committed to fostering and developing talent to create an engaged and highly-skilled workforce for the delivery of HS2.
HS2 SKILLS GAP
HS2’s vision and objectives, including its introduction of SEE outputs, mirrors the Department for Transport’s wider infrastructure skills strategy, which promises to support apprenticeships and training opportunities that deliver higher levels skills, including degree level apprenticeships, to upskill the workforce and attract the next generation.
Current HS2 skills forecasts estimate that around half of the project’s workforce will need to be trained to Level 3 or above, equivalent to A Level. However, according to key speaker Neil Brayshaw, director of technical training at the NCHSR, only around 16% of the UK’s infrastructure market is trained to higher and professional levels.
THE SOLUTION
The NCHSR is focussed on training the right people with the skills that are needed to not only deliver HS2 but modernise the existing rail infrastructure. The College has already developed a Level 4 Higher High-Speed Rail Infrastructure Apprenticeship, a Level 5 Operational/Manager Higher Apprenticeship and a level 4 HNC in High-Speed Rail and Infrastructure. However, there is a noted gap in Level 3 training, which could help candidates at Levels 1 and 2 to aspire to higher level qualifications.
Our dedicated rail upskilling arm, Morson Vital Training, is working closely with the NCHSR to overcome the Level 3 and above skills gaps and deliver talent that’s fit for work with the practical abilities and technical knowledge but also teaching wider transferable skills including problem-solving, commercial awareness, leadership and motivation. Providing the Level 3 ‘bridge’ will support the aspirational engagement of candidates entering the workforce at Levels 1 and 2.
