Crossrail ‘adding to skills shortage in other parts of UK’

Nick Elvin

Crossrail’s demand for skilled workers has drawn in top talent from hundreds of miles away to take up engineering and construction jobs, adding to skills shortages in other parts of the UK, according to a new study from Randstad CPE.

The recruitment firm’s analysis reveals that more than a quarter (28.3%) of those starting Crossrail-connected work in the London area are originally from locations more than 30 miles away from the new railway line. Of these workers, more than half (15% of the total) have taken up Crossrail jobs 50 miles from their home address at the time – while just under one in 20 Crossrail-capable workers (4.7%) have moved 100 miles or more.

On Crossrail itself, this represents 4,000 workers commuting or relocating more than 30 miles towards the London area, and 2,100 originally coming from over 50 miles away – out of the total of 14,000 estimated to have worked on Crossrail since the start of the project in May 2009.

Owen Goodhead, MD of Randstad Construction, Property & Engineering, said: “Britain’s construction and engineering skills gap has been a dilemma for decades. But now it is biting. The infrastructure challenges of the 21st century make this an urgent issue. Crossrail is just one major project, and the effect is felt sharply across the UK.

“Employers want the right person for the right job – absolutely the correct approach – but this is unleashing a spiral of competition. Skills shortages are here to stay for the foreseeable future, and candidates looking for construction and engineering jobs are benefitting. At the start of the project in 2009, the draw of Crossrail was accentuated by the recession, and today it is one of the brightest symbols of recovery in the UK jobs market.

“The downside is in local areas at the other end of this skills vacuum. Crossrail will revolutionise the daily commute for thousands. But the people creating this engineering marvel have their own stories of relocation and long commutes – and their home towns will tell the story of a skills exodus.”

The study also shows that since Crossrail’s 2009 ground-breaking, the effective annual earnings of those working in Crossrail-related job titles has averaged £23,952, taking in all types of work on such heavy engineering, rail, tunnelling and infrastructure projects – from labourers and steel fixers to experienced rail specialists and structural engineers. However it is in more specialist roles where skills shortages are transferring the most earnings power to workers. Tunnelling engineers working on site in the London area pick up average earnings of £25,000, site manager jobs pay upwards of £30,000, while experienced project managers can see salaries in excess of £50,000.

“Filling quantity surveyor jobs and project manager jobs can be a challenge for employers right across the UK,” said Goodhead. “But London is the white-hot core – where the same job titles command an even greater premium. Especially for high-profile projects, employers are stumping up the cash to get the right skills.

“All rail workers, tunnellers, automotive and structural engineers get a bonus for living in London, but those employed by Crossrail itself are likely to see even higher earnings again. Not only is Crossrail an iconic project for any CV, it has its own training and learning opportunities, and its own additional earnings premium, even in London.

“Crossrail will be winding down within the next two years, and ambitious skilled people may start to look to other regions. But for a decade one railway will have defined a huge portion of the jobs market.”