The CEO of a prominent contractor has raised concerns about the adverse effects of British engineers and experts relocating to Saudi Arabia and North America on UK’s major infrastructure projects.
Egis Group, a key contractor involved in significant UK infrastructure projects, has reported that the migration of British engineers to Saudi Arabia and North America is significantly hindering similar projects within the UK. Laurent Germain, CEO of Egis Group, articulated these concerns in a statement to City AM, highlighting the allure of ‘iconic projects’ abroad as a career booster for engineers, which has subsequently strained the recruitment process within the UK.
Egis Group, a French-based firm that provides consulting and construction engineering services, is engaged in the delivery of crucial projects such as HS2’s Old Oak Common station and the Sizewell C nuclear plant. Additionally, Egis is part of a consortium tasked with operating the M25 under a 30-year contract. Germain emphasised that this talent drain is causing substantial tension in recruitment, as demand for skilled professionals surpasses supply.
The optimal solution to curb this exodus, according to Germain, is to secure large-scale projects within the UK. This would incentivise British engineers to remain and contribute to vital projects like HS2, Sizewell C, or the Bakerloo Line extension. This sentiment follows a series of poorly executed UK infrastructure projects that have exceeded their budgets and are now facing substantial delays. Factors such as planning bureaucracy, inflation, and inadequate management have positioned the UK behind its European counterparts in delivering critical infrastructure.
HS2, a high-speed rail project fraught with difficulties, has seen its costs escalate from approximately £30bn to over £60bn. These compounding issues prompted former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to cancel the northern section of the project. Similarly, the planning application for the Lower Thames Crossing (LTC), a proposed motorway tunnel, has escalated to an extensive 359,000 pages, incurring costs of £300m. Matt Palmer, managing director of LTC, disclosed that many staff members have relocated overseas, their confidence in UK infrastructure severely shaken by the HS2 debacle.
Higher salaries and a steady stream of projects are luring British talent to the Middle East and Canada. In Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud has announced substantial investments to enhance tourism and renewable energy sectors, with $1.3trn (£981.3bn) allocated to infrastructure and transportation by 2030. The Neom line project has notably secured the largest contract at $28.7bn.
Egis Group, operating in over 100 countries with a workforce exceeding 19,000, has a notable British presence in its Saudi Arabian team. Germain lamented the dearth of expertise within UK public sector bodies, particularly those overseeing major projects such as the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) and Infrastructure Projects Authority (IPA). He stressed the necessity for these organisations to have robust internal technical teams capable of managing suppliers, designers, and contractors.
A HM Treasury spokesperson affirmed the government’s commitment to infrastructure investment, highlighting planning reforms and the establishment of the National Wealth Fund as pivotal actions. The government intends to publish a 10-year infrastructure strategy to provide the private sector with project pipeline certainty and launch the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority to enhance effective infrastructure delivery across the nation.
The departure of British engineers to overseas opportunities is creating significant challenges for UK infrastructure projects. Addressing these issues necessitates securing large-scale projects within the UK and strengthening the technical capabilities of public sector bodies to manage and deliver critical infrastructure effectively.