National College for High Speed Rail signs collaborative contract with Alstom Rail Academy in Widnes

The National College for High Speed Rail has signed a contract to work in collaboration with the newly created Alstom Academy for Rail in Widnes.

The new agreement will see the college lead on the provision of learner education and technical training at Alstom’s new facility, which opened in June 2017.

The Widnes academy is the largest rail modernisation facility in the UK with more than 13,000 square metres of space.

Alstom and its affiliates will continue to own and manage the academy, providing current and future supplies of apprentices for training through the new college partnership.

During its first days of operation under this new agreement, the partnership will prepare for a new programme to upskill up to thirteen current level three apprentices to level four beginning in the Autumn.

The plans are still unchanged for the academy to train up to 500 apprentices over the next five years.

The existing apprentices at the Widnes rail academy will continue to work for Alstom while the academy staff will be transferred to the National College for High Speed Rail under TUPE.

The National College for High Speed Rail opened in October 2017 with two brand new campuses located in Doncaster and Birmingham. It is the largest of five national colleges that has been created by Government to develop world class skills for growth industries in Britain.

The National College for High Speed Rail has been tasked with preparing the next generation of industry leaders to deliver infrastructure projects including HS2 and its accompanying infrastructure requirements, as well as preparing for probable future growth projects in rail and engineering such as Northern Powerhouse Rail.

The agreement gives the college access to a supply of apprentices via Alstom and its supply chain, as well as offering dedicated office space, training facilities, IT infrastructure, and specialist kit and equipment based in the North West of England.

Martin Owen, commercial financial director at the National College for High Speed Rail, said: “This is a milestone for the college and we’re looking forward to working with Alstom to ensure the Rail Academy in Widnes can become even greater than the sum of its parts.

“We’ll be looking to build on Alstom’s initial work through a truly collaborative approach which will equip the future workforce with skills that are vital for the industry’s move towards high speed rail.

“For the college, this agreement also marks the first phase of the hub and spoke model which was outlined in our original plans. It means our unique training offer can now be brought to the North West of England, positioning our services as a training delivery partner across three regions that will be critical to the success of HS2.

“The partnership also broadens our offer across the North, ensuring the college is well placed to develop the skills that will be needed in the workforce for other major rail infrastructure projects in the North, such as plans to improve east-west connectivity through Northern Powerhouse Rail.”

Nick Crossfield, managing director for Alstom UK & Ireland, added: “We are very pleased to be collaborating with the National College for High Speed Rail in this landmark partnership.

“With support from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, our Widnes site continues to expand and we have already moved more industrial activities there, including Alstom’s worldwide centre of excellence for modernisation.

“Now national college apprentices and learners will be able to take advantage of the site, to learn about the refurbishment of rolling stock. We will also be developing virtual reality training facilities. This collaboration will be crucial in training the highly skilled workforce the rail industry needs for the future and we are delighted to be at the heart of it”.

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