Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 26
26
The Department and HS2 Ltd told our previous Committee in 2016 that the National College...
Conclusion
The Department and HS2 Ltd told our previous Committee in 2016 that the National College for High Speed Rail would be crucial in training people in the skills required to successfully construct High Speed 2 and other infrastructure projects. For example, at the time of our evidence session in 2016, there was a contractual requirement for HS2 Ltd’s civil construction contractors to train around 2,000 apprentices in the college.60 However, the Department admitted that the story of the College had to date been a disappointing one. It told us that the College had now merged with the University of Birmingham as the National College for Advanced Transport & Infrastructure. It said that it was confident that its new, broader remit, a new curriculum from September 2021, and new leadership gave it an opportunity to get the best out of the college.61
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
5: PAC conclusion: The Department and HS2 Ltd do not adequately engage with the Department for Education to secure the skills required for the future of the programme and training the next generation of skilled workers. 5: PAC recommendation: The Department must proactively engage with the Department for Education and other relevant education providers to ensure there are plans 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. 5.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 5.2 The department wrote to the Committee in November 2021 setting out how it is engaging with the Department for Education (DfE) and other relevant education providers. 5.3 HS2 Ltd has had a team focusing on this from early on in the programme and in 2018 published a HS2 Skills, Employment and Education strategy. This strategy seeks to ensure that the programme has the people with the skills needed and will leave a skills legacy. More recently, the Building the Skills to Deliver HS2 report was published by HS2 Ltd and sets out what skills interventions are already in place and how this work has been refocused in light of the start of main works construction and the pandemic. 5.4 The department worked closely with HS2 Ltd and the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA, which is responsible for funding education and skills for children, young people and adults) to support the recent merger between the University of Birmingham and National College for Advanced Transport and Infrastructure (NCATI). Ofsted’s latest monitoring inspection of NCATI had judged the college to be making significant progress and the department will work with the college and the ESFA to continue to build on this. 5.5 Alongside NCATI there are several Further Education (FE) providers along the HS2 route that provide relevant courses and training and the department engages with ESFA regarding this provision as well. These and other FE providers across the country will support not just the delivery of HS2 but also infrastructure projects across the country. The department will continue to work closely with the ESFA to identify any challenges to provision, to support the HS2 programme and the department’s wider infrastructure programme.