HS2 Reports 2,032 Apprentices, Launches 65 New Positions

HS2 Ltd has exceeded its initial target of 2,000 apprenticeships, with project data from January confirming 2,032 apprentice starts to date. Following this milestone, which was marked by the hiring of civil engineering trainee Mohammed Sharif, a new recruitment campaign for 49 apprenticeships and 16 graduate positions will launch on February 9, 2026, during National Apprenticeship Week. The intake marks the tenth annual cohort since the program began in 2017.

The new roles are distributed across HS2 Ltd and its primary construction partners. HS2 Ltd itself is recruiting for five apprentices within its project controls and commercial teams, based in Birmingham and London. In the West Midlands, construction partner Balfour Beatty VINCI (BBV) will add 26 apprentices in roles including construction quantity surveying, civil engineering, materials technology, and geospatial services. BBV will also add positions in its health and safety, procurement, and data analyst teams.

In London, three new apprenticeships are available through HS2’s station construction partners. Mace Dragados has an opening for a logistics apprentice, while the Balfour Beatty VINCI SYSTRA joint venture at Old Oak Common is recruiting for civil engineering and quantity surveying roles. Skanska Costain STRABAG, the partner managing the Euston approaches, will add 15 apprentices later in the month across engineering, project controls, IT, and commercial departments.

According to Rebecca Young, HS2 Ltd’s Head of Skills, Inclusion and Supply Chain, the program is designed to create a specialist talent pool for future UK infrastructure projects. The apprenticeships have no upper age limit, attracting both college leavers and individuals seeking a career change. BBV is specifically targeting its level 3 apprenticeship roles, equivalent to two A-level passes, for local unemployed people in the West Midlands, a point emphasized by Shilpi Akbar, BBV’s Head of Stakeholders and Communities.

The skills initiative is part of a wider trend in the engineering and transport sectors. Verification data confirms that similar programs are active globally, including the MCCC skilled trades pathway in Michigan, a Queensland government initiative to strengthen its transport workforce with apprentices and graduates, and Flinders University’s Civil Engineering Based Apprenticeship Program in South Australia. These programs focus on developing technical skills, safety knowledge, and trade awareness.

In addition to the apprenticeships, HS2 Ltd is launching recruitment for a two-year graduate program. The 16 available placements are for its engineering, commercial, and project controls teams in Birmingham and London, offering candidates rotations across different business areas. The project’s total workforce of 33,000 is intended to provide a foundation of expertise for subsequent national infrastructure and housing construction.