in association with Carrington West
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The UK’s highways and transport infrastructure are central to economic growth, social connectivity, and the nation’s environmental goals. Yet, despite near-universal agreement on the importance of maintaining and upgrading our road networks, workforce planning in this sector remains a persistent challenge. One key reason: the uncertainty that stems from short-term and inconsistent funding models.
In June 2024, the CIHT released a policy briefing highlighting the benefits of adopting a longer-term approach to local road investment. As a specialist recruitment partner in the built environment sector, Carrington West sees first-hand how funding mechanisms directly shape workforce behaviours, priorities, and outcomes.
Funding isn’t just about what can be built, it’s about who is available to build it, and whether they will stay in the industry long enough to deliver lasting value.
“When our clients have the confidence of long-term funding, we see a significant shift in hiring behaviour. They invest in permanent roles, career pathways, and succession planning rather than simply reacting to short-term needs,” says Jason Kohle, who leads a team at Carrington West working with local authorities on highways projects across the UK.
Historically, funding cycles have been shaped by annual spending reviews and election timetables, creating a start-stop rhythm that disrupts project pipelines and erodes confidence in workforce growth. While five-year commitments like the Road Investment Strategy (RIS) provide some national-level stability, many local authorities and delivery partners still operate under year-to-year budget constraints.
This fragmented approach results in risk-averse recruitment strategies. Organisations delay hiring, reduce internal development efforts, and increasingly rely on temporary contractors to fill urgent gaps. This not only impacts delivery but diminishes sector appeal among professionals seeking career growth and job security.
“In contrast,” Jason adds, “long-term infrastructure funding provides the confidence needed to invest in people and build internal capability. These are essential in a sector facing an ageing workforce and growing demand for specialist expertise.”
Predictable funding brings more than peace of mind, it unlocks broader capability across the sector. For contractors, local authorities, and consultants alike, it enables proactive decision-making around talent.
With consistent workload projections, employers can build relationships with training providers, establish early-career entry routes, and set meaningful progression pathways for junior and mid-level professionals. It also allows organisations to diversify their hiring efforts and plan with inclusivity in mind, both critical for a resilient future workforce.
This is particularly important now. The sector is evolving. Highways professionals are no longer only delivering physical infrastructure; they are enabling net-zero transitions, adopting digital tools like AI and BIM, and meeting stringent design and accessibility standards. Building the capability to meet these evolving expectations requires intentional, long-term investment in skills, not just infrastructure.
One of the clearest examples of this shift is in decarbonisation. As the UK accelerates towards net-zero, the transport sector is under growing scrutiny. Targets are tightening. Expectations are rising. The workforce must evolve accordingly.
New roles in carbon assessment, lifecycle modelling, and green procurement are emerging across highways projects. These positions demand new skills and mindsets, often drawing from interdisciplinary backgrounds that blend engineering, environmental science, and policy.
Carrington West Director Blayne Cahill highlighted this challenge during his speech at the CIHT National Conference, stating: “We need a workforce that understands not just engineering, but sustainability, stakeholder engagement, and community impact. Without that, we’re not ready for the road to net zero.” His words underline the complexity of the skills transformation underway and the urgency with which the sector must respond.
These capabilities cannot be developed reactively. They require long-term vision, robust talent pipelines, and a shared commitment across employers, industry bodies, and educators. Strategic infrastructure funding enables this by creating the planning horizon necessary to invest in niche expertise and future-focused training.
Local government teams are on the front lines of these workforce pressures. Councils maintain over 185,000 miles of road across the UK, yet many struggle to fill roles in engineering, transport planning, and asset management.
The challenge isn’t a lack of talent, it’s the inability to offer meaningful, secure opportunities in the absence of reliable funding. CIHT has repeatedly called for devolved, multi-year settlements that empower councils to build internal teams with confidence. At Carrington West, we fully support this. Our work with public sector clients has shown a clear pattern: where funding is stable, hiring improves, not just in volume, but in quality and retention.
Councils are better positioned to make strategic hires, reduce reliance on expensive short-term cover, and deploy contractors in targeted, value-adding roles rather than as emergency backfill. That kind of stability doesn’t just improve efficiency , it improves outcomes for the communities being served.
If the UK is to meet its infrastructure, decarbonisation, and levelling-up ambitions, workforce planning must become a core pillar of national infrastructure strategy. We need alignment between capital investment and people planning, including:
Perhaps most critically, funding must be insulated from political volatility. As CIHT’s Sue Percy highlighted in June:
“Our ongoing research shows that by moving to a five-year funding settlement, there is potential to unlock 5–10% of efficiency savings — approximately £1 billion to £2.2 billion.”
This is a stark reminder that short-term thinking doesn’t just cost us in people, it costs us in pounds.
At Carrington West, we work daily with infrastructure organisations navigating complex funding environments. Our role goes beyond filling vacancies. We partner with clients to build tailored recruitment strategies, map emerging skills needs, and align workforce planning with broader business objectives.
We believe the link between infrastructure funding and workforce strategy should be as strong as the link between funding and delivery timelines. After all, no project builds itself, it’s people who deliver infrastructure.
The highways sector is undergoing a once-in-a-generation shift, technologically, environmentally, and socially. Meeting the moment requires a workforce that is ready, equipped, and motivated to deliver.
Long-term infrastructure funding is not just a financial mechanism. It is a foundation for strategic, inclusive, and forward-looking workforce planning. And that’s exactly what the sector needs to succeed.
For more insights, and an overview of our recruitment services and jobs in the built environment sector – visit www.carringtonwest.com
Carrington West is an award-winning recruitment company providing high calibre technical talent in the UK. We recruit interim, temporary and permanent professionals from entry to board level across multiple disciplines for private and public sector organisations. Founded in 2011, we have grown quickly due to the passion, integrity and excellence of our people who consistently deliver outstanding levels of service so our clients and candidates can achieve their goals.
Join other savvy professionals just like you at CIHT. We are committed to fulfilling your professional development needs throughout your career
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