16.06.14
Shortlist announced for National High Speed Rail College
Birmingham, Derby, Doncaster and Manchester have been shortlisted to become the home of the National College for High Speed Rail.
The new College ‘hub’ and a number of ‘spokes’ based across the country will provide training to the next generation of engineers working on the HS2 project and beyond.
A high number of responses were sent into the government, and all the bids were assessed against a range of criteria including the size and availability of a suitable site, accessibility, and the potential to develop strong links with employers and providers already operating in the sector.
Matthew Hancock, skills and enterprise minister, said: “I was extremely encouraged by the level of interest that has been shown by areas across the country in being part of meeting the high speed rail skills challenge. We received a number of very strong proposals, and not all can be taken forward to the final stage.”
Representatives from Birmingham, Derby, Doncaster and Manchester have been invited to give presentations to an Advisory Group on Friday 27 June in order for a final decision to be made in July. The group will consist of Terry Morgan, chairman of Crossrail and chair of the National Skills Academy for Railway Engineering, officials from the Department for Business Innovation and Skills and the Department for Transport as well officials from HS2 Limited.
The High Speed Rail College is the first specialist National College to be developed and plans are in place to create more including in nuclear, coding and energy, in the coming years.
Transport minister Baroness Kramer said: “HS2 is a vital part of our long-term economic plan, providing and safeguarding tens of thousands of jobs. The new College will equip the engineers of the future with the skills they need to secure these jobs and similar ones in the UK and across the globe.
“This new national college will operate with a ‘hub and spoke’ model, so there is huge potential for towns and cities across the country to benefit from the opportunities it will bring.”
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