CASE STUDY 7 CROSSRAIL TRAINING AND INNOVATION INITIATIVES

Crossrail published its Skills and Employment Strategy in 2010. This set out several initiatives designed to support both the delivery of the project itself and the establishment of a longer-term skills and employment legacy. Just three of these initiatives are highlighted below.

TUCA

Crossrail opened its Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy (TUCA) in Ilford in 2011. Between then and now, TUCA has delivered over 15,000 units of training. This has included specialist training and apprenticeships in tunnelling and related areas, filling a large hole in previous skills provision.

Brokerage

Between 2011 and 2016 Crossrail also operated a dedicated jobs brokerage, staffed jointly with Job Centre Plus. The Brokerage has worked closely with both employers and local referral agencies to match people to jobs. It has also partnered with Job Centre Plus and individual employers, as well as external organisations like Buildforce and Women into Construction, to provide enhanced opportunities for jobseekers from disadvantaged and/or under-represented backgrounds. By March 2016, when the Brokerage ceased operations, over 700 local and unemployed people had found work directly through this route.

Tier 1 contractors and supply chains

Finally, Crossrail has sought to use its procurement processes to commit Tier 1 contractors to deliver specific numerical targets, covering (among other things) local and unemployed job starts, apprenticeships, graduate training and work placements. These contractual provisions have been supplemented by a systematic performance management regime, focussing not only on contractors' delivery of 'outputs' (i.e. the targets themselves), but also the quality of management processes and other 'inputs' (e.g. engagement of supply chain employers in the delivery of employment and skills opportunities). To date, over 4,700 local and/or unemployed people have found jobs on the project, as well as over 600 apprentices and over 500 graduate trainees.

Legacy

With the project nearing completion, Crossrail is currently collating lessons learned and recommendations for publication on its Learning Legacy website (http://learninglegacy.crossrail.co.uk/). Already, however, Crossrail's experience has helped shape the Government's 2016 Transport Infrastructure Skills Strategy, committing the sector to create 30,000 new apprenticeships by 2020.

Celebration of Crossrail's 400th apprentice. Photo: Fatima Alghali