Today it is announced that a cohort of 10 welding operative apprentices have joined the high-speed rail programme to work alongside engineers delivering the Curzon approaches – the series of viaducts that form the final mile of the journey towards HS2’s Curzon Street Station.
Qualified welders are in short supply, so to help plug the skills gap, Balfour Beatty VINCI (BBV), HS2’s construction partner for the West Midlands, joined forces with its subcontractors Martifer and AA Euro to create the roles.
The aim is to upskill a new generation of local welders who can play an active role in HS2’s construction, and other major infrastructure projects in the future.
The vacancies were advertised at Jobcentre Plus sites across the region, including the HS2 Recruitment Hub at Washwood Heath, to ensure local unemployed people were prioritised.
As part of the selection process, 14 candidates took part in a 10-day paid work trial. The successful completers were all offered a Level 2 apprenticeship, where they will combine work and study to achieve an industry-standard welding qualification
In total, 5,771 formerly unemployed people have now found work on the project – underlining the scale of the economic boost being delivered by HS2 – and exceeding HS2’s aspiration to support 5,000 jobseekers into work.
Julie Venn Morton, HS2’s Senior Skills and Inclusion Manager for the West Midlands said:
“5,771 unemployed people have already secured work on HS2, and I’m delighted we’ve been able to build on that with these 10 new roles.
“Welding is a skill for life, and I’m confident our new starters will have a promising career ahead of them.”
The 10 candidates – nine males and one female – are from Birmingham, Solihull, Walsall and Stoke-on-Trent. Nine of the new recruits are under 30, while the eldest candidate to secure an apprenticeship is 48 years old – demonstrating that it’s never too late to retrain and learn new skills.
Kam Hundal, Balfour Beatty VINCI’s Skills, Employment and Education Business Partner has played an instrumental role in bringing the supply chain and local training providers together to create the new roles.
Kam said:
“There is a critical shortage of welding skills in the UK, so we’ve joined forces with Martifer and AA Euro in our supply chain to create 10 exciting welding apprenticeships for local people.
“These crucial new roles are a huge boost for the HS2 project and the wider construction industry. This group will receive training inside the classroom and out on-site, while helping to deliver a series of iconic viaducts that will take high-speed trains in and out Birmingham city centre.”
Walsall-based Performance Through People will deliver a fortnightly training day to all the new starters, supporting them with the theory element of their apprenticeship.
The remaining days will be site-based, where the new recruits receive will receive coaching and tutor ledge from the engineers and welding specialists building HS2 in the West Midlands
Tyler Moore, heard about the apprenticeships when he attended a careers fair at Walsall Art Gallery.
Tyler, 21, from Walsall said:
“After completing my A-Levels, I went straight into an office job, but I quickly discovered this wasn’t the right career path for me. I’m so glad I decided to make this change. Now, I’m a welding apprentice working on the HS2 project and I’m loving every minute. Being able to observe the physical progress of works is extremely rewarding.”
Andrew Short is one of six candidates that were recruited through the dedicated HS2 Recruitment Hub in Washwood Heath.
Andrew, 48, from Birmingham said:
“As a local resident, I’ve witnessed the positive impact HS2 is having in Birmingham. I don’t just mean the major viaducts that are springing up from the ground. It’s also providing local people with employment and opportunities to learn new skills. I’m one of those people who are benefitting from this iconic project, which I believe will come to define the city.”
Around 10,000 people are already helping to build HS2 in the West Midlands, almost a third of the entire workforce employed on the project. 870 people from the region have secured apprenticeships and 2,214 local residents who were unemployed have progressed into new careers.
HS2 Ltd has achieved both its employment and skills targets. It set a goal of creating 2,000 apprenticeships and supporting 5,000 unemployed people into jobs. It is now revising its Skills, Employment and Education Strategy to ensure local people, along the route of the railway, continue to benefit from training and career opportunities as the project progresses.
For more information about careers and opportunities on HS2, visit your local Jobcentre Plus or the careers page on HS2’s website hs2.org.uk/careers
