Contracts awarded for major Government transport infrastructure projects are soon to include targets for the creation of new apprenticeships, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced last week.

From March suppliers employed by the DfT or its delivery partners – including Highways England, Network Rail and Transport for London – will be required to provide one apprenticeship for every £3M to £5M of taxpayers’ money spent.

Alternatively they may be asked to deliver a percentage increase in the number of apprentices employed each year during the lifetime of a project.

This latest commitment forms part of a new Transport Infrastructure Skills Strategy which sets out how the Government intends to deliver plans to create 30,000 apprenticeships in the road and rail sector by 2020.

Crossrail chair Terry Morgan, who led development of the strategy, said: “To create a workforce capable of delivering the unprecedented number of transport projects in the pipeline it is vital we increase the number of apprentices and attract more women into the industry.

“This skills strategy is a huge step in the right direction, but all of us, from parents and teachers to chief executives and industry leaders have a role to play to help the next generation grab the exciting opportunities on offer.”

The strategy also sets a target for at least 20% of new entrants to engineering and technical apprenticeships in the transport sector to be women by 2020 and to achieve parity with the working population by 2030.

CIHT Chief Executive Sue Percy said: “This transport and infrastructure skills strategy is vital if we are to meet the Government’s infrastructure targets and remain competitive in a global market.

“CIHT has been calling for the development of a coordinated approach on skills for some time, so we welcome this new strategy. CIHT will continue to work with the DfT and leaders from across the industry to help implement the recommendations outlined in this strategy.”

DfT's document endorses CIHT's Routes to Diversity & Inclusion toolkit for use by industry employers. The department is also supporting creation of CIHT careers materials for primary, secondary and further/higher education. The Institution's full response to the skills strategy is available here.

The Royal Academy of Engineering’s director of engineering and education Dr Rhys Morgan said: “This is an excellent, forward thinking strategy addressing the transport infrastructure skills challenge. The targets are very ambitious, and the Academy will do all it can to work closely with Terry Morgan to achieve these aims.”

(Photo: Network Rail)