HS2, the UK’s high speed railway project, is deploying educational workshops for schoolchildren to promote engineering as a career option.
“Education ambassadors” from HS2 Ltd will visit pupils in secondary schools to provide workshops tied to the UK’s educational curriculum, covering such subjects as large-scale infrastructure construction and railway station design; with the aim of reducing the UK’s engineering skills gap. The workshops are to be held at schools and further education colleges across the country, with particular focus on areas along the route HS2 is projected to take; from London through the Midlands to Leeds and Manchester.
Kate Myers, HS2 Ltd’s Head of Skills, Employment and Education, said: “A project the size and scale of HS2 opens up an incredible array of jobs and opportunities and it’s important that young people in the local area understand how they can get involved, ahead of making critical choices about their future. HS2 is much more than just a railway and offers career pathways in a whole range of fields from archaeology and geology to engineering and the environment. We have a responsibility to ensure that young people understand how they can get involved in this transformational project, whether through work experience, apprenticeship opportunities or understanding the qualifications they will need to set them on the path for an amazing career in the future.”
The HS2 workshops are based around the educational themes of science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics (STEAM); and aim to help students to identify the skills and strengths they can apply to a future career in engineering. Sylvia, a student at Waddesdon School, Aylesbury, which recently hosted an HS2 workshop, said: “The workshop was packed with a range of activities which meant the students were engaged at all times. The focus on careers and skills needed for STEM subjects was very timely as our students pick their GCSE options next month.”
