Educating Crossrail

Engineering methods employed to construct London’s railway tunnels in 2014 has come a long since work started on the Thames Tunnel almost 190 years ago. Where it took Brunel 18 years to burrow 396 metres through London clay, Crossrail’s tunnel boring machines (TBMs) will eventually have covered 42 kilometres in around three years.

Although the UK has a long history of tunnelling, prior to the start of the Crossrail project there was little in the way of skills and training expertise in the area. With such an intensive tunnelling programme ahead and the Thames Tideway and HS2 on the horizon, it was clear that Britain needed to start producing qualified tunnellers.

In September 2011, the £13 million Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy (TUCA) opened in response to the looming skills shortage. Three years later and Great Britain now has a dedicated tunnelling training centre, which teaches, among other things, an accredited basic tunnelling qualification in the Tunnel Safety Card (TSC) and an NVQ Level 2 in tunnel operations – both of which are mandatory qualifications for Crossrail workers.

The academy has for the first time created a recognised standard for tunnelling skills. Suddenly the UK has become a world leader in the field. Envious international guests have already made their way to Ilford to learn from TUCA.

Life after Crossrail

Although TUCA was set up by Crossrail, it isn’t Crossrail’s academy. Training is provided by the National Construction College, with Crossrail as its custodian. With Crossrail’s TBM tunnelling programme expected to end in early 2015, TUCA is now thinking about life after the project and has begun the search for its new custodian.

The academy may already be planning its future but that doesn’t mean its role in Crossrail is finished. TUCA is also a centre for upskilling, offering engineers from different disciplines the opportunity to undertake the training they need to be able to work underground.

‘Just because the tunnelling programme is coming to an end doesn’t mean that TUCA doesn’t have something to offer the industry,’ says Georgina Bigam, TUCA strategy and commercial manager.

‘We’re unlikely to be doing full-on mechanical and electrical engineering, but what we can do is take those practicing qualified engineers and say ‘hey you’ve never worked in a tunnel and here are some things you need to be aware of.’

The academy has a simulated pit bottom, facilities for Sprayed Concrete Lining (SCL) and a mini test track for locomotive driver training. Teaching the necessary skills to work on tunnelling projects is the academy’s main aim but it also needs to prepare students for life underground. The pit bottom has its own AV system and smoke machine which are used to simulate an emergency and teach learners how to stay safe in such a confined environment.

The space is designed to be flexible, says Georgina. Different projects present different challenges. The role of TUCA is to support industry and this means talking to project managers and contractors, so that the academy’s training programmes develop the skills they require.

Georgina added, ‘There will be unforeseen training needs in the future that the academy needs to be flexible to meet.’

Apprentices

Crossrail and TUCA are not just creating jobs, they are giving people careers. In August, Bam Ferrovial Kier (BFK) celebrated the appointment of its 100th apprentice. Jordan Malcolm-Taylor came through the academy and is now an apprentice carpenter working on the new station at Farringdon.

Crossrail’s apprenticeship and pre-employment programmes have been heavily publicised and understandably so. The project has targets it needs to meet in terms of creating opportunities for London’s unemployed, and it is achieving them. It is already close to hitting its target of 400 apprentices and to date, close to 8,000 learners have come through the academy – well above the original target for the life of the project.

It has only been three years, but the academy has already created a legacy for Crossrail. The challenge now for the government and for industry is to retain these skills.

Photos courtesy of Crossrail