{"id":63701,"date":"2015-11-04T14:55:21","date_gmt":"2015-11-04T14:55:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=92ecb8edefc4317ffdd303459336fe9c"},"modified":"2015-11-04T14:55:21","modified_gmt":"2015-11-04T14:55:21","slug":"speech-the-skills-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=63701","title":{"rendered":"Speech: The Skills Challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n

Good morning.<\/p>\n

Thank you for that introduction Andrew (Neil \u2013 Chairman).<\/p>\n

A few weeks ago, the Treasury published a report called the National Infrastructure Plan for Skills<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It set out an infrastructure programme worth a staggering \u00a3411 billion across the UK economy from 2015 onwards.<\/p>\n

Planned by both public and private sectors across transport, energy, communications and the environment.<\/p>\n

Although dizzying in scale the report clearly established the biggest construction and engineering challenge of this age.<\/p>\n

How to train and provide a skilled workforce capable of delivering such a vast programme within an already competitive global infrastructure market.<\/p>\n

So today I want to talk about the unprecedented skills challenge we face in Britain today.<\/p>\n

And particularly within transport.<\/p>\n

Transport<\/h2>\n

When we look back at Britain\u2019s rich transport history, our ships that created the first global economy, our railway that blazed a trail during the 19th century, our genius for industrial design and engineering, we tend to associate our success with a few brilliant pioneers.<\/p>\n

And rightly so.<\/p>\n

If it weren\u2019t for the \u2018Stephensons\u2019 and \u2018Brunels\u2019, the development of transport would have looked very different.<\/p>\n

But what\u2019s often overlooked is how we were able to mobilise a highly skilled workforce, which was just as important a resource as the coalfields which powered the Industrial Revolution.<\/p>\n

But in the 20th century, when we stopped investing in transport, we stopped investing in skills.<\/p>\n

They were no longer handed down to the next generation.<\/p>\n

Competitors began to overtake us.<\/p>\n

And we\u2019re living with the legacy of that underinvestment today.<\/p>\n

Not just on our roads and railways.<\/p>\n

But in our workforce too.<\/p>\n

So when we\u2019re investing \u00a370 billion in transport in this Parliament alone, we need a new generation of engineers, designers and construction professionals, as well as highly skilled people to operate the networks once they\u2019re opened.<\/p>\n

HS2<\/h2>\n

To illustrate the challenge, I want to focus today on HS2.<\/p>\n

Not just the single biggest transport scheme of our time, but the largest infrastructure project in Britain since the coming of the motorways.<\/p>\n

25,000 jobs will be created during construction alone.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s now just 2 years until building begins.<\/p>\n

So preparations are moving quickly ahead.<\/p>\n

Over the summer we started recruiting for HS2\u2019s design panel.<\/p>\n

Lord Adonis \u2013 who championed HS2 as Transport Secretary in the last Labour government \u2013 joined HS2 Ltd\u2019s board.<\/p>\n

And in the coming year the HS2 Bill is set to pass through the Hybrid Bill committee and reach third reading.<\/p>\n

We have a clear plan to manage the deployment of thousands of infrastructure professionals, along with all the materials and machinery, in the run up to 2017. <\/p>\n

And we are now starting the procurement process by preparing the contracts that will be signed as soon as the Bill has passed.<\/p>\n

HS2 will create some of the largest value contracts in UK construction history.<\/p>\n

They will generate tens of thousands of opportunities, 60% of which we expect to be awarded to small- and medium-sized businesses.<\/p>\n

So HS2 Ltd has been touring round the country to engage firms interested in bidding most recently in Northern Ireland and Scotland.<\/p>\n

So they too can start preparing to attract and develop the talented staff that will help them become a successful part of the HS2 story.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Patrick<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Skills and apprenticeships<\/h2>\n

But we know the skills shortage won\u2019t solve itself.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re conscious that while we look for 25,000 skilled professionals for HS2, we also need 20,000 more people to deliver other road and rail schemes.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s before we consider other potential new transport projects like Crossrail 2.<\/p>\n

So we are getting ready now.<\/p>\n

First, we are transforming apprenticeships with a commitment to train 3 million apprentices by 2020.<\/p>\n

We have appointed Terry Morgan, the chairman of Crossrail, to develop a transport skills strategy, including 30,000 new rail and road apprenticeships in this Parliament. <\/p>\n

We are working with suppliers to achieve this, and promoting a culture change that focuses on future need and not just the job in hand.<\/p>\n

So when suppliers bid for work, they will also pledge to take on trainees, apprentices and graduates. and equip the workforce with the skills they need for the long-term.<\/p>\n

We believe it\u2019s better to invest in home-grown talent now, rather than wait and outsource work to international consultants later.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s the supply chain, taking on apprentices at local levels, that will drive the skills revolution.<\/p>\n

Academies and colleges<\/h2>\n

But we\u2019re also creating institutions to train our future workforce.<\/p>\n

The Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy, sponsored by Crossrail, has already trained 7000 people.<\/p>\n

Network Rail is investing \u00a337 million in three new training centres across Britain.<\/p>\n

This will make a total of 7 training centres which will supply the railway with skilled staff.<\/p>\n

Last month, Rail Minister Claire Perry opened the National Training Academy for Rail in Northampton.<\/p>\n

This is a multi-million pound state of the art centre to develop the next generation of rail engineers.<\/p>\n

And in 2017, the National College for High Speed Rail will give a thousand graduates a year a fantastic grounding in modern engineering and construction.<\/p>\n

Together, these colleges will form a national network of skills academies to train the transport workers of the future.<\/p>\n

But simply building new training facilities is only part of the solution. <\/p>\n

We need to attract a bigger pool of talent.<\/p>\n

And to achieve that, we must make a career in engineering or infrastructure more appealing to a wider selection of youngsters.<\/p>\n

To deliver the transport projects I\u2019ve outlined, making the workforce more diverse and inclusive isn\u2019t just beneficial.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s imperative.<\/p>\n

Diverse workforce<\/h2>\n

For example, we desperately need to attract more women into engineering and construction.<\/p>\n

Diversity is evolving today.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not about tokenism or political correctness.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not just about fairness and equality of opportunity.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s about making industry better.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s about attracting the brightest and best people from all sections of society.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s about the make-up of industry reflecting the customer base.<\/p>\n

Why is it that in 2015, men still make up over 90% of airline pilots and train drivers in this country, 90% of transport and logistics managers, and over 80% of Network Rail staff?<\/p>\n

Well women still complain of unequal pay.<\/p>\n

Of a boys\u2019 club culture in the workplace.<\/p>\n

And discrimination over issues like childcare and maternity leave.<\/p>\n

Gradually we\u2019re changing that.<\/p>\n

Crossrail is being built by a much more diverse workforce.<\/p>\n

But the longer-term challenge is to change the way we promote the industry.<\/p>\n

We need to explain the social value of what we do.<\/p>\n

How transport binds together our society.<\/p>\n

How the railway helps us reduce carbon emissions by taking traffic off the roads.<\/p>\n

How engineers and the construction industry change the lives of millions of people.<\/p>\n

And we also need to sell the value of engineering qualifications.<\/p>\n

How those skills are appreciated by employers across the economy.<\/p>\n

So an engineering degree is not perceived as narrowing your future opportunities.<\/p>\n

In fact precisely the opposite: opening up so many career options.<\/p>\n

Particularly now. Here. In Britain.<\/p>\n

Last year I announced my intention to make 2018 the Year of the Engineer.<\/p>\n

Since then there\u2019s been widespread and enthusiastic support from the engineering community for the concept.<\/p>\n

I see this as a chance to excite young people, so more choose science, technology, engineering and maths subjects at school and go on to choose engineering jobs in the future.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

So, to sum up.<\/p>\n

Change on the scale I\u2019ve talked about today will of course take time.<\/p>\n

But we\u2019ve never had a better opportunity to achieve change than we do today.<\/p>\n

This is a country accustomed to a Victorian transport infrastructure, stuck together with bits of 20th century sticking plaster.<\/p>\n

Whole generations have never travelled on a new, cutting edge transport system.<\/p>\n

But just look at what the redevelopment of St Pancras and then Kings Cross achieved in London.<\/p>\n

And in the past few weeks, how the re-opening of Birmingham New Street and Manchester Victoria stations have been rapturously reviewed by the people of those cities.<\/p>\n

I think the opening of Crossrail will continue the process.<\/p>\n

Not just transforming journeys.<\/p>\n

But transforming people\u2019s perception of what transport can do for a city.<\/p>\n

And ultimately, I believe HS2 can change the way thousands of youngsters think about careers in construction and infrastructure.<\/p>\n

So, yes, we face an unprecedented challenge.<\/p>\n

But we also have an unprecedented opportunity.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s grasp it.<\/p>\n

Thank you.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We need a new generation of engineers, designers and construction professionals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63701"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=63701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63701\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=63701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=63701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=63701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}