You need to make a change to your senior team.

That’s a big deal. Finding time to commit to thoroughly searching the market, screening candidates, and uncovering that unicorn that will enhance your business is tough.

So maybe you’re considering working with an Executive Search partner?

That’s also a big step. Especially if you haven’t worked with one before. You really need to be sure that you’re working with someone that really gets what you are looking for.

In early conversations with prospective clients, there are 5 questions we are often asked:

1. How would you find a diverse shortlist?

Not an easy task in our sectors, but one that we pride ourselves on working really hard to achieve. We will always review your brief to highlight areas that will need flexing to attract a more diverse talent pool.

• Can you look to allied sectors?
• Can we look at up and coming candidates?
• Can this role accommodate someone working on a 4-day work week?

There are lots of options and we can work together to find an answer that suits your role.

2. What salary do you think we need to pay?

If you haven’t had to recruit for this role in a while (or ever) then knowing what salary is going to attract the right calibre of candidate can be a big ask.

Chances are, we have spoken before with a lot of candidates that fit your brief and will be able to provide you an accurate salary benchmark.

If we think what you are asking is unrealistic, then we can work on the brief to find candidates that fit your budget.

3. What does the market look like at the moment?

Are your competitors looking for similar roles? How big is the talent pool?

4. Have you done many searches like this before?

We have successfully completed over 600 executive search assignments. So, there is a good chance that we have a decent amount of experience finding candidates just like the one you need.

5. How well do you know us as a business?

This question is crucial.

If you are going to work with an Executive Search partner, they need to understand your business. They need to know the good and the not so good.

This is for two reasons:

• So that we can sell your business to passive candidates – persuading them that this is the best move for them.
• So that we know what type of candidate will fit with your culture – just because their CV is spot on, doesn’t mean their personality is right.

Give me a ring and ask me these questions about your senior roles. I look forward to answering them for you!

March has seen Derby win the vote to become the home of Great British Rail, people around the globe embrace equality for International Women’s Day, a new First Minister in Scotland and Rishi Sunak personally contribute to energy infrastructure with his mega swimming pool.

Let’s check out the movers and shakers across Transport & Infrastructure from March…

Making changes to your senior teams is a business critical task that takes a lot of time, careful market mapping and a huge network of contacts. If you are looking to make any changes, get in touch to see how Executive Search could be the best route for you and your business.

It has been predicted that we will experience more technological development in the next 10 years than we have in the past 100 years.

So how do we keep up?

Emerging technologies such as AI, Big Data, and the Internet of Things (IoT) are rapidly transforming the world we live in.  These technologies are disrupting traditional business models, creating new opportunities, and enabling companies to improve their operations, enhance their customer experiences, and reduce costs.

Across Transport & Infrastructure we have already seen some amazing benefits. Traffic management, predictive maintenance and asset management, underground mapping for design and construction among many other, quite frankly mind-blowing, technological advancements.

And there is only more on the horizon, apparently “swarms of mini robots could build the tunnels of the future”.

However, while we have seen some great innovations, the industry – construction in particular – still has a very long way to go. The industry is below the UK average for productivity and has showed negative or little growth between 1997 and 2020. There are a whole host of factors which contribute to this, one of which is the slow uptake of new technology.

So in this new age of digital revolution, what are the key skills we need to look for when recruiting for our leadership teams?

1. Willingness to learn from experts

A great leader will want to surround themselves with people who know the things that they don’t.

Leaders must be able to navigate the complexities of the technology, understand its impact on their operations, and identify opportunities for innovation.

But you don’t need someone who has the blueprint, just someone with the willingness to educate themselves on how to get there and what skills they need to surround themselves with to make it happen. As a result, I expect that we will see a lot more companies bringing in Heads of Innovation or equivalent.

2. Collaboration

Trial and error is so difficult in our industries, there are very few clients willing to take the risk of adopting untested methods in their infancy for their projects. Add to this that construction is by nature, extremely fragmented and it is a huge challenge to adopt new ideas.

There have been enormous steps over the past few years to collaborate up and down the supply chain, and this will be absolutely key to making technology work for us.

Clients and designers need to involve contractors early on in the design phase, and work with technology suppliers to understand how new tech can be safely and efficiently trialled in a live environment to prove the concept.

3. Long term view

Many leaders in the sector are focused on delivering results today, given the tight profit margins and the cyclical nature of the industry.

This short-term approach often involves making decisions based on immediate payback rather than long-term horizons. However, incorporating new technologies requires a shift towards a more strategic, long-term perspective. This means considering the costs and benefits of technology investments over a sustained period and making decisions that will improve the company’s performance and competitiveness in the years to come.

Finding candidates with the leadership skills to navigate the complexities of emerging technologies and drive innovation within their organisations is a challenge. Contact us today to learn how we can help you stay ahead of the curve.

February is the most misspelled word in the English language, on average 80% of people have ditched their new years resolutions by February and The Saxons called February “Sol-monath” which means “cake month”. Which is pretty fitting for our movers and shakers this month who have something to celebrate.

Check out the latest movers and shakers from across the Transport & Infrastructure sectors…

To find out more about how Executive Search could help you to fill your senior leaderships positions, please do drop me and email or book in an introductory call to discuss the options available to you.

It’s been six months since our last update on who’s won what contracts across the Transport & Infrastructure sectors. Six months in our industries is a long time, so as usual it’s a huge update…

Check out the latest contracts awarded…

Aviation

Manchester Airport

Mace has won the integrated delivery partner and construction manager role on the £440m second phase of the Manchester Airport expansion.

Heathrow Airport

AECOM has been appointed to design and deliver the new baggage system and associated infrastructure for Terminal 2. Under the eight-year contract, AECOM will deliver design and project management services for a new baggage handling system and infrastructure to support the expected growth in passenger numbers at T2.

Highways

Lower Thames Crossing

Balfour Beatty has won the £1.2bn contract to design and deliver the ‘Roads North of the Thames’ package, comprising over 10 miles of new highways, connecting the M25 at Junction 29 and the A13 with the proposed Lower Thames Crossing tunnel in Tilbury, Essex.

RIS3

Atkins, Jacobs and PwC have been appointed by National Highways to help develop the government’s third road investment strategy (RIS3) for England’s highway network. The Atkins Jacobs Joint Venture, working with PwC, will develop business and delivery plans, setting out the case for multi-year investment across England’s strategic road network of motorways and major A-roads.

Since this award, National Highways have revealed plans for a new mega framework to deliver £30bn of works for the RIS3 and RIS4 spending programmes.

Ahead of the big shake-up, it is starting a round of early market testing with consultants and contractors in Birmingham on the proposed structure of the new 10-year multi-lot Integrated Delivery Framework.

A303

Costain and Mott MacDonald have been appointed to a joint venture as Delivery Assurance Partners for the A303 Stonehenge Improvements Scheme, a role which will see the two provide construction management expertise.

Cheshire West and Chester Council

Colas has secured a deal worth up to £300m to look after roads for a local authority in the North West, replacing the current incumbent, Ringway when their contract concludes in the spring.

Surrey County Council

Atkins has been appointed to develop and lead maintenance and improvement works across Surrey’s 3,000-mile road network, as part of a major investment programme. Under the terms of the £40m+, 5-year Highways and Infrastructure Professional Service contract – which includes option of a further 4 years – Atkins will deliver asset management design for single carriageways, dual carriageways, and local roads, as well as associated infrastructure such as bridges, embankments, street lighting and drainage systems.

East Sussex Highways

Balfour Beatty has won a seven-year, £297m contract by East Sussex County Council for the maintenance of highways assets and delivery.

Hampshire County Council

VolkerFitzpatrick has won a £81m upgrade to junction 10 on the M27 in Hampshire to pave the way for the planned 6,000-home Welborne Garden Village development.

Leicester City Council

AECOM has signed a memorandum of understanding with digital start-up ORIS to collaborate on carbon impact assessments for road designs. AECOM will use the ORIS software to assess the carbon emissions of road projects to enable engineers to quickly compare and quantify different design solutions and scenarios.

Rail

Network Rail

Network Rail has announced AmcoGiffen, Octavius, BAM Nuttall, Morgan Sindall Infrastructure, and Taylor Woodrow will be among their trusted suppliers involved in delivering Wales and Western region’s £2bn programme of works over the next eight years.

The six contracting arrangements are:

• Wales and Western electrification and plant – AmcoGiffen
• Wales and Western stations and buildings work contract, covering ongoing maintenance and renewals of canopies, buildings, depots, platform structures, car parks and subways – Octavius
• Wales and Borders structures – AmcoGiffen
• Wales and Borders geotechnical and off-track drainage work – BAM Nuttall 
• Western geotechnical and off-track drainage work – Taylor Woodrow
• Western structures including ongoing maintenance and renewals of assets such as bridges, tunnels, walls and culverts – Morgan Sindall Infrastructure

HS2

AECOM has been appointed as design partner on HS2’s £370m Interchange Station in Solihull. They are joining Laing O’Rouke on the project, after the contractor was appointed to build the 150-hectare development in July.

East West Rail

Mott MacDonald and WSP has been appointed as technical partners for the next phase of development in the East West Rail link project. The joint venture’s work will include preliminary engineering and systems design, environmental assessment and management of the statutory processes.

Translink

Rider Levett Bucknall UK (RLB UK) has been appointed to deliver professional safety, health and environment services for Translink, the Northern Ireland transport holding company.

Lambeth Council and Network Rail

Grimshaw has been commissioned to develop the Waterloo Station Masterplan as well as London’s surrounding Southbank area. The master plan will improve the traffic of 5 connections and renovate the terrain.

Water

United Utilities

United Utilities has shortlisted three consortia for the Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme (HARP) contract; this deal is currently estimated to be worth £1.75bn.

The shortlist includes:

• HARP Community Connectors: Acciona, Dragados, and Iridium
• More Water: FCC Construction, SNC-Lavalin, FCC Aqualia, Webuild, and BeMo Tunnelling.
• Strabag Equitix Consortium

Thames Water

Barhale has been confirmed as the major contractor on a £9m package of schemes under Thames Water’s Raw Water Tunnel Inspection & Refurbishment programme.

Energy

UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)

The UK Government has awarded Contracts for Difference (CfDs) to five offshore wind projects at a strike price of GBP 37.35/MWh each. One of the five offshore projects, which have a total generation capacity of 7 GW, is Ørsted’s Hornsea Three, for which the developer says is the world’s single biggest offshore wind farm.

The offshore wind farms awarded CfDs are:

• 1,080 MW Inch Cape Phase 1 – Red Rock Power Limited Electricity Supply Board (ESB)
• Moray West (for 294 MW) – EDP Renewables and ENGIE
• 2,852 MW Hornsea Three – Ørsted
• 1,396 MW Norfolk Boreas (Phase 1)
• 1372 MW East Anglia Three – Vattenfall

Centrica Storage

Wood has been appointed as the integrated services partner by Centrica Storage for the company’s UK Southern North Sea operations. The five-year contract includes the provision of engineering, procurement and construction solutions, operations and maintenance services, as well as project management services for the Rough gas field and the Easington Gas Terminal in East Yorkshire.

National Grid

Jacobs has been awarded the Design and Project Services Framework with National Grid to support full construction of the Electricity and Gas Transmission cycle. The four year framework will see Jacobs provide feasibility and survey works, front-end conceptual and detailed design, through to assurance, verification and commissioning services. The framework covers 10 Lots across all National Grid’s Transmission portfolio, including substations, overhead lines, onshore cables, high-voltage direct current (HVDC), protection control & cyber, gas, civils, multi-disciplinary design services, project services and design assurance.

The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority

A consortium of fusion experts have been appointed by the UKAEA as engineering delivery partners to their STEP Programme. Led by Atkins and Assystem, the consortium has been chosen to drive forward the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) programme as UKAEA seeks to demonstrate the commercial viability of fusion energy.

Kier has also been awarded a £26.8m contract by UKAEA to build a research and development building. This will be an 8,000sq meter facility at Culham Science Centre after the project was procured through the Crown Commercial Service Framework.

Sellafield

Sir Robert McAlpine have won a major contract to provide groundworks and concrete structures for projects at the Sellafield nuclear site. They join Sellafield’s Programme and Project Partners (PPP) as a key delivery partner and has pledged to create a host of opportunities for West Cumbria over the lifetime of the £1bn, 17-year framework.

Sir Robert McAlpine will open a regional office in Copeland, Cumbria in the next couple of years.

The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR)

Mott MacDonald has been appointed as a tier one contractor for civil engineering and external hazards on its newly revised technical services framework.

Mott MacDonald has also been appointed as a tier two contractor for control and instrumentation, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, human factors, internal hazards, safety cases, probabilistic safety analysis, radiological protection, radioactive waste management and decommissioning, structural integrity, protective security and cyber security.

Building

Liverpool City Council

Architect BDP has been appointed to lead on design and Faithful+Gould is the development manager for the final phase of the King’s Dock development in Liverpool.

The firms have been tasked with drawing up a masterplan for the clutch of sites and obtaining planning approval, at which point the city council will market the plots for sale.

North West Construction Hub

Eight firms have been appointed to NWCH’s new £1.5bn High Value Construction Framework. This framework has been procured to deliver projects across two lots: Lot 1 (£8m – £25m) and Lot 2 (£25m +).

Click here to find a list of the appointed firms.

Crown Commercial Service

Twenty-nine firms have been named on a £10bn offsite framework to help deliver more social housing, new schools, and hospital extensions. Among the most high-profile winners are Kier and Lang O’Rourke.

Click here to find a list of the appointed firms.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Kier, ISG and Willmott Dixon are among several major contractors to win multiple slots on a £600m framework to develop buildings for the DEFRA and Animal and Plant Agency (APHA) science estate.

Other contractors include Morgan Sindall, Graham, Galliford Try Mace, AECOM, Turner & Townsend and John Sisk.

Click here for further details.

Prosper

Equans Regeneration, Esh Construction and Tolent Living have been named on a £500m decarbonisation retrofit framework.

This framework covers refurbishment work on domestic and public buildings, including the installation of heating and cooling systems, roof works, electricity, solar energy, steam and hot water products and ventilation systems.

Ministry of Justice

Kier has secured a £400m contract to build a new ‘smart’ prison in Full Sutton, East Yorkshire. This will be a 1,400- place facility.

Pagabo

Pagabo have announced the appointment of 94 suppliers to its new £1bn Medium Works Framework. Successor to the original framework launched in 2019, this second instalment of the Medium Works Framework includes construction businesses across the country that have experience in projects across all main sectors.

Click here to find a list of the appointed firms.

If your company is preparing to bid or has just won a major contract and you’re looking to make new senior hires please do get in touch to have a confidential discussion.

It’s been a cold month here in the UK, but that doesn’t mean that senior hiring activity has frozen. Check out all the big moves from across the Transport & Infrastructure sectors from January…

January is always a popular time to reflect on business plans and assess any changes that might mean for leadership teams. If you are thinking of making any changes get in touch to find out how we can help.

The start of a new year is a great opportunity to review your businesses plans for the year ahead.

If you are considering making any changes to your teams, we offer a range of executive search packages and talent mapping options that can be tailored around your requirements.

Click below to have a quick chat about how Newsom Consulting can assist you this year.

It is also a good time take a look back at what has happened in the market over the last 12 months.

Take a look at the biggest mergers and buyouts in transport, infrastructure and the built environment from 2022…

Amey

The sale of Amey to US-based One Equity Partners and the UK’s Buckthorn Partners has been completed, they paid former owner Ferrovial £245m for the company’s shares.

WSP

WSP has made several strategic acquisitions over the past year. They agreed a combined £60m acquisition of Capita’s Real Estate & Infrastructure and GL Hearn businesses.

They also completed the purchase of the environment and infrastructure (E&I) business of John Wood Group for more than £1.5bn.

Galliford Try

Galliford Try has acquired several divisions of water specialist Ham Baker. The acquisition brings with it a team of around 40 people who will continue to operate from Ham Baker’s current premises in Stoke.

The company also purchased struggling Coventry firm MCS Control Systems for £1.

ARCADIS

Arcadis has acquired Canadian architecture and engineering firm IBI Group for £561m. The acquisition will boost its digital proposition as well as its presence in North America.

Keltbray

Keltbray has bought Teesside-based high voltage power engineering specialist IDEC. The firm employs 138 staff providing a full electrical substation design, construction and commissioning service up to 275kV. Last year it reported revenue of £20m generating a £1.1m pre-tax profit.

Imtech

Imtech, which is jointly owned by EDF and Dalkia, announced that it had acquired Spie UK for £43m as part of a strategy to increase its presence in the UK, subject to regulatory approvals.

M Group

M Group Services has expanded with several more acquisitions over the course of the year. In May they aqcuired OVO Energy’s 100-strong revenue protection service business.

They have also acquired the trade and assets of Salient Systems, a specialist provider of technology services to the UK utilities metering market, making this the 17^th acquisition since 2016.

Renew

Enisca, a multi-disciplinary engineering firm operating in the water and environmental sector, has been acquired by listed business Renew Holdings in a deal worth £15.6 million. The price represents a 13.9x multiple of Enisca’s £1.12 million pre-tax profits for the year ending March 31 2021.

Turner & Townsend

Turner & Townsend have acquired JukesTodd, an advisory and project management firm founded in Brisbane, Australia. The strategic move will double the size of Turner & Townsend’s natural resources business in Australia.

Steer

In July Steer acquired project finance advisory firm Amberside Advisors to enhance their financial advisory services and to add sector specialism advice in the renewable energy, transport and infrastructure sectors.

Abellio UK

Abellio UK and Nederlandse Spoorwegen announced a management buyout in August. The management buyout from the state-owned rail company, Nederlandse Spoorwegen will pave the way for a new UK-based company to take over all Abellio UK’s existing services, serving millions of rail and bus passengers in London, Liverpool, the Midlands and East Anglia. The new company will be called Transport UK Group Limited.

Bouygues

Bouygues has completed the acquisition of Equans for $5.9bn. The new business segment comprised of Equans and Bouygues’ Energies & Services arm will generate around €17 billion in sales ($16.5bn) employ around 97,000 people in over 20 countries.

Stagecoach

DWS Infrastructure acquired Stagecoach at the end of June for £600m, beating off the £445m offer from transport rival National Express.

GLIL Infrastructure and Octopus Energy Generation

GLIL Infrastructure and Octopus Energy Generation have acquired a joint stake in Hornsea One wind farm. The companies have acquired a 12.5% stake in the world’s largest operational offshore wind farm, which is located off the Yorkshire coast.

Tetra Tech

Tetra Tech have snapped up its third UK consultant in as many years after WSP decided not to increase its offer for RPS Group. Tetra Tech offered a superior proposal of £636m. This constitutes an all-cash acquisition of the group for 222 pence per share versus WSP’s offer price of 206 pence per share.

Stantec

Stantec has completed the acquisition of UK planning and design consultant Barton Willmore.

AECOM

AECOM has acquired a 30% stake in SLC Rail, a UK-based rail small and medium-sized enterprise (SME), for an undisclosed amount. The engineering company expects the investment in SLC to help in boosting delivery and joint rail development offers.

Atkins

Atkins has completed the acquisition of Flex Process, a leading process engineering, safety and digital simulation company.

Go-Ahead Group

The Sale of the Go-Ahead Group to a consortium made up of Australasian bus operator Kinetic Group (51%) and transport concession manager Globalvia Inversiones (49%) completed on 10 October, as expected. The deal values Go-Ahead at around £669m.

Octavius Infrastructure

Osborne Infrastructure has rebranded as Octavius Infrastructure following its sale by Osborne Group to Sullivan Street Partners in September 2021.

HDR

UK engineering consultancy Hurley Palmer Flatt Group has now been rebranded HDR, further to its acquisition by US architectural and engineering consultancy firm HDR in June 2019.

AYESA

AYESA, a leading international technology and engineering services firm, has announced the acquisition of Irish-UK engineering consultancy ByrneLooby for an undisclosed fee.

Atlantia SpA

Atlantia SpA, agreed to buy Siemens AG’s road traffic unit, Yunex Traffic for $1.1bn including debt.

Vistry

Vistry’s £1.27bn takeover of Countryside Partnerships has been completed. The deal, first announced in September, combines two of the UK’s largest housebuilders. The takeover is the latest in a string of mergers and acquisitions by Vistry, which, as the former Bovis Homes, doubled in size when it acquired Galliford Try’s housing arm, Linden Homes, and its regeneration arm, Galliford Try Partnerships, for £1.1bn in January 2020. The deal led to a change of name to Vistry Group.

Stark Group

Builders’ merchant Jewson has been sold to the Danish firm Stark Group for £740m.

Fitzgerald Contractors

Civils firm Fitzgerald Contractors has become the latest firm to be sold to an employee-ownership trust. The move will give all 120 employees a stake in the company.

Egis

International architecture and urban design firm Weston Williamson + Partners has joined Egis. The deal sees the purchase by Egis of a majority stake in Weston Williamson + Partners, with the practice’s name, brand and company leadership carried over under the Egis umbrella.

RSK Group

RSK Group, a global leader in the delivery of sustainable solutions, has agreed a partnership with specialist infrastructure communications firm Copper Consultancy. Copper will retain its brand, clients and management team. Copper will work closely with RSK Creative – a design and technical writing specialist business within the RSK group.

Alfred McAlpine

Alfred McAlpine has bought environmental consultant Enviros Group for £30m. The contractor paid £27m in cash and the rest in shares for its new acquisition which it has bought from the current management team.

If you are looking to make any changes to your teams this year, please do get in touch to see how we could help you.

New Year, New Job. As usual it’s a big update to round out the year, check out the latest Movers and Shakers from December 2022…

January is always a busy time of the year with our clients for evaluating their leadership needs and making changes to their teams. If you are looking for an Executive Search partner, please do get in touch to find out how we can help.

What a crazy year 2022 was. Just when we all thought the world was getting back to normal, 2022 had other plans.

But amongst the cost-of-living crisis, strikes and mega colds some really great things have happened last year.

The Elizabeth Line proved worth the wait, the UK took second(!) place in Eurovision, The Lionesses brought it home, and the Commonwealth games shined a spotlight on Birmingham.

Across the Transport & Infrastructure Sectors we have really noticed a shift in focus and priorities this year. Here are our top 10 trends from 2022…

1. A focus on Social Value

In terms of rising demand for roles, more and more we are seeing an emphasis on social value. Companies are becoming increasingly aware of this driven by client bid assessment criteria and the positive impact on employer brand and are bringing in people to tackle this.

2. Energy Sector Activity

The Energy sector is having its moment. Over the past year we have seen a significant increase in activity both in terms of traditional networks and connections and developing future energy solutions.

With the increase in renewable sources there has been demand for the contractors needed to connect them to the grid. But also, we have seen a huge shift towards developing new technologies such as hydrogen, biomethane and carbon capture meaning that across the board asset owners, consultancies and contractors have been busy investing in what the future looks like for this sector.

3. International Markets

Companies from overseas have really ramped up recruiting from the UK again following a complete standstill due to the pandemic.

The most recruitment activity we have noted over the past year has been from Canada, Saudi Arabia and Australia looking to bring Brits overseas.

4. Transport Operators

There is still relatively little movement happening in the transport operator space due to the continued hiatus on franchise/concession bidding. Due to the high levels of uncertainty across the sector, we are seeing people staying put or moving into other sectors

5. Collaboration

More and more client organisations are committing to adopting the Project 13 principals of collaborative enterprise working. This has meant that across the supply chain companies are looking for candidates with experience of collaborative alliances and frameworks.

Projects such as Sizewell C and the HS2 Rail Systems alliance contracts will drive this further in 2023.

6. Direct Procurement for Customers

In the water sector, United Utilities have launched the first competitive tendering process for their Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme using the Direct Procurement for Customers (DPC) model.

I would expect we will see more projects across the water sector adopting the DPC method of financing large projects in 2023.

7. Early Retirements    

There are a combination of factors that have influenced some people to take early retirement.

Firstly, a significant proportion of experienced professionals within the market have built up a very sizeable pension and have the financial independence to retire early if they wish. House prices for this demographic have soared since they started on the property ladder. And, of course, COVID-19 really altered people’s outlook and approach to their work and has made some think hard about whether they wish to continue working.      

8. Diversity

There is a continued push across Transport & Infrastructure to recruit diverse leaders. There is a long way to go for companies to ensure they have the right policies, culture and systems in place to attract and retain diverse candidates, but the positive is that there are lots of opportunities at the moment for diverse candidates to progress quickly in their careers.

9. Salary Inflation

Salaries across all levels are increasing. Perhaps not as fast as inflation but we are experiencing a candidate led market demanding higher salaries. Firms will need to remain competitive in the new year in order to attract the best talent.

10. Big Data

In the consultancy market we are seeing a sharp rise in competition for candidates with big data experience. The widening digital skills gap means that consultancies are in a race to snap up big data professionals with machine learning, AI, and NLP skills. There is a huge challenge to compete with other sectors for this talent.

What trends have you noticed from 2022 and what are your predictions for the year ahead?

Christmas trees are up and the mulled wine has started to flow, but the year isn’t winding out just yet across the Transport & Infrastructure sectors.

Lots of our clients are starting to think about hiring plans for 2023, so get in touch to discuss how Executive Search could help you bolster your teams in the New Year. Click Here – to schedule a call.

In the meantime, here’s your November Movers and Shakers update…

To discuss your plans for 2023, get in touch here

Appointing someone to a leadership role, always comes with a risk. Something the 81,326 voters for Liz Truss are all too familiar with.

When recruiting for some of the most senior leadership positions within your teams, you’re given a couple of pieces of paper outlining a person’s entire career history and a handful of well prepared for meetings.

Even if the appointments are internal, it can be difficult to accurately judge whether an individual is capable of being a great leader.

What even constitutes a great leader?

Every organisation, and every role will value different characteristics. The most common traits our clients need to ascertain include:

• Are they collaborative?
• How resilient are they?
• Are they able to put the organisations objectives above their own agenda?
• Will they be able to influence and persuade teams during periods of change?
• Do they understand the importance of putting people over strategies?
• Will they inspire people?

These are all intangible qualities that are difficult to assess at interview. Which is why Leadership Assessments can be such valuable tools when making these types of decisions. The use of external Leadership Assessment services by organisations for their current and potential new staff is increasing significantly.

For our assessment packages, we partner with John McFarland, an expert in Leadership Assessment with over 20 years’ experience in developing talent management initiatives, development and bespoke training courses. John has worked with a wide variety of blue chip and public sector organisations including OFCOM, Transport for London, the Department for Transport and the United Nations.

We caught up with John to understand how companies can get the most from leadership assessment.

1. What does good look like?

To start with, businesses need to take a conceptual viewpoint. Where are you now, where do you want to be, what qualities do you need to get there.

If you want to identify future leaders, there needs to be some kind of benchmark. What are you looking for in terms of leaders of the future. This needs to be tied to the strategy and objectives for the business.

Once you’ve identified this, you can establish what competencies and qualities your business needs to achieve this? What gaps do you have in the current team or potential successors of that team?

You can then build a development process around those key competencies.

2. Self-Assessment

The most common form of leadership assessment comes in the form of online psychometric tests.

There are bundles of tools available for various types of testing, whether it be personality profiling, situational tests or ability tests.

The most prevalent type of psychometric testing within Executive Search is personality profiling. For this, there are two main categories; understanding what type of personality you have or what personality traits you exhibit.

Type tools are good for team building; understanding who in the team is the leader, who is the creative mind, who is the motivator. But these methods tend to just pigeonhole people into set categories, which isn’t overly helpful for a recruitment selection process.

For recruitment purposes we are most interested by trait-based tools which give you an idea about a candidate’s personality characteristics and give each individual a unique score. These reports will indicate if someone has the potential to succeed in the role.

In terms of what options are available John suggests three main tests; SHL’s OPQ32, Saville’s Wave and Cubiks’ PAPI. All three are quite similar and based on the same theory and methodology. We prefer to use OPQ32 tests on behalf of our clients, with a report tailored to the most important competencies for that specific role.

OPQ32 is comprised of 104 questions online, each question gives three statements and the candidate has to choose which is most describes you and which least describes you. It is assessing 32 personality characteristics and takes c20-25 mins to complete online. Beforehand sending out the questionnaire, you would need to identify which characteristics are most relevant to the role. The report will then summarise how strong the individual’s preferences and personal drivers are relating to those specific core competencies. John recommends no more than six core competencies per role.

3. Face to face assessment

If you really want to do a deep dive, then you might want to consider face to face assessments to compliment the online psychometrics.

This can be used to measure their experience as well as their practical abilities. Face to face assessments combines competency-based interviews with real life business simulations.

Candidates will usually be asked to read a case study based around a fictious company and then they will analyse the information and present their findings in the form of a SWOT analysis with strategic recommendations.

Alongside this, candidates may be asked to carry out one-to-one meetings such as a stakeholder or an employee meeting. This gives a first-hand view into how well that candidate can manage and develop relationships, demonstrate effective influencing skills, or coach and motivate their team.

Making key leadership hires or planning for succession is critical to the future of the business. You need to know that the person you are appointing has the ability to deliver strategies, but also that they will be able to algin themselves with the values of the business.

For these key hires, often interviewing alone won’t give you a big enough picture of their abilities.

Get in touch to find out more about leadership assessment.

Another 6 months has passed since our last major projects update, and the UK projects pipeline is as busy as ever. Despite seeing 3 different Prime Ministers since our last update, many projects have seen a significant amount of progress in that time.

Check out our latest roundup…

Rail

HS2

Civils works on the project are progressing, at the end of last month, the fifth Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), ‘Caroline’ was launched constructing tunnels through London. The 2,000 tonnes machine joins ‘Sushila’, that was switched on earlier this month on the same West London site.

Sushila has already travelled over 70m in the three weeks since launch. Earlier in the summer, HS2 celebrated the first TBM breakthrough at Long Itchington in Warwickshire.

Over 29,000 people are now working on the project across 350 sites.

The Rail Systems bids are currently in evaluation, due to be announced Q1-2 2023, however there is speculation that these timescales may be pushed back by a few months.

The Phase 2a Advanced Civils Works and the Phase 2a Design & Delivery Partner (DDP) contracts are due to be announced later this year.

In July, Laing O’Rourke were awarded the Birmingham (Solihull) Interchange Station contract worth £370m.

Transpennine Route Upgrade

Preliminary work, including the removal of footbridges in preparation for electrification, is now underway on the core section of the TRU programme, Project W3 that covers the 13km between Huddersfield and Westtown, just south of Dewsbury station in West Yorkshire.

On June 27, the secretary of state for transport approved a Transport and Works Act Order for the Huddersfield – Westtown section (W3), granting NR legal powers to acquire the property needed to widen the railway from two to four tracks. Despite this being, according to NR, one of the largest TWA Order applications it has ever made, the order was granted six months earlier than expected.

Station and track work will take place during a nine-day blockade, closing the route at Dewsbury in February 2023, followed by a second nine-day blockade in June and weekend work at Huddersfield from July to October. The first crucial milestone for TRU, known as Key Output 1, is to complete the upgrade of three diversionary routes by May 2023 to enable trains to avoid these work sites.

Crossrail 1

The Elizabeth line opened on Tuesday 24 May 2022 with Bond Street station opening Monday 24 October 2022.

On 6 November 2022, the next phase of opening the Elizabeth line will integrate services from the east and west into the new central tunnels and stations.

The final timetable across the entire railway will be in place no later than May 2023.

East West Rail

In July, the Infrastructure and Projects Authority said in a report that the second stage to connect Oxford and Bedford, and stage three, connecting Bedford and Cambridge, had “major issues” over “project definition, schedule, budget, quality and/or benefits delivery, which at this stage do not appear to be manageable or resolvable”.

“The project may need re-scoping and/or its overall viability reassessed,” the report said.

Network Rail CP7

North West & Central –

Network Rail has published three procurement notices for frameworks in its North West & Central Region worth a combined £1.28bn. The framework categories are:

• Category B medium projects is worth £695m.
• Category C small to medium projects is worth £358m.
• Category D minor works and reactive response service is worth £229m.

The contract awarding is anticipated for October 2023 and a separate procurement project for Phase 2, category A – large projects, in the North West & Central Region will be started in due course.

Wales and Western Region –

Network Rail have announced a package of c£2bn contract opportunities for construction contractors. The framework will cover the majority of the buildings and civils work, including structures, geotechnical off-track & drainage and stations & buildings. It is divided into five lots:

• Western Structures (£450m)
• Wales Structures (£450m)
• Western Geotechnical Off-track & Drainage (£370m)
• Wales Geotechnical Off-track & Drainage (£300m)
• Stations & Buildings (£430m)

Eastern Region –

The Renewals and Minor Enhancements contract notice was published in April. The frameworks include civil engineering and construction work on railway structures, geotechnics and buildings; signalling and telecoms; and electrification and power and is worth £4bn in total. The frameworks are divided into:

• Electrification and Power and Distribution and Plant in the North and South (£520m)
• Electrification and Power of Contract Systems in the North and South (£480m)
• Signalling and Telecoms North and South (£300m)
• Structures, Geotechnics and Buildings in the South (£850m)
• Structures, Geotechnics and Buildings in the North (£850m)

Southern –

Tenders for the Southern Integrated Delivery frameworks have been submitted and the evaluation process continues across the various SID lots, with preferred bidder decisions expected in the next few months.

Water

Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme (HARP)

United Utilities has issued a periodic indicative notice as it looks to start the tender process for the Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme, under a brand-new contract model, after receiving formal consent from water regulator Ofwat.

It is the first time that the Direct Procurement for Customers model has been used in the UK water sector, following three years of planning and commercial development by United Utilities including extensive engagement with the market and regulator to formalise the new approach.

HARP will be the largest infrastructure project undertaken by United Utilities since privatisation.

Thames Tideway

Thames Tideway has been granted a six-month extension to deliver the finished project after Ofwat amended its licence in recognition of a five-month delay caused by Covid-19.

The final, easternmost section of London’s new super sewer is now having its secondary lining installed, following the completion of the primary lining in April.

Highways

Lower Thames Crossing

National Highways has resubmitted an application for a development consent order (DCO) for the up to £8.2bn Lower Thames Crossing project two years after it withdrew the previous one.

Should consent for the scheme be granted, it will give National Highways permission to build and operate the new crossing. The application was received by the Planning Inspectorate on 31 October 2022, and it will now take 28 days to review it; if successful, National Highways could start construction in 2024.

A303 Stonehenge Tunnel

Last month it was announced that the MORE consortium of Webuild, FCC Construcción and BeMo Tunnelling UK had been awarded the Main Works Contract, it covers the construction of the proposed tunnel’s civil, structural, mechanical, electrical and technology components, including the tunnel-boring machine, along with the approach roadworks and structures and the environmental components.

Meanwhile, National Highways has pushed back against recommendations made by Unesco that the road operator make “substantial” amendments to its A303 Stonehenge tunnel plans, arguing that building alternative options for the Stonehenge Tunnel route would not be worth the additional cost and would not “deliver meaningful additional benefits” over the original scheme.

Energy

Hinkley Point C

The project is now more than 50% complete. However, EDF announced that the start date for the Unit 1 reactor will be pushed back a year to June 2027, with the project also facing a £3bn cost increase. This is due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, time needed to adapt the reactor design for UK regulations and excess costs for marine works.

The cost now sits at £25bn to £26bn, an increase on the previous £23bn figure.

Sizewell C

EDF’s board has “unanimously approved” plans to take a 20% stake in the nuclear project. It is expected to officially sign off on the funding following the unveiling of the UK government’s revised Budget on 17 November. The UK government has already committed to taking another 20% stake, with the remaining 60% of funding to be made up from private investors. There has been some speculation that the scheme might be subject to a review by UK government, so interested parties will be eagerly awaiting the Autumn Statement on November 17^th to see if Sizewell C is mentioned.

Wylfa

Little has been announced on the Welsh nuclear reactor since our last update, but The Welsh Affairs Committee has launched a new inquiry looking at nuclear energy in Wales.

Offshore Wind

Six fixed offshore wind projects, with the potential to generate renewable electricity for more than 7 million homes, have been given the green light by the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to enter into an Agreement for Lease with The Crown Estate.

The six offshore wind projects can be found here:

https://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/en-gb/media-and-insights/news/2022-government-approves-8gw-of-offshore-wind-in-major-milestone-for-renewable-energy/

Coire Glas

Six groups have submitted their bids and reviews of the tenders are now underway. Following the reviews it is anticipated a preferred tenderer will be selected for the mechanical and electrical scope and two tenderers will be selected for the civil engineering scope.

A programme of extensive ground investigation works to autumn 2023, which will allow bid teams to refine their proposed project designs.

Carbon Capture

20 innovative projects have been shortlisted for the next stage of the CCUS clusters process, representing an important step towards a net zero economy.

The shortlisted projects will now also be considered for government funding support to join one of these clusters, to use carbon capture technology to help decarbonise their businesses.

The 20 projects announced represent a range of innovative CCUS technologies that will capture carbon emissions, preventing them being released into the atmosphere. Carbon capture technologies offer enormous economic potential for these regions, helping to attract new private investment and support new job opportunities. Read the full list of shortlisted projects here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cluster-sequencing-phase-2-eligible-projects-power-ccus-hydrogen-and-icc

Defence

Devonport dockyard

A joint venture between Kier and BAM has been appointed to transform Devonport Dockyard into a maintenance centre for new nuclear submarines. The Kier BAM JV will refurbish Devonport’s 10 Dock, the first part of a £2bn overhaul of facilities at the UK’s largest dockyard.

Over the next 10 years new facilities will be developed at the site to meet the evolving requirements of the Royal Navy.

AWE

Plans for a significant new development at AWE Aldermaston have been approved by West Berkshire Council.

Dubbed ‘the hub’, the complex proposal, which contains research laboratories, office space, engineering workshops, and a learning centre, will be spread over a vast 9.3 hectare area.

Building

Westminster Palace Restoration

Sarah Johnson, who was named Chief Executive of the sponsor body for Houses of Parliament Restoration and Renewal in 2019 has stepped down from the role.

This comes as it announced that the R&R Sponsor body will be brought back into the House of Commons Strategic Estates team.

New Hospitals Programme

In September contractors were invited to a flagship event in Birmingham to hear about opportunities to work on the government’s £3.7bn New Hospital Programme (NHP).

You can find out more about how we could help you recruit senior leaders for your major projects teams by booking in a quick call with me to discuss your needs and plans.