All images: HS2 Media Centre
Strategic HR HS2 expansion
attracted a wealth of talent from across the
country, resulting in a ‘brain drain’ in more
disparate areas.
However, in a reversal of the capital’s brain
drain, figures collected by Totaljobs have
shown that the number of workers leaving
London has grown at an unprecedented rate
in recent years.
In 2014 the inflow of working-age adults to
London was 169,440. In the same year
187,460 working-age adults left the city,
outweighing those coming in by 18,020. Yet
in 2018 the inflow of working-age adults was
200,846, whereas the outflow was 241,033,
creating a net of -40,187.
Though HS2 is not presently the catalyst
for this change Stephen Warnham, content
and communications manager at Totaljobs,
envisions how the project could contribute to
this trend in the future.
“Birmingham and Manchester are already
two of the most popular destinations for
people moving away from London and being
part of HS2 will likely see this trend continue.
With some one million young people
planning on leaving London by the age of 33,
better connectivity to regions outside of
London could see these parts of the UK open
up further to become thriving jobs hubs,”
Warnham says.
“For London employers investment in
Britain’s transport network will expand the
areas from which they are able to find talent,
so things like season ticket loans and flexible
working will become increasingly important.”
New skills
So the how and where of jobs will be
changing, but what kind of jobs will HS2
create and facilitate?
HS2’s figures estimate that the project will
create 30,000 jobs, 17,000 of which will be
new positions that require specialist skillsets.
“HS2 will create lots of additional
demand, which is good, but not all of that
demand is currently available in the supply
chain. So we’ve got a gap, which you could
see as a problem or you could see as an
opportunity,” says Neil Robertson, CEO of
the National Skills Academy for Rail.
In terms of economic value the jobs that
don’t yet exist within the rail sector stand
to generate more than £6 billion, which
Robertson says has not been taken into
account in the government’s proposal for
the project.
“The bulk of jobs are in various
engineering and construction disciplines,
High Speed rail project:
Key dates
2003
Section 1 of High Speed
1 (the Channel Tunnel
Rail Link from London)
opens, introducing the
UK to high-speed rail.
Section 2 of High
Speed 1 opens,
linking Ebbsfl eet to
London, and work
on the Crossrail project
is approved
2009
The Department for
Transport proposes a
second high-speed
rail line, HS2
2010
The coalition government led
by David Cameron reviews
HS2 and opens the fi rst
proposed route to a
public consultation
2011
Public consultation
receives opposition from
pressure groups including STOP
HS2, Action Groups Against
High Speed Two and the
HS2 Action Alliance due
to the rising projected
cost of the project,
expanding schedule, and environmental concerns about its construction
2013
The High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Act 2017 is introduced to
parliament on the 25 November to authorise construction of HS2 Phase 1
2018
John Armitt, chair of the National Infrastructure Commission, suggests that an
extra £43 billion is required to make the project successful
2019
Prime minister Boris Johnson orders an
independent review of HS2 to be chaired by
civil engineer Douglas Oakervee
2020
The Oakervee Review published in February
recommends that the project go ahead as
planned. A further review by the Infrastructure and
Projects Authority is currently underway aiming to
reduce costs and over-specifi cation of the project
At the time of press, the company responsible for HS2
has temporarliy halted all but essential construction
work on HS2 (in the Midlands only) because of the
Coronavirus outbreak in the UK.
22 HR April 2020 hrmagazine.co.uk
/hrmagazine.co.uk