Engineering is one of the UK's broadest sectors, employing 5.5 million people and accounting for 19% of all UK employment. Despite this, there have been wide reports of skill shortages in this sector, with the Institution of Engineering and Technology estimating a shortfall of workers in the STEM sector which equates to an average of 10 unfilled roles per business. The water industry is no anomaly here, and there’s no doubt that the UK’s critical skills deficit makes it extremely challenging for water companies to prepare for long-term projects such as an asset management plan (AMP) period. As you will no doubt know, for an AMP cycle to be successful, strategic resource planning is crucial. In our latest blog, we look at how to best plan as well as which roles and skills will be needed for the full 5-year water framework AMP cycle.

Year One:

In such a highly regulated space and with the possibility of regular regulation changes throughout an AMP cycle, you will need to have a flexible business plan that also accounts for current issues and anticipates future threats across the five-year timeframe. In year one, it will be important to ensure that you have project managers and design directors that have a full scope of the framework and have the competencies to tackle your site's unique challenges. These professionals are key to an efficient, cost-effective and timely start.

With the critical nature of this work, recruiting the right people for these roles is essential, but given the dearth of talent in the water engineering arena, doing so is not always easy. Those with the flexibility, safety knowledge and the right networks to secure cost-effective capital and materials are in high demand, and securing talent before your competitors is often a multi-layered and intensive process.

Year Two:

During year two of the cycle, you and your team will be ready to dig in or build up. However, in previous AMP cycles, it’s not uncommon for issues to occur resulting in the project being held back, putting the entire scheme behind, which is why it’s so important to be able to locate highly accredited staff who can act on this immediately and get the project back on track. Keep in mind that these professionals are highly respected by industry design teams and rarely out of work, so it’s a good idea to designate the duty of recruiting for these roles to a supporting team before the second year begins.

Years Three and Four:

At years three and four, you will be well into the AMP cycle. It’s likely that you’ll be at the highest volume of staff, and your priorities at this stage are efficient delivery, retention of staff, quality, H&S compliance and financial commitment. At this stage, you’ll likely have a requirement for diggers, pipefitters, welders, electrical technicians, panel fitters and mechanical assemblers, that are reliable, punctual and trusted in the industry.

Year Five:

While much of the work has been completed, it is now down to the site commissioning managers and teams of commissioning engineers to test the site operations and ensure water is safe to drink and put back into main lines or reservoirs. The hope is that all standards and regulations are being met.

If results are not as expected, capitals are not operating as per specification, or there is a chemical imbalance, the process chemical engineers will need to liaise with the relevant teams to rectify the problem with urgency. Here full teams will need to be used that have the capability to identify, solve and deliver on unexpected problems.

As we have seen, AMP cycles are not simple, and strategic, forward-thinking planning will be absolutely crucial. However, regardless of how well you plan, there are always going to be unprecedented challenges along the way, and with the shortage of STEM skills in the UK’s labour market, having the right employees already in place who can find solutions to these challenges will be just as necessary to ensuring a successful cycle. Taking on everything will be a lot of work, which is why it’s a good idea to have a supporting team in place, to help source staff and guarantee that your AMP cycle will finish on time and in line with the many regulations that it needs to meet.

Watch our unique set of AMP videos to better understand how we can respond to your engineering personnel needs and reach out to our Water Engineering specialists at water@murraymcintosh.com for more information.