Thousands of virtual seats have already been snapped up for webinars and roundtable discussions with HS2’s construction partners and subcontractors, and there’s just one week to go for anyone who hasn’t yet booked their place – registration will close at 17.00 on Monday, 1 November.
This year’s event is split into two weeks of interactive webinars. The first week (15th - 17th November) will focus on contract opportunities linked to the construction of HS2’s stations, while the second week (29th November – 1st December) aligns to Main Works Civils opportunities.
HS2’s seven joint venture contractors and 16 subcontractors will share details of their procurement pipelines, which include over 250 packages of work valued between £4,000 and £158million.
Advance registration shows there’s a huge appetite for the event from UK-based businesses of all sizes. Almost 5,000 virtual seats have already been booked for the HS2 stations event and almost 7,000 for the Main Works Civils event. Applications to meet 1-2-1 with HS2’s construction partners and subcontractors has also seen an overwhelming response, with over 3,500 applications received.
Ruth Todd, HS2’s Chief Commercial Officer said:
“The sheer scale of response from UK businesses shows the value attached to securing a HS2 contract award.
“Our construction programme, spanning the next decade and beyond, provides the certainty that businesses of all sizes are looking for as they strive to recover from the effects of the pandemic.”
Analysis of delegate registrations shows that HS2 continues to make waves in its bid to engage and secure a diverse and inclusive supply chain. Early applications to meet with HS2 and its contractors on a 1-2-1 basis shows that businesses are:
- 80% SMEs
- 21% female owned
- 4% disabled owned
- 14% BAME owned
- 4% LGBT owned
Mark Lomas, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at HS2 said:
“We want Britain’s new railway to be designed and constructed by a workforce as diverse as the communities it will serve over the next hundred years, and it’s evident that businesses understand the value we attach to that.”
To register for this year’s Meet the Contractor event, or for more information, visit hs2.org.uk/mtc2021.
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