Over 27,000 employed on HS2

With the new HS2 high-speed railway entering the main phase of its construction, the project’s leaders have now revealed that over 27,000 people are working on it, across 350 sites in London, the North West and the Midlands.

6,838 of those workers are employed in the West Midlands, helping to construct miles of track, viaducts and tunnels, plus two new stations at Curzon Street in Birmingham city centre and Interchange in Solihull.

HS2 and its construction partners have already helped 2,200 unemployed people into work, joined forces with colleges to offer T-Level technical qualifications to local students, and provided over 950 apprenticeships for young people entering the workforce.

On December 1st, two of these apprentices, Thando Makombe and Rintesha Shekh, joined Transport Secretary Mark Harper and HS2 CEO Mark Thurston for a historic drive-through of HS2’s first completed tunnel. At Long Itchington in Warwickshire, this was the first chance for VIPs and media to travel all the way through an HS2 tunnel.

“It was absolutely extraordinary to see first-hand the sheer scale and craftsmanship of this monumental project,” said the MP. “As well as boosting connections, regenerating communities and creating tens of thousands of jobs, tunnels such as this have been designed to ensure Britain’s biodiversity and countryside are preserved during construction and for many decades to come.”

HS2’s Skills and Employment Strategy Manager, Rebecca Young, said: “Long before HS2 trains start arriving in the West Midlands, Britain’s biggest infrastructure project is delivering for the region.

“HS2 is the UK’s flagship Levelling Up project, and we remain committed to driving investment and opportunities into the West Midlands.”