Flannery Plant Hire has joined forces with HS2’s construction partner EKFB (a team made up of
Eiffage,
Kier,
Ferrovial Construction and
BAM Nuttall), to create a new training centre that can upskill local people in Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire ready for jobs on HS2 in as little as two weeks.
The purpose-built Operator Skills Hub, which has opened its doors and is already training over 100 new recruits, includes a 16-seat classroom, three indoor plant simulators and a 4-acre outdoor space for practical training and assessments. It has been built on HS2’s A422 Brackley Road compound in Westbury, to enable trainees to see exactly how the skills they develop can be put straight into use supporting HS2’s construction.
Flannery Plant Hire secured funding from the Department for Education to deliver a broad range of training programmes, including its two-week ‘Skills Bootcamp’ in plant operations, which is free to local residents over the age of 19. The two-week programme provides all the training and accreditation needed to start work as a plant operator and is designed to support those most in need, or who are looking for a career change, to develop new skills and secure employment in record time.
Ladder of opportunityRobert Halfon, Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education, said: “We want local people to benefit from huge projects like HS2, and this new training centre will open the ladder of opportunity to those who want to upskill or retrain in Bucks and Northants. Skills Bootcamps are at the heart of our skills agenda, delivering high-quality training that will support more adults to gain the skills they need to secure good jobs in sectors like construction and transport.”
Recognising the crucial role that the Operator Skills Hub will play in upskilling the next generation and supporting local people into employment, the region’s Skills Advisory Panel has supported the Hub by providing funding for a complementary mobile training centre.
Furnished to a high specification, including classroom space and its own plant training simulator, the mobile centre will be used to engage job seekers at local careers fares as well as provide a vital link into schools and colleges to demonstrate the local training and careers opportunities available. The Operator Skills Hub will also deliver 12-month Trailblazer apprenticeships, which provide candidates with the skills and certification needed to operate four different types of plant machinery.
Mr Halfon added: “The Hub is seen as vital in addressing local skills shortages and in creating the lasting skills legacy that HS2 set out to achieve. Through its broad range of training programmes, the Skills Hub will create a pipeline of talent capable of supporting not just HS2’s construction, but other local and major infrastructure projects of the future.”