The number of people working on High Speed 2 is claimed to be just short of 25,000, with another 2,000 staff joining the project in the last three months.
In the 20 months since full construction works began, HS2 says it is ‘well on track’ to hit its target of 2,000 apprenticeships, with 923 having benefitted from the campaign.
HS2 Ltd Chief Executive Mark Thurston said: ‘2022 is shaping up to be a huge year for HS2. Our expanding workforce reflects the scale of progress we are making in delivering Britain’s new railway and supporting the Government’s drive to net zero, level up the country and build back better from the pandemic. With all three phases of the project now in progress, and two decades of construction work still ahead of us, the scale of opportunity for individuals and businesses on HS2 right across the UK continues to grow at pace.’
In the wider supply chain, 76 new UK-based businesses won contracts, taking the number of domestic companies in the supply chain to 2,515. Small and medium sized enterprises make up 61% of the supply chain.
