HS2, in partnership with the RBKC and the CNWL NHS Foundation Trust, has pledged support for HS2 jobseekers with disabilities and long term health conditions
HS2 – through its Safe at Heart and employee wellbeing programmes – has implemented a range of measures which support jobseekers with disabilities and specialist health needs into work supporting the construction of Britain’s new railway.
Balfour Beatty VINCI SYSTRA JV (BBVS), Skanska Costain STRABAG JV (SCS), and Mace Dragados JV (MD), have all signed up to attend the London Employability Roadshow for jobseekers with disabilities and long term health conditions, which will be held from 10.00 – 14.00 on Friday, 27 May at Kensington Town Hall.
All three contractors will be sharing details of their latest career opportunities, offering support with applications and discussing the steps that they each have taken to support current and future colleagues with their health needs.
Supporting employees with long term health needs
Ambrose Quashie, HS2’s skills manager for Greater London, commented: “We’re extremely proud to have been recognised for the positive steps we have taken at HS2, and across our supply chain, to support employees with long term health needs.
“HS2 is creating and sustaining hundreds of long term employment opportunities in the local area, and we want people to feel empowered to step forward and apply for a job with us, knowing that they will receive the help and support they need to progress their career.”
Westminster City Council’s job coaches and HS2’s construction partner SCS JV have already teamed up and supported two candidates with neurodiverse needs into work placements on HS2.
They are currently working with SCS’s dedicated tunnelling team and will initially spend eight weeks developing their workplace skills and experience in readiness to transition into employment.
‘Taking proactive steps to respond to the varied and changing needs of our people’
Frankie Jones, skills manager at SCS JV explained: “Being an inclusive employer means taking proactive steps to respond to the varied and changing needs of our people, and Westminster City Council is helping us to achieve that.
“We’ve implemented additional support measures at our construction sites, and in our offices, to ensure we can effectively welcome more local people with diverse needs into our workforce.”
Offering accessible opportunities
Rash Patel, head of employment services and volunteering at CNWL added: “We are proud that HS2 will be joining the Disability Employability Roadshow and are impressed by their commitment and willingness to support disabled people and offer accessible opportunities.”
