{"id":352301,"date":"2026-01-20T19:34:22","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T09:34:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/railuk.com\/?p=188043"},"modified":"2026-01-20T19:34:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T09:34:22","slug":"birmingham-teenager-crowned-hs2s-2000th-apprentice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=352301","title":{"rendered":"Birmingham teenager crowned HS2\u2019s 2,000th apprentice"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

HS2 has exceeded its target of creating 2,000 apprenticeships on Britain\u2019s high-speed rail project \u2013 helping workers build new careers and delivering a multi-million-pound boost to the economy.<\/p>\n

Latest data shows that an additional 99 people started an apprenticeship between September and December 2025. This takes the total number of new apprentice starts on the project to 2,032 \u2013 exceeding the original target set before construction started. <\/p>\n

The milestone achievement is a double success for HS2. In May 2025, HS2 Ltd, the company building the railway, confirmed that it had reached its goal of supporting 5,000 unemployed people into work \u2013 and today it also confirmed that this figure has climbed to 5,645.<\/p>\n

This comes as a new report from HS2 Ltd \u2013 Mind the Skills Gap \u2013 shows that the combination of apprenticeships and workless job starts delivered on the project to date is worth \u00a3315 million to the UK economy.<\/p>\n

The figure is expected to grow in the years ahead as HS2\u2019s construction progresses from major civil engineering to rail systems installation. This next stage of the project will create even more new career opportunities, ensuring the UK has a pipeline of highly skilled workers that will serve the UK economy for a generation.<\/p>\n

Some 33,000 people are currently employed on the project, and over 3,700 British businesses are engaged in the supply chain, supporting thousands more jobs across the country \u2013 underlining the extent to which HS2 is actively supporting the government\u2019s drive to get Britain building and get more people into work.<\/p>\n

When HS2 was first conceived, the project faced a significant skills shortage. To plug the skills gap, HS2 Ltd set out its ambitions in its Skills, Employment and Education Strategy, which it published in 2018 \u2013 before construction began. The strategy, which is backed by extensive modelling and forecasting, has played an important role in ensuring HS2 has the skilled workforce it needs, in the right place at the right time.<\/p>\n

From the outset, HS2 Ltd sought to ensure that local communities would benefit, and the vast majority of those that have secured an apprenticeship or started a new job following a period of unemployment, live close to the 140-mile line of route.<\/p>\n

To date, 2,032 people have started an apprenticeship on HS2 \u2013 34% are from London and the South East and 41% live in the West Midlands. 5,645 people who were out of work received training and support to help them access new careers on the project \u2013 39% from London and the South East and 38% from the West Midlands.<\/p>\n

HS2\u2019s 2,000th apprentice, Mohammed Sharif, is from Bordesley Green in Birmingham. He lives just minutes away from the vast network of viaducts that are being built on the approach to HS2\u2019s new terminus station at Curzon Street.<\/p>\n

Seeing HS2\u2019s construction from his bedroom window inspired him to explore a career in civil engineering. Now, just two years on, he\u2019s part of the team helping to build HS2 in his home city.<\/p>\n

Mohammed, 19, said: \u201cI knew I wanted to work on HS2, so I applied to BMet college to study for a T-Level in Construction and secured a work placement with HS2\u2019s construction partner, Balfour Beatty VINCI.<\/p>\n

\u201cI worked hard at college and put 100% into my placement \u2013 and it paid off.\u00a0 When I finished my studies, Balfour Beatty VINCI offered me a civil engineering apprenticeship.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to look out of my bedroom window and see all the work taking place on HS2 \u2013 now I\u2019m helping to build it. This project is going to open up so many opportunities for young people like me, I couldn\u2019t be prouder to be a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

HS2 is now at an advanced stage of a comprehensive reset \u2013 putting the programme\u2019s construction in the right sequence and bringing certainty to the railway\u2019s final costs and opening dates. This will ensure HS2 is built as efficiently as possible and for the lowest reasonable cost.<\/p>\n

To mark National Apprenticeship Week, which launches on Monday, 9th February 2026, HS2 Ltd and its construction partners will be recruiting for more new apprentices.<\/p>\n

Image credit: HS2<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>HS2 has exceeded its target of creating 2,000 apprenticeships on Britain\u2019s high-speed rail project \u2013 helping workers build new careers and delivering a multi-million-pound boost to the economy. Latest data shows that an additional 99 people started an apprenticeship between September and December 2025. This takes the total number of new apprentice starts on the [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2022,1633,1089,16017,47,16148,1070,2021,16018,85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-352301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-careers","category-government","category-hs2","category-industry-news","category-rail-news","category-rail-projects","category-recruitment","category-training","category-training-recruitment","category-uk"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=352301"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352301\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":352302,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352301\/revisions\/352302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=352301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=352301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=352301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}