Crossrail delay risks exacerbating skills shortages

Following the recent news that the arrival of Crossrail has been delayed and a £1.4bn bailout by TFL will be used to plug a predicted £2bn hole in the project’s finances, Rob Enright, managing director of Rail at Samuel Knight, comments:

“It’s a real shame that that this flag ship project, which has the potential to not only improve the Capital’s infrastructure, but also boost job creation, has been delayed. And with TFL injecting over £1bn into the project to ensure its completion, the question we have to ask ourselves is what other projects are going to be pushed back or scrapped as a result?

“It’s no secret that projects on the London Underground have been quiet in 2018 which has resulted in a lot of highly skilled staff leaving due to a shortage of work. Consequently in a market that is already contending with mass skills shortages, availability of talent may be a real challenge when projects do start again in 2019 which could add further delays to work. In fact we are already consulting with clients to develop long term strategic plans to ensure they have access to the talent they need.”



-ENDS

Zahra Abedi
BlueSky PR
T: +44 (0)1582 790 094
E: zahra@bluesky-pr.com
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