Welcome to the HS2 Bootcamp

A small project at Euston could lead to bigger things… and help to build a legacy. Tom Edwards reports.

For seven years, HS2 has had poor relations with the Euston community.

Not surprising, perhaps, given that 215 homes were demolished. Some 153 homes in the tower blocks next to the site were deemed uninhabitable, and many residents were moved out.

Seventy businesses were also destroyed. Those that stayed were blighted with traffic works and noise and vibrations.

St James Gardens, a burial ground and open space, was destroyed.

The Bree Louise pub was demolished.

There has been noise, disruption, and uncertainty. Plans for the area have changed a number of times.

Go for a walk in the area, and there doesn’t seem to be much work going on… but there are a lot of hoardings.

The scheme has cut the community in half, with very few benefits so far.

The project was also paused for two years by the previous government.

Now, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed that the rail line will termninate at Euston, and not at Old Oak Common in north-west London. A high-speed rail link between central London and Birmingham is at least now going ahead, which has been welcomed by the local council.

Richard Olszewski, leader of Camden Council, says they need to continue to make the case for the scheme benefiting local people.

“We now have a degree of certainty. We know that HS2 will come to Euston, and we need to make sure people in Camden can access the jobs that will come with it. The project will also bring thousands of new homes, which we need to ensure benefit people locally."

Plans for the whole area are not clear. But on a muddy site just off the Hampstead Road is a small scheme that is trying to shift the narrative.

Welcome to HS2 Bootcamp.

At the site, in front of the tower blocks named after Lakeland villages, a roller is being driven up and down over bumps. Slowly they are flattened. An instructor is talking to the driver through headphones.

Another student is being instructed in how to use a dumper truck.

In just two weeks, this intensive course offers the full training and accreditation needed to start work as a plant machinery operator.

It combines classroom-based learning with practical training on a range of construction machinery, such as rollers, dump trucks and excavators.

Crucially, the programme is free to Camden residents, and is designed to support those who are either currently out of work or seeking a career change to gain new skills.

Fatima Tejan-Jalloh used to work in events, and had been trying to get into construction for years. She clearly loves her job, and she is highly enthusiastic about construction and what she has learnt. She is a recent graduate of the scheme and is now a trainee site manager.

“It’s just something I’ve always wanted to do. I was trying everything to get into the industry. I wasn’t really going anywhere, but I found out about the Euston Skills Centre and the HS2 project, and honestly it has changed my life.

“Within those ten days I was able to accomplish my credentials in the roller and the dumper, and it has been an upward trajectory from there. It has transformed my life. I am still in awe. It has been a dream come true, life-changing.

“You’re literally looking at a product of corporate social responsibility.”

In an area which has yet to see any benefits from the scheme, Fatima is also very upbeat about HS2: “Now we have 140 miles of new train track, and thousands and thousands of homes - even more jobs are going to here, so more opportunities.

“There is always good and bad, but overall this project will change a lot of people’s lives.”

The initiative is a collaboration between Flannery Plant Hire, HS2 and its construction partner Skanska Costain STRABAG (SCS), Camden Council, and the Euston Partnership.

Funding to deliver the programme has been secured by Flannery Plant Hire from the Department for Education.

Aaron Davis, Safety and Skills Director for Flannery Plant Hire, says addressing a shortage of skills is also important: “We are equipping participants with the practical skills, confidence and certifications they need to access meaningful sustainable employment in the construction sector.

“The bootcamps not only address critical skills shortages in Camden and the surrounding boroughs, they also ensure that local residents are at the forefront of the opportunities created by landmark infrastructure projects such as HS2.”

At the end of the training, successful participants are offered an interview for a plant operator role.

Beatrice Adegbola, from Abbey Wood, has also completed the scheme. She says it has given her more confidence: “I know I can do things that I didn’t think I could do. I know I’m going places now in the construction industry.”

The numbers may seem small at the moment - the boot camp is hoping to put 30 locals through the scheme. But it shows potential, and it’s a small bit of positive news in Euston for HS2. As well as the bootcamp, there are about 2,000 apprentices across the whole project.

Ambrose Quashie is the Senior Skills & Inclusion Manager for HS2 Ltd. He says the company wants to provide good careers for those on the scheme.

“This skills bootcamp is a really important way in which we’re able to give opportunities to local people. We’ve got plans for 30 people to go through this particular initiative, but we have over 31,000 people working across this programme currently.

“We also have over 1,800 apprentices who are helping us to build this railway line, with ambitions to go to 2,000.

“They get the qualification of construction plant competence scheme, so that will enable them to operate plant machinery. And once they have that qualification, that’s their foot in the door when it comes to work in the construction industry.

“But it’s not just about the foot in the door. It’s also about how we can make sure these people have careers in our industry.”

“We have opportunities within our offices - such a broad range of opportunities that at HS2 our role is really how we connect people, including local people, to those opportunities.

“My role is really about trying to make sure that we deliver positive benefits as part of this project. Making sure we have local people - like Fatima, like Beatrice - to work on our projects, but also to work within our industry to make sure we’re really ensuring that this project is helping economic growth and transforming people’s lives.”

The wider picture is more unclear. In the local area, they are still waiting for plans on how the development will look.

A recent report from Camden Council, titled the Euston Area Regeneration Economic Impact Assessment, said the development could include up to 2,500 new homes.

There would be about 470,000 square metres of new high-quality commercial space and new public spaces - including parks and walking and cycling routes.

In total, the report says that would generate £4.2 billion of private and public investment, including at least £2.7bn of foreign direct investment, adding £540 million to the UK economy by 2030. It could rise to £2.5bn each year, and a total of £41bn by 2053.

The trouble is: there isn’t a lot in the way of detail at the moment.

“Compared with the frustration of the stop-start incoherence we had from the previous government’s running of the project, we now at least have a degree of certainty that it’s going to happen,” says Olszewski.

“But with a project of this scale, there’s a lot for central government to sort out. We’re clear there will be development at Euston, the station will be built, the trains will come. And on the back of that jobs and new homes will come as well. It will take time, but we will play our part to ensure it happens as quickly as we can, but also benefits people locally.

“I think the reality is it will be over a number of years. I don’t think anyone would predict a finish point for the whole thing, as it will develop in stages and complete in stages - both on the transport side, and the jobs side and the homes side.

“I want to see things happen as quickly as possible, but you are talking of a site on a massive scale, and a multi-billion-pound site with a piece of very complex infrastructure to build, so it will take time. But we will do our part to get benefits for local people.”

The bootcamp may be small, but perhaps shows a shift in the narrative around HS2 in Euston, - and a glimpse of the potential of the scheme.