HS2 goes in to construction phase

Author: ross sturley cimcig

HS2 has entered its construction phase, providing a boost to the sector, and creating around 22,000 jobs.

The £45bn enabling works phase has now ended, and an estimated 400,000 supply chain contract opportunities are opening up in the first phase of construction.

Mace Dragados JV, which this month moved onto the construction site adjacent to Euston station, forecasts that it will need 3,000 workers to help deliver the capital’s new central high speed station.

Skanska Costain Strabag JV expects to create 4,800 jobs on its Euston approaches and Northolt tunnels sections. There will be employment for around 550 previously unemployed people and 400 apprenticeships.

Bouygues, Sir Robert McAlpine and VolkerFitzpatrick JV expects to recruit to fill 1,200 vacancies, with over 100 opportunities for apprentices to deliver the Chiltern Tunnels and Colne Valley Viaduct.

Balfour Beatty Vinci Systra needs a workforce of 1,400 to support the construction of Old Oak Common Station. As well as providing over 250 apprenticeship positions, the joint venture is committed to attracting local candidates, of all ages and backgrounds.

HS2’s main works contractor for the West Midlands, the Balfour Beatty Vinci JV along with its supply chain partners, expects to be one of the biggest recruiters in the West Midlands over the next two years.

Up to 7,000 skilled jobs will be required to complete its complex section of the HS2 route.

This includes Long Itchington Wood Green Tunnel to Delta Junction and Birmingham Spur, and Delta Junction to West Coast Main Line Tie-In (Handsacre Junction).

Eiffage, Kier, BAM Nuttall, Ferrovial – building the section from the Long Itchington Wood site in Warwickshire south to the Chiltern tunnel portals, will recruit over 4,000 roles in the next two years, many based in Milton Keynes, as work ramps up in the area.

HS2 itself is already directly recruiting for 500 new roles over the next three months, with the majority based in Birmingham, as the project moves into the construction phase.

Mark Thurston, CEO of HS2, said: “After 10 years of development and preparatory work, today we can formally announce the start of full construction, unlocking thousands of jobs and supply chain opportunities across the project.”

HS2 is already supporting around 9,000 jobs. During its 20-year construction it will create over 30,000 engineering and construction jobs – including 2,000 apprentices – directly on its sites and many more thousands in the supply chain around the country.