Recommendation 5

The Department and HS2 Ltd are not adequately engaging with the Department for Education to secure the skills required for the future of the programme and training the next generation of skilled workers. We have repeatedly raised concerns that the Department and HS2 Ltd did not have the skills or capability they needed now or in the future to successfully deliver the programme. The Department and HS2 Ltd have repeatedly failed to convince us that their plans to secure the future skills and capability needed are enough. In 2016, HS2 Ltd and the Department told the previous Committee that the National College for High Speed Rail would be crucial in training people in the skills required for High Speed 2 and other infrastructure projects. The college has since become the National College for Advanced Transport & Infrastructure and, most recently, merged with the University of Birmingham. The Department admits that the performance of the college has been disappointing and hopes that its latest merger, new leadership and new curriculum from September 2021 will be an opportunity to get the best out of the arrangement. Yet the Department’s involvement with the college has been limited as it falls under the Department for Education’s accountability remit. We are disappointed in this lack of engagement, as it is in the Department’s strategic interests to have a strong relationship with the college and ensure it provides the skills and curriculum High Speed 2 and other infrastructure projects need. Recommendation: The Department must proactively engage with the Department for Education and other relevant education providers to ensure there are plans 8 HS2 Summer 2021 in place for further education colleges to get the through-flow required for the programme. The Department should write to us to explain how it is engaging with these stakeholders within three months.