Creating new capabilities will support delivery of good growth across the UK

Construction is an optimistic industry by its nature. We look at an empty space and imagine what’s possible.

I’ve been lucky enough to work with people who believe there is better way of building things. That’s how we have brought industrialised construction to life. Looking at our people working on a construction site and asking ourselves if there is a better way – to save their bodies from back breaking work and to deliver quality and certainty to clients.

Supporting delivery of the Government’s ambition for good growth in every corner of the United Kingdom will mean we have to ask ourselves that question again.

Britain's construction and engineering sector is at the heart of our economic future. Yet the industry faces a growing challenge. An ageing workforce, persistent skills shortages and decades of weak productivity. So how do we make sure we meet our obligation to deliver the infrastructure and the homes Britain needs while providing good quality jobs to create growth beyond the project?

The UK has £718 billion of infrastructure planned over the coming decade. At the same time, we need to accelerate housing delivery, modernise public services and strengthen national resilience.

To fully realise the opportunity that comes with this and fulfil our collective obligation to deliver the infrastructure assets the country needs – we need to look beyond traditional approaches.

That’s why the report released this week by the Construction Leadership Council's People & Skills Network argues that modernising construction requires more than increasing workforce capacity. It requires organisations across the entire supply chain to develop new skills, new ways of working and new operating models capable of delivering projects through industrialised construction.

Industrialised construction offers a different path.

By applying manufacturing disciplines to construction, projects can be delivered with greater productivity, predictability and quality. Work is increasingly undertaken in controlled factory environments, supported by digital technologies, advanced manufacturing techniques, robotics, automation and data-driven decision-making.

The benefits are already visible.

At The Grange University Hospital in Wales, manufacturing-led delivery enabled the project to be completed 42 weeks early while significantly reducing workforce hours. East West Rail demonstrated how industrialised approaches can accelerate delivery while generating major savings for taxpayers. Everton Stadium showed how large-scale modular construction and digital engineering can support delivery of complex projects on programme. The lessons learned here were applied to the construction of the first in a generation nuclear power station – Hinkley Point C, and they will support delivery at Sizewell C.

The report identifies six areas that will determine whether industrialised construction can move from isolated examples to industry-wide transformation: developing transferable and technical competencies, involving supply chain earlier in design and delivery decisions, strengthening collaboration across the project lifecycle, creating procurement models that provide certainty for investment, improving logistics planning and making better use of digital technologies.

Together, these represent a fundamental shift in approach.

Construction has historically been organised around individual projects. Industrialised construction requires all stakeholders to think more like manufacturers: developing repeatable processes, investing in long-term capability, managing integrated supply chains and continuously improving performance through data and learning.

That transformation requires skilled people.

The report highlights four capabilities that every organisation will need to strengthen: communication, collaboration, systems thinking and digital competence. These are not specialist skills confined to technical teams. They are the capabilities that enable manufacturers, contractors, designers, clients and suppliers to work together as a single delivery system.

Importantly, this is not just about productivity.

Manufacturing-led construction can create safer working environments, more stable employment and higher-quality careers. It broadens the range of skills required by the industry, helping attract talent that may not previously have considered a career in construction. It supports investment in regions beyond major urban centres and creates opportunities for local supply chains and manufacturing clusters to thrive.

In other words, capability development is not simply an industry issue. It is an economic growth issue.

If Britain wants to build faster, build better and build the infrastructure that future generations depend on, we must stop viewing skills as a separate conversation.

The countries that succeed in the coming decades will not simply be those that invest in infrastructure. They will be those that invest in the capability required to deliver it.

Britain has the opportunity to do both.

Scaling industrialised construction will mean our sector can deliver the assets that society needs whilst providing high-quality, sustainable jobs in our communities.

Our communities are then the real end beneficiaries of the changes we will make to our industry.