Willmott Dixon has officially started work on two construction colleges for High Speed Rail, on two sites in Doncaster and Birmingham.
The National College for High Speed Rail will be based at facilities in Doncaster’s Lakeside and Birmingham’s university district (pictured), and will open its doors in September 2017.
Willmott Dixon has already fitted out the 100,000 sq ft headquarters of the HS2 project delivery team at 2 Snow Hill, Birmingham.
The three projects together are worth an estimated £40m. The college will provide students with the technical engineering skills required to build, operate and maintain the railway, with a strong emphasis on practical and virtual learning.
It will be open to a wide range of people including new entrants, existing workforce, students studying for a foundation degree in rail engineering, access students, mature entrants, higher apprentice rail engineering students, progression from L3 diploma rail engineering, continuous professional development and career changers.
Transport secretary, Robert Goodwill, said: “This shows the transformational effect that HS2 is already having on our country – boosting skills, generating jobs and supporting economic growth – before spades are in the ground next year.
“This college is part of a wider strategy to upskill local people and, in turn, deliver economic benefit for the region and allow us to compete on a global scale.”
HS2 will support up to 100,000 jobs nationwide, create around 25,000 jobs during construction of phases one and two and create 2,000 apprenticeships.
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