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TALKING HEADS
www.highways-uk.com
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27
Meeting the skills need
Attracting talent through a variety of different routes will be key to
deliver the quantum of skilled professionals needed to deliver on
the ground, says Dave Beddell, AECOM’s market sector leader for
Strategic highways
Over the past few years
transport infrastructure has
been at the heart of the UK’s
gradual economic recovery. With an
ambitious pipeline of projects lying
in wait, the magnitude of which have
not been seen for a generation, a key
issue for the roads sector will be its
ability to deliver the quantum of skilled
professionals needed to deliver on the
ground.
A range of major schemes including
the Lower Thames Crossing, A303
Stonehenge, Silvertown Crossing
and the A9 corridor form an exciting
pipeline of vital projects that are
likely to apply pressure across the
sector for years to come. The National
Infrastructure Plan for Skills, which was
introduced last year, goes some way
towards mapping expertise against
this pipeline of projects and serves
“By developing a more
inclusive culture industry
can increase its capacity
and performance by
creating opportunities that
allow the workforce to
reach its full potential, which
in turn will enable it to better
understand and respond to
client’s needs”
to inform recruitment strategies in
boardrooms across the UK. However
many of these projects are likely to
draw on similar areas of the supply
chain in parallel, meaning an integrated
approach to planning is needed that
will require government and industry
to work closer together in order to
develop the necessary skills.
Attracting talent through a variety of
different routes will be key to building
this enhanced capacity. The Modern
Apprentices that industry invests in
now will be ready to play a meaningful
role on projects in two or three years’
time – precisely when they will be
needed most. Recognising this, AECOM
has increased its apprenticeship
recruitment and will be hiring more
apprentices than ever this coming
year. Our Apprenticeship Development
Programme will include training for
specialist skills that we know will be
needed to deliver future projects,
whilst we are working closely with the
Technician Apprenticeship Consortium
(TAC) to develop new apprenticeship
programmes for high demand
transportation disciplines such as
transport planning and rail.
There is a danger of course that
industry will merely compete for this
existing talent, so we need to think
differently and more broadly if we are
to meet the challenges we face. To
achieve success, we need to learn and
adapt quickly. Clients look to global
companies like AECOM to have a
diverse workforce and recognise that
innovation in delivery is enhanced by
our ability to draw from a wealth of
different backgrounds and experiences.
By developing a more inclusive culture
industry can increase its capacity and
performance by creating opportunities
that allow the workforce to reach its
full potential, which in turn will enable
it to better understand and respond
to client’s needs. For example, the
“Attracting talent through a
variety of different routes
will be key to building this
enhanced capacity”
qualities that servicemen and women
possess are hugely relevant to firms
working in the built environment. The
armed forces are divided into many
specialist units that must co-operate to
complete highly complex tasks. They
are often experienced at motivating
others, co-ordinating teams and getting
the best out of individuals – all essential
traits that are directly applicable to the
provision of integrated, multidisciplinary
services such as those offered by
AECOM.
Increasing capacity is only one
aspect of the challenge of course.
Equipping an expanding workforce
to meet the technical and leadership
needs of any future pipeline will require
agility and innovation. At AECOM, the
development of our online University
has provided our workforce with access
to over 5,000 courses in 10 different
languages. Accessible via a cloud, this
virtual campus enables employees
to develop their competencies and
expertise in facilitated classrooms and
at their own convenience.
Companies that are able to think
differently, work collaboratively and see
beyond their own immediate resourcing
needs, stand to gain a lot.
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