Infrastructure projects laid out in the Autumn Statement are an opportunity for government to encourage UK businesses to “further step up and compete on the world stage”, says the head of government and public at AECOM, John Hicks.
“I think there is a general recognition that economic infrastructure is good for the long-term sustained growth of UK PLC,” says Hicks.
Not only do infrastructure strategies offer a short-term demand for skilled workers, Hicks explains, they also offer businesses the opportunity to learn what is needed to deliver big spend projects and “compete on the world stage.”
Yet not enough is being done to encourage UK businesses to develop that capability and lead on UK infrastructure projects, says AECOM.
“If we don’t encourage more British companies to take prime positions in these, not only will they not assist in the delivery of the short term but they won’t be able to do the same in the Middle East, Germany or in Singapore. They will be demoted to Tier Two businesses,” Hicks argues.
Rather than thinking solely about short term procurement gains, government must recognise the long-term economic benefits of supporting home-grown businesses that may have less experience delivering projects but can develop the capabilities to then export and become internationally competitive.
For example, the success of Crossrail and, as it is developed, HS2, should be seen as an opportunity to export the newly developed understanding of how to construct, operate and deliver rail infrastructure projects and compete for international contracts, suggests Hicks.
“There is a huge demand for rail systems in the Middle East and countries such as Malaysia and Singapore. We are going through a big revolution in this country and if we don’t capitalise on that and roll that forward for the future then we’ll just go through a boom and bust of that industry,” says Hicks.
“A lot is said about skills and a bit is said about whether our factories are good enough, but not enough is said about helping to organise our businesses to structure themselves to compete."