‘High speed rail’ could be dropped from the National College for High Speed Rail’s name as it seeks to extend its reach.
Instead, the engineering institution could be called the National College for Advanced Transport and Infrastructure, to cover light rail, metro and freight; highways; transport infrastructure such as airports, service stations and bus stations; smart mobility; and digital transport systems. Under the new name, high speed rail brand will still be retained as a centre of excellence.
A formal consultation on the name change will run until May 29.
Chief executive Clair Mowbray said: “As an industry-led and industry-focused college, our proposed name change is a response to the conversations we’ve been having with employers across the transport and infrastructure sectors.
“While high speed rail is core to our brand and offer, learnings from our start-up process have made it clear that our current name does not convey the broader scope of higher-level training that we are capable of offering.
“In our efforts to train the next generation of engineers needed for HS2 and beyond, we want to ensure that our vision and ability to support the broader transport and infrastructure sector is clearly articulated.”
The college launched in October 2017 and is still developing its curriculum, which is based around Level 4 and 5 apprenticeships and full-time courses, right through to Level 6 and short CPD courses.
When it launched, the college had 150 enrolled learners and the capacity to cater for up to 1,200 students. It currently has 336 full-time learners and apprentices.