Career opportunities across the HS2 project are helping to boost local employment in the West Midlands.
Latest figures show that HS2’s Midlands-based construction partner Balfour Beatty Vinci (BBV) has welcomed 69 new recruits in the last three months. This figure is expected to rise in the coming weeks as more candidates join the project.
In total, 12,535 local residents are now employed on the infrastructure programme – representing more than a third of HS2’s 34,000-strong workforce.
The total includes 740 people from the West Midlands who have secured an HS2 apprenticeship and a further 1,936 who have progressed into jobs following a period of unemployment.
Julie Venn-Morton, HS2’s senior skills and inclusion manager for the West Midlands, said: “HS2’s training programmes are helping people of all ages to access employment.
“Whether stepping out into the world of work for the very first time, or opting to retrain, HS2 is getting people into jobs and boosting their long-term career prospects.”
BBV works closely with nine further education providers in Warwickshire and the West Midlands.
Together they support learners to develop the practical and theory skills that will prepare them for future careers in the industry.
Since construction began, more than 40 fast-track training-into-employment programmes have been delivered across the West Midlands, with successful candidates transitioning into both office and site-based roles in as little as three weeks.
Shilpi Akbar, head of stakeholder and communities at BBV, said: “HS2 is already proving to be a game changer for communities across the West Midlands, with over 12,500 people now working on the project.
“We’re proud of the key role we’re playing, through our training programmes and partnerships with local colleges, creating an enduring legacy that will be felt for generations.”
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