HS2 and its contractors provide a broad range of measures to support staff with disabilities and specialist health needs, through the use of its Safe at Heart and employee wellbeing programmes. They have joined forces with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) and Central and North West London (CNWL) NHS Foundation Trust to offer specialist training and employment opportunities within the project.
Balfour Beatty VINCI SYSTRA JV (BBVS), Skanska Costain STRABAG JV (SCS) and Mace Dragados JV (MD), have all signed up to attend the London Employability Roadshow for people with disabilities and long-term health conditions, which will be held from 10.00 – 14.00 on Friday, 27 May at Kensington Town Hall.
This inclusive support offered from HS2 helps to ensure that the rail industry continues to champion diversity and opportunity, creating a positive environment for people to flourish. This comes at a time where the sector as a whole is embracing inclusion within the workforce, but also creating accessible facilities for disabled passengers wherever possible.
Ambrose Quashie, HS2’s Skills Manager for Greater London said:
“We’re extremely proud to have been recognised for the positive steps we have taken at HS2, and across our supply chain, to support employees with long term health needs.
“HS2 is creating and sustaining hundreds of long-term employment opportunities in the local area, and we want people to feel empowered to step forward and apply for a job with us, knowing that they will receive the help and support they need to progress their career.”
Westminster City Council’s job coaches and HS2’s construction partner SCS JV have already teamed up and supported two candidates with neurodiverse needs into work placements on HS2. Both trainees are currently working with SCS’s dedicated tunnelling team and will initially spend eight weeks developing their workplace skills and experience in readiness to transition into employment.
Frankie Jones, Skills Manager at SCS JV explains:
“Being an inclusive employer means taking proactive steps to respond to the varied and changing needs of our people, and Westminster City Council is helping us to achieve that.
“We’ve implemented additional support measures at our construction sites, and in our offices, to ensure we can effectively welcome more local people with diverse needs into our workforce.”
The commitment to inclusion and diversity within the workforce from HS2 highlights the progressive evolution of the rail industry, which should be emulated across the sector.
