Dr Nelson Ogunshakin OBE, chief executive of the Association for Consultancy and Engineering, reacts to George Osborne’s announcement of the £11.8bn procurement process for High Speed 2 – and the ‘doors open’ policy for overseas contractors.
Dr Nelson Ogunshakin OBE
This is welcome news for the entire construction sector and the UK as a whole, and we applaud the government’s continued strong commitment to this vital project. ACE members have been instrumental in the development of this project to ensure its financial and environmental viability, and will hopefully continue to have a fundamental role, drawing on recent experiences gained on London 2012, Birmingham New Street Station and Crossrail projects.
We would, however, emphasise to the chancellor, the strategically significant nature of this project and, in his rush to secure foreign investment, he risks undermining the ability of UK firms to benefit from the work.
We must ensure that UK engineering companies do not miss out on what would be an outstanding opportunity to develop the skills of its workforce, increase their expertise, and export what they have learnt to the global market. This will be more difficult to accomplish if a deal was struck to tie foreign investment to the delivery of the project.
Most notably, while welcoming the news, ACE believes it is vital to the business future of UK firms that the chancellor puts forth efforts in parallel with this new procurement process to ensure that UK engineering companies still maintain enough participation within the project to help develop and establish UK firms as capable of such infrastructure development expertise.
"ACE believes it is vital to the business future of UK firms that the chancellor puts forth efforts in parallel with this new procurement process to ensure that UK engineering companies still maintain enough participation within the project."
Large-scale infrastructure projects attract the involvement of international firms who export global expertise. For the High Speed 2 project, while foreign expertise may in many ways be beneficial to project efficiencies – including budget, timelines, and product performance – this local expertise is also needed to ensure that the resulting HS2 system serves the real needs of UK citizens, not just perceived needs.
In addition, with the increased pressure on companies in the sector to become engaged at home or abroad in internationally renowned projects, the experience of working on HS2 would for many UK firms refine capabilities, increase international prowess, and set up a future in which global infrastructure projects commission UK firms due to their expertise.
Not only does the continued involvement of UK firms ensure their business success, but their involvement would also serve to ensure much-needed skills development within a sector that is facing an ever-growing skills gap, with an ageing workforce and high turnover rates.
The UK needs to ensure that in the future there is adequate skilled workforce within the engineering and construction sectors. The skills development opportunities presented by projects such as HS2 drives the skill level of UK workforce higher, benefiting UK society as a whole as we face projections for a significant rise in population, increasing the strain on social infrastructure such as hospitals as well as housing.
UK infrastructure needs will continue to evolve, and while foreign engagement in addressing these needs will be necessary, it remains equally important for skilled UK workforce to be engaged in UK infrastructure.
For more on the UK engineering sector workforce, today and in the future, please see the ACE’s The Retention Gap – What is it and how to tackle it.
