By lyndamyer
Before commencing work on the next High Speed 2 (HS2) tunnel through the Midlands later this year, Balfour Beatty Vinci (BBV) is recruiting more people to its tunneling team.
Cooperating with tunneling labour supply company Tunnelcraft, BBV launched 10 tunneling operative apprenticeships for the next phase of construction.
Being located between Water Orton in Warwickshire and Washwood Heath in Birmingham, the twin bore tunnel with 5.6km length is due to be excavated by the tunnel boring machine (TBM) that BBV’s new tunneling team will operate it.
In order to enabling tunneling work to go ahead on the next stretch of the project, almost 100 additional roles, including the apprenticeships, will be created.
BBV’s 300-strong tunneling team has already completed a 1.6km bore in Warwickshire and are on track to breakthrough on the second bore of the tunnel this spring.
According to HS2’s senior legacy manager for the region Julie Venn-Morton: “2023 will be a huge year for construction in the West Midlands, so we’re continuing our drive to attract more local people into new careers on HS2.”
“This is a great opportunity for those looking for a career with a difference, which really does open up opportunities to work all over the world once qualified,” added Julie Venn-Morton.
BBV’s director of health, safety, wellbeing and tunnels Neil Johnson said: “We’re working closely with Tunnelcraft to recruit ten ambitious tunneling operative apprentices who want to learn on the job, while working alongside some of the most experienced people in our industry. We’ll invest time and money into training the right candidates, and I’m confident it’s a career move they won’t regret.”
Duration of this course will be eight weeks in the classroom in one-week blocks and candidates are due to work towards their Level Two Tunnelling Operative apprenticeship, with the remainder of their journey spent getting hands on with the underground and overground tunneling operations.
Successful candidates can expect to earn around £150 per day during their apprenticeship, which will last for 12-18 months, pending each candidate’s progression.
While applications for the tunneling operative apprenticeship roles have already gone live, BBV recruitment program commissions this month.
Candidates interested in applying should submit their CV by email to see.team@balfourbeattyvinci.com
