Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps High Speed Two Ltd is taking with (a) further and (b) higher education institutions to employ apprentices.

HS2 Ltd and its supply chain continue to work closely with higher education institutions to support degree level apprenticeships as well as a range of other employer and outreach work, and are working closely with both further education (FE) institutions (including Derby, Moulton, Solihull, and Walsall colleges, and the National College for Advanced Transport and Infrastructure) and higher education (HE) institutions (such as Anglia Ruskin, Aston, Birmingham Metropolitan, Coventry, Loughborough, Sheffield Hallam, and Wolverhampton Universities) to meet the aims of the HS2 Skills, Employment and Education Strategy

As part of their contractual requirements, HS2 Ltd’s supply chain is contractually required to deliver skills, employment and education outputs. As well as creating apprenticeships, these include supporting unemployed people into work; creating opportunities for work placements; and delivering school engagement actives including school age work experience. In much of this work there is a focus on supporting individuals from under-represented groups.

Recent activities have included:

• Attending career and apprenticeship fairs across the country at various institutions this year (pre-lockdown);

• HS2 Ltd assisting in the development of the T level qualification in Construction: Design, Surveying and Planning;

• Supporting Aston University’s Diversity in the Commercial World event in February 2020;

• HS2 td and Tier 1 contractors sitting on the Employer and Partnership Boards of various educational institutions;

• Balfour Beatty Vinci (Main Works Contractor) working with Walsall College to deliver their first T level in Construction: Design, Surveying and Planning;

• HS2 Ltd with Tier 1 contractors working with Coventry University’s Director for Quantity Surveying, Commercial Management and Construction Management degrees to develop a package of support for undergraduates;

HS2 Ltd has worked closely with the National College for Advanced Transport and Infrastructure (previously National College for High Speed Rail). Since 2017, they have sent 69% of their apprentices to the college to study level 4 and 5 programmes in Project Management and Leadership & Management. A number of their supply chain companies, including BBV, LM, Systra, CSjv, Align, WSP, ACI, Arup, Jacobs, Bechtel and Atkins have apprentices at the College.