Partnership offers fast track route into employment on HS2

A partnership between HS2’s West Midlands construction partner Balfour Beatty VINCI (BBV) and Walsall Works is helping unemployed Walsall residents to access training, develop new skills and start building a career on HS2.

The work trial scheme is open to Walsall residents aged 25 and over, who are currently out of work and want to earn, learn and gain valuable work experience ahead of progressing into permanent employment.

The placements are ideally suited to those looking for office-based roles where they will get to work as part of a wider team.

Eligible candidates will be offered an eight-week paid placement with BBV, with opportunities available in their HR, facilities, procurement and finance teams.

Julie Venn Morton, senior legacy manager at HS2, said: “We’re delighted to join forces with our job brokerage partner, Walsall Works, who share our drive to ensure that local residents benefit from career opportunities on HS2.

“Our paid placement programmes have been hugely successful in supporting people of all ages and backgrounds back into the world of work, with promising career prospects for those that successfully complete their placement. I’m confident this new partnership with Walsall Works will be equally successful. ”

Across the West Midlands, more than 600 people who were out of work now have full-time jobs on HS2.

Balfour Beatty VINCI want to see more people from Walsall stepping forward to join its workforce, which is expected to peak at around 7,000 as its construction programme from Warwickshire to Staffordshire progresses.

Shilpi Akbar, head of stakeholders and communities at BBV, said: “At Balfour Beatty VINCI, we remain focussed on providing employment opportunities for people across the region and encouraging new entrants to the construction and infrastructure industry.

“Our latest partnership with Walsall Works is testament to how we continue to go above and beyond to support unemployed people; helping them to jumpstart their careers while working on one of the most exciting projects in Europe.”

Walsall Works is an initiative funded by Walsall Council.

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