HS2 has exceeded its target of creating 2,000 apprenticeships on Britain’s high-speed rail project – helping workers build new careers and delivering a multi-million-pound boost to the economy.
Latest data shows that an additional 99 people started an apprenticeship between September and December 2025. This takes the total number of new apprentice starts on the project to 2,032 – exceeding the original target set before construction started.
The milestone achievement is a double success for HS2. In May 2025, HS2 Ltd, the company building the railway, confirmed that it had reached its goal of supporting 5,000 unemployed people into work – and today it also confirmed that this figure has climbed to 5,645.
This comes as a new report from HS2 Ltd – Mind the Skills Gap – shows that the combination of apprenticeships and workless job starts delivered on the project to date is worth £315 million to the UK economy.
The figure is expected to grow in the years ahead as HS2’s construction progresses from major civil engineering to rail systems installation. This next stage of the project will create even more new career opportunities, ensuring the UK has a pipeline of highly skilled workers that will serve the UK economy for a generation.
Some 33,000 people are currently employed on the project, and over 3,700 British businesses are engaged in the supply chain, supporting thousands more jobs across the country – underlining the extent to which HS2 is actively supporting the government’s drive to get Britain building and get more people into work.
Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy said:
“This Government is committed to breaking down barriers and opening opportunities for young people, and HS2’s continued success in creating thousands of high‑quality apprenticeships shows the real difference major infrastructure projects can make to communities across the country.
“A skilled workforce is essential for the UK’s prosperity and economic growth and with tens of thousands of people currently working to deliver HS2, we stand in good stead to deliver this line as fast, and with the lowest cost, possible.”
When HS2 was first conceived, the project faced a significant skills shortage. To plug the skills gap, HS2 Ltd set out its ambitions in its Skills, Employment and Education Strategy, which it published in 2018 – before construction began. The strategy, which is backed by extensive modelling and forecasting, has played an important role in ensuring HS2 has the skilled workforce it needs, in the right place at the right time.
HS2’s investment in upskilling will deliver legacy benefits for the whole country, spearheading a UK workforce that is ready to build the megaprojects of tomorrow, from nuclear power stations and wind farms to other major transport upgrades.
From the outset, HS2 Ltd sought to ensure that local communities would benefit, and the vast majority of those that have secured an apprenticeship or started a new job following a period of unemployment, live close to the 140-mile line of route.
To date, 2,032 people have started an apprenticeship on HS2 - 34% are from London and the South East and 41% live in the West Midlands. 5,645 people who were out of work received training and support to help them access new careers on the project - 39% live in London and the South East and 38% are from the West Midlands.
HS2’s 2,000th apprentice, Mohammed Sharif, is from Bordesley Green in Birmingham. He lives just minutes away from the vast network of viaducts that are being built on the approach to HS2’s new terminus station at Curzon Street.
Seeing HS2’s construction from his bedroom window inspired him to explore a career in civil engineering. Now, just two years on, he’s part of the team helping to build HS2 in his home city.
Mohammed Sharif, 19, from Birmingham said:
“I knew I wanted to work on HS2, so I applied to BMet college to study for a T-Level in Construction and secured a work placement with HS2’s construction partner, Balfour Beatty VINCI.
“I worked hard at college and put 100% into my placement - and it paid off. When I finished my studies, Balfour Beatty VINCI offered me a civil engineering apprenticeship.
“I used to look out of my bedroom window and see all the work taking place on HS2 – now I’m helping to build it. This project is going to open up so many opportunities for young people like me, I couldn’t be prouder to be a part of it.”
HS2 is now at an advanced stage of a comprehensive reset – putting the programme’s construction in the right sequence and bringing certainty to the railway’s final costs and opening dates. This will ensure HS2 is built as efficiently as possible and for the lowest reasonable cost.
Mark Wild, Chief Executive at HS2 Ltd said:
“Hitting the 2,000-apprenticeship milestone is a significant achievement and I’m delighted that local people, along the HS2 route, are the ones benefitting from our investment in future talent.
“Upskilling young people and the unemployed delivers long-term benefits for individuals and the economy. We’re building a pipeline of skilled workers that will support the UK’s growth for a generation.“
Once operational, HS2 will improve connections between London and the West Midlands, with trains running further north on existing lines. The new high-speed railway will create quicker and more reliable journeys, driving economic growth while freeing up space for more local trains on the most congested part of the West Coast Main Line.
To mark National Apprenticeship Week, which launches on Monday, 9th February 2026, HS2 Ltd and its construction partners will be recruiting for more new apprentices.
For information about careers and opportunities on HS2, visit hs2.org.uk/careers
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