Learning ambition
Hitachi and Bombardier make the case for their joint bid to build the next generation of high-speed trains for HS2, and why it is well placed to support the project’s ambitious skills, employment and education objectives
Hitachi and Bombardier make the case for their joint HS2 high-speed train bid.
For any passengers travelling in or out of Birmingham’s two city centre stations at New Street or Moor Street, there’s tangible evidence that something big is happening.
Hoardings have now been erected and construction workers have started to move onto an adjacent site on Curzon Street, where HS2’s new terminus station is due to open with the rest of Phase 1 to London Euston in 2026.
These are not the only developments around Curzon Street, however. Hitachi and Bombardier opened their new joint bid centre in the nearby Millennium Point complex on September 12.
It is from these offices that up to 50 staff, including engineers, designers, skills development and environmental specialists from the two global rail manufacturers are working up proposals to build a new £ 2.75 billion fleet of high-speed trains for the iconic project ( RAIL 858).
The joint bid is one of five shortlisted to HS2 Ltd to take part in the formal tendering process beginning later this year, with a contract award for at least 54 ‘classic compatible’ trains expected in March 2020.
“The decision to locate the Joint Venture ( JV) bid centre in Birmingham was taken not only to reflect the city’s importance as a hub on the HS2 network, but also to best support the strategic goals set out in HS2 Ltd’s Skills,
Employment and Education Strategy which was published on September 13 (see pages 46-47).
The HS2 Strategy document outlines four key objectives for the project which are: To leave a lasting skills legacy. Create sustainable skills, employment and education opportunities.
To stimulate interest in STEM subjects in order to encourage new entrants into the rail industry.
To maximise the project’s economic and regenerative potential.
According to Bombardier’s Head of Material Solutions & Services Strategy Sarah Reid, the JV is in an unrivalled position to deliver on all these objectives, given the significant respective achievements of the two companies to date.
She says: “We deliver a compelling bid because we can both show a huge amount of evidence of our previous work.
“Being here at Millennium Point places us at the very heart of HS2 and its ambitions, not least because it is part of the campus for Birmingham City University, which is a leading light in the Government’s STEM agenda.”
With a combined UK operation of over 4,500 people spread across a large number of UK sites, both Bombardier and Hitachi can boast considerable track records in attracting new talent to the industry.
The companies’ approaches to securing young talent include partnerships with various further and higher education providers across the UK, including the University Technical Colleges in Derby and South Durham and local schools. They are both also key sponsors of the National College for High Speed Rail campuses in Doncaster and Birmingham.
Impressive results have been delivered, with Hitachi currently having 44 apprentices in the UK while its national apprentice and graduate programme is on course to deliver another 64 by 2020.
With many of these graduating to full-time positions, a total of 94 will be training at several sites, including Hitachi’s rolling stock manufacturing facility at Newton Aycliffe and depots at Ashford, Stoke Gifford, Swansea, Doncaster and at North Pole in West London by the end of the decade.
Bombardier has a similarly large number of apprentices and graduates, 200 of whom are in current schemes working across its UK operations, while approximately 200 further apprenticeships and graduate positions are forecast to be created over the next two years to support existing projects across the company’s sites including the main manufacturing facility at Derby Litchurch Lane.
All participants are actively involved in the company’s annual Graduate & Apprenticeship Leadership Conference and are encouraged to engage with peers across the business, meet with senior colleagues and develop innovative ideas, such as efficiency improvements.
Within its 2018 intake, Bombardier has also implemented Higher Apprenticeships for the first time in its engineering function, in order to attract the wider pool of talent that has traditionally fallen foul of the gap between apprentice and graduate levels.
We live insucha multicultural society,our workforce should reflect that. Leanne Lang, HR Business Partner, Hitachi Rail
This will help create a skills legacy not just at Bombardier but across the whole of the UK. Nina Atwal, Responsible Business Lead, Bombardier
We’re movingfrom findingtalent toenabling itasweopen up opportunities to all sections of society. Sarah Reid, Head of Material Solutions & Services Strategy, Bombardier
Both companies also champion the Trailblazer apprenticeship standard. Trailblazer produces content for courses that is currently being used, while degree-level content is in production.
Nina Atwal, Responsible Business Lead UK for Bombardier, says: “At Bombardier we’re looking at having more than 200 new trainees across our UK business by 2020 based on current contracts, which gives you clear visibility of our ongoing commitment.
“These are existing commitments and we will both extend our programmes even further if our HS2 bid is successful.
“To showcase the value of new talent in our organisation we hold a Graduate & Leadership Conference each year, which our trainees are involved in planning and then speaking at to give them maximum ‘buy-in’.
“This is important because they are our future leaders and this will help create a skills legacy not just at Bombardier but across the whole of the UK as they continue to build their careers.
“This year we added to our offering and recruited at Higher Apprentice level within our Engineering function. Whichever level apprentices choose they are all allocated a mentor for their wellbeing and development throughout their career. It isn’t just about bringing in people but nurturing and growing them, giving them a sustainable career path.”
Having a sustainable workforce is of equal importance to Hitachi and Bombardier, who both work closely with customers and charities to provide training and employment opportunities to groups in society that have, historically, been underrepresented in the rail industry.
For example, Bombardier recently collaborated with Transport for London on a Women in Transport programme to offer five work placements at its London depots where female applicants were selected for their passion and proactivity, despite having no previous experience of rail.
Hitachi has run a number of targeted women’s days at Newton Aycliffe which has generated multiple successful candidates.
The company’s 2018 graduate intake featured more females than males for the first time. Hitachi HR Business Partner, Leanne Lang says: “We believe this was a result of using bespoke attraction methods such as a marketing app, which allowed us to promote our opportunities more widely and enable increased inclusivity. This resulted in seven times the number of applications from the year before, and in turn the number of female applicants.”
Adding to the large amount of external recognition received by the two companies, Hitachi Rail Managing Director Karen Boswell won RAIL’s National Rail Award for Outstanding Personal Contribution in 2015, for her own commitment to improving diversity. Bombardier’s Sarah Reid is another high-profile figure in industry-wide efforts to increase the number of female entrants, in her role as Vice Chair of networking group Women in Rail for the East Midlands.
She adds: “We’re moving from finding talent to enabling it as we open up opportunities to all sections of society. Commitments to recruit certain numbers of apprentices and people from unemployed backgrounds have now become embedded across our organisations, and we’re keen to drive that forward.”
As part of their commitment to improve in these areas, both companies are identifying Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) leads to build on progress already made.
Hitachi will also draw upon the lessons learned from a roundtable it held earlier this year with the Skills and Apprenticeship minister Anne Milton, along with industry and education bodies such as the Federation of Small Businesses and the National College of High Speed Rail. The event was held to identify best practice and find tangible ways of creating the dynamic, diverse and highly skilled workforce needed for 21st century opportunities
Hitachi HR Business Partner Leanne Lang adds: “We live in such a multicultural society, our workforce should reflect that and so we would commit, as a JV, to champion the agenda through an EDI lead.
“We are keen to address the industry skills shortage and ensure we promote our opportunities to all, focusing on awareness and equal access for diverse groups.”
Atwal adds: “EDI isn’t just a box-ticking exercise for us, we recognise it should flow through everything we do and should be lived through our employees creating an inclusive workplace. We’re looking more and more at our practices to champion inclusivity, which is already resulting in an increase in applications from applicants from diverse backgrounds..
Promoting STEM subjects in schools and tackling stereotypes is also recognised by Hitachi and Bombardier as a key mechanism in attracting sufficient numbers of apprentices and graduates to the rail sector.
Both companies actively support schools and colleges with mentorship programmes, by providing STEM ambassadors and by attending careers fairs and open days to help influence young people in their career choices.
Lang says: “We also talk to parents - we believe that changing perceptions of rail starts at home. Parents are often the first role models. We also ensure careers advisors and teaching staff are supported in showcasing our industry to their students and are working towards removing stereotypes.”
Atwal adds: “Our partnerships and sponsorship of colleges and organisations such as UTC and NCHSR are not just about funding, they are about getting students and parents involved in order to showcase the great opportunities available to them, and the exciting future that lies ahead with projects such as HS2.”