Birmingham shortlisted as base for national HS2 college

BIRMINGHAM hast been shortlisted by the Government as one of four areas being considered as the location for the new National College for High Speed Rail.

Skills and Enterprise Minister Matthew Hancock said the new college ‘hub’ and a number of ‘spokes’ based across the country would provide training to the next generation of engineers working on the HS2 project and beyond.

The three areas shortlisted alongside Birmingham are Derby, Doncaster and Manchester.

Hancock said the quality of bids had been very high overall and all had been 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.

The Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership said the Birmingham bid would have the provision to train thousands of people in the skills necessary to deliver the HS2 project.

Led by a private sector steering group, the Birmingham bid also has support from a network of almost 60 businesses involved in rail and construction.

Alongside Birmingham City Council, it also harnesses the talents and resources of the nine FE colleges involved in the Greater Birmingham & Solihull FE Consortium and the LEP’s three universities.

If successful, the bid will see the college work with other skills providers and employers around the country to ensure the best training available.

The proposal also has the support of the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership.

Four sites within the LEP area have been shortlisted as the potential location for the college:  Eastside Locks, Birmingham Science Park, Riverside in Perry Barr and Jennens Road in Eastside.

GBSLEP Deputy Chair Steve Hollis said: “It is excellent news that our submissions to host the High Speed Rail College in Birmingham have been well received and we have been shortlisted by Government.

“We said at the time that we believe the case we presented for Birmingham in terms of sites, central location, networks to colleges and employers was a compelling one.”

He said the private sector-led partnership working with the GBSLEP, the nine Greater Birmingham FE colleges, universities and Birmingham City Council had everything the Government required to make this project work.

“Preparing for the arrival of HS2 is an important part of our Strategic Economic Plan and the college is a component of this.

“We look forward to working with Government on the next stage of the bid,” he added.

Matthew Hancock said: “For the college to be a success, it will need to bring together this expertise so we can achieve high quality skills provision in this important sector. We hope that all those locations that responded to the consultation will develop strong links with the main college site, so that as many learners as possible have access to the opportunities that HS2 and other rail engineering projects will create.”

To ensure the success of the college, BIS has appointed Terry Morgan to advise on its development.  Morgan is the chairman of Crossrail, chair of the National Skills Academy for Railway Engineering and was previously chief executive of Tube Lines and group managing director for BAE Systems.  His first task was to oversee the selection of the shortlist and he will be involved in final phase of the selection process.

This will involve representatives from Birmingham, Derby, Doncaster and Manchester giving presentations to an Advisory Group on Friday June 27 in order for a final decision to be made in July. The advisory group will consist of Terry Morgan, officials from BIS, the DfT and representatives from HS2 Ltd.