Infrastructure Pipeline Updated with Skills and Workforce Forecast

The first update of the UK’s £718 billion Infrastructure Pipeline published today now includes an estimate of the future workforce needed to deliver projects.

The aim is to give firms across the construction supply chain insights to help them invest in skills, capacity and productivity. It will also help suppliers to be ready to deliver the infrastructure projects when they come to market.

The Infrastructure Pipeline will require an estimated annual average workforce of between 621,000 and 697,000 over the next 2 years.

Between 629,000 and 706,000 are estimated as needed over the next 5 years. Construction jobs account for over two thirds of this demand, with education and health infrastructure contributing the largest share.

The Infrastructure Pipeline shows major UK capital infrastructure projects which are under construction, development or at a pre-project stage. It provides details of capital and maintenance costs for infrastructure and construction projects with a total cost of £25 million or more for economic infrastructure, and £15 million and above for social and other infrastructure projects.

Karl Horton, data services director at BCIS, said: “The Pipeline is an important source of confidence at a time of continued uncertainty.

“Energy markets have been highly volatile in recent days, with oil prices surging to multi-year highs before falling back again. That kind of rapid movement can quickly filter through to construction supply chains, affecting the cost of materials, transport and energy-intensive processes.

“With disruption continuing, investors and contractors are looking for a clearer picture of the projects coming forward – how they will be funded, how returns may be generated and the scale of workforce needed to deliver them. The Pipeline remains a work in progress, but the latest update moves it closer to providing the level of visibility the sector needs.”

Energy Sector Has Highest Investment

The £718 billion in capital investment over the next decade represents a significant increase in the value of projects in the Pipeline from July 2025. This change is partially due to organiser’s, the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) obtaining new and updated data from a wider range of providers, including several Mayoral Combined Authorities. Energy remains the sector in the Pipeline with the highest planned investment of £365 billion over 10 years.

Aimed at improving the usefulness of the Pipeline to firms as a planning tool, other changes include new project metrics on potential investment opportunities. Details include the type of investment sought and how much, and the business models used, in line with the government’s wider drive to remove barriers to UK competitiveness.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury James Murray said: “As part of this latest version of the Infrastructure Pipeline, we’re giving the construction sector the detailed picture it needs to invest in a highly skilled workforce that’s primed to build the hospitals, schools, railways, reservoirs and renewable energy plants this country needs.”

Since its launch in July 2025, the first iteration of the Pipeline has been widely welcomed by businesses across infrastructure, the government says. Industry users of the Pipeline have highlighted its use in business planning, enabling data-driven decisions to be made with confidence.

Chief Executive of Costain Alex Vaughan said: “With investment clearly mapped out, business leaders have greater visibility over future projects. The opportunity now is to ensure this ambition goes hand-in-hand with long-term workforce planning so that the industry has the right skills and people in place for the successful delivery of critical national infrastructure.”

Saying the new skills and data forecast will help to establish a demand-led skills system that identifies where and what skills and jobs are required to deliver the pipeline, Mark Reynolds, Co-Chair of the Construction Skills Mission Board and the Construction Leadership Council, said: “We look forward to working with NISTA to further develop and refine the pipeline tool; it will be a key part of the work the Construction Skills Mission Board is driving to ensure that every person who wants to join the construction sector is able to find a long-term, sustainable job.”

The Pipeline is available here.

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