HS2 Graduate and Apprentice Assessment Guide

What HS2 says you will sit

HS2 Ltd, the company building the high speed railway, uses one route for its graduate and apprentice programmes. Its graduate FAQs and apprentice FAQs, both last updated on 5 February 2026, describe the first assessment the same way: an online blended assessment, sent once your application has been reviewed, that "consists of a variety of situational, numerical, and verbal questions, with a video interview at the end".

Who built the assessment

HS2 does not name a supplier. Amberjack, a UK early-careers recruitment and assessment company, does: its HS2 case study says that "In October 2022, HS2 partnered with Amberjack for the redesign of their early talent programme roles across apprentices and graduates". The process it describes is the one in HS2’s FAQs: a short application form, an immersive online blended assessment "which is the same for all candidates", and a final virtual assessment centre tailored in parts to apprentices and graduates. Amberjack reports an assessment-to-offer ratio of 3:1 after the redesign, against 5:1 the year before.

Amberjack’s blended assessment mixes workplace scenarios, where you pick the most and least effective response, with verbal and numerical questions set as emails in an inbox. The full format is explained on our Amberjack practice page.

The graduate programme

The graduate FAQs list three programmes: project controls, engineering and commercial. Each runs for two years, typically as four six-month placements aligned to the programme. You need at least a 2:2, which HS2 validates with your university, and the contracted week is 36 hours. The 2026 salaries were £26,871 basic plus a 15% flexible allowance in London (£30,902), and £24,022 plus 15% in Birmingham (£27,625).

The apprenticeships

HS2 Ltd’s apprenticeships typically last two years, at locations along the line of route, most often Birmingham and London. You need five GCSEs at grade C or 4 and above, including English and Maths, and there is no limit on how long ago you sat them. In 2026 the first-year pay was £21,122 plus a 10% flexible allowance (£23,234) at Level 3 inside the M25, and £19,740 plus 10% (£21,687) at Level 3 elsewhere, a little more at Level 4. A degree does not rule you out, and you can reapply if an earlier HS2 application was unsuccessful.

The 2026 campaign opened on 9 February 2026, in National Apprenticeship Week, with five HS2 Ltd apprentice roles in project controls and commercial alongside the graduate scheme. The same announcement listed apprenticeships at HS2’s construction partners, such as Balfour Beatty VINCI; those companies recruit to their own roles, and nothing we found says they use HS2’s assessment.

After the assessment centre

Every offer is conditional. HS2 checks your qualifications with the institution that awarded them, runs a basic DBS criminal record check and a financial check, and asks for references; the graduate FAQs say they must cover the last three years. Applicants who do not reach the interview stage get no feedback; everyone who is interviewed gets feedback on the key competencies. The apprentice FAQs add that no application or assessment is accepted after its deadline.

Practise the format

These practise Amberjack’s formats, not HS2’s own items, which are not published. None of them includes the video questions at the end; for those, prepare short spoken examples using the STAR method.

• Situational Judgement (Most and Least) (10-20 minutes, free) - The situational part on its own: a workplace problem, four responses, mark the Most and Least effective.
• Email Inbox Reasoning (15-25 minutes) - The verbal and numerical part, set as colleagues’ emails with tables and charts to read before you answer.
• Future Potential Blended Assessment (30-45 minutes) - Both parts in one untimed sitting, the closest rehearsal for the stage HS2 sends after your application.

For the skills underneath, see our guides to situational judgement tests, numerical reasoning and verbal reasoning.

Common questions

Does HS2 use Amberjack?

Amberjack says so in its published case study, and the stages it describes match HS2’s own FAQs. HS2 itself does not name the supplier, so treat your invitation email as the final word on what you sit.

Is the HS2 blended assessment timed?

HS2’s FAQs give a submission deadline but no time limit. Amberjack’s blended assessments usually show no countdown and record how long you take, so work steadily rather than racing. Complete it well before the deadline, as HS2 asks.

Is the assessment centre in person?

No. HS2 says the interview and assessment centre take place virtually, on an online platform. It cannot always offer another date if you cannot make yours, but says it will be as flexible as it can.