Member Article

York misses out on High Speed Rail College

A bid to bring a national college for high speed rail skills to York has failed as ministers have shortlisted Birmingham, Derby, Doncaster and Manchester as possible locations.

An entry earlier this year and led by York, North Yorkshire & East Riding Enterprise Partnership had hoped to bring the skills hub to the city.

A government statement on the decision said the quality of bids was strong, and all were assessed against a range of criteria including the size and availability of a suitable site, accessibility and the potential to develop strong links with employers already operating within the sector.

Skills and Enterprise Minister Matthew Hancock said: “I was extremely encouraged by the level of interest that has been shown by areas across the country in being part of meeting the high speed rail skills challenge. We received a number of very strong proposals, and not all can be taken forward to the final stage.

“However, it is clear that there is already some excellent partnership activity taking place between education providers and the rail industry across the country which is resulting in the delivery of some outstanding provision.

“For the college to be a success, it will need to bring together this expertise so we can achieve high quality skills provision in this important sector.

“We hope that all those locations that responded to the consultation will develop strong links with the main college site, so that as many learners as possible have access to the opportunities that HS2 and other rail engineering projects will create.”

Transport Minister Baroness Kramer said: “HS2 is a vital part of our long-term economic plan, providing and safeguarding tens of thousands of jobs. The new College will equip the engineers of the future with the skills they need to secure these jobs and similar ones in the UK and across the globe.

“This new national college will operate with a ‘hub and spoke’ model, so there is huge potential for towns and cities across the country to benefit from the opportunities it will bring.”

Terry Morgan, chairman of Crossrail and chair of the National Skills Academy for Railway Engineering, will now advise on the development of the college.

Representatives from Birmingham, Derby, Doncaster and Manchester have been invited to give presentations to an Advisory Group on Friday June 27 in order for a final decision to be made in July.

The group will consist of Terry Morgan, officials from the Department for Business Innovation and Skills and the Department for Transport as well officials from HS2 Limited.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .