Rolton is pleased to have contributed to the newly launched industry report, ‘Built Environment Strategic Workforce Planning for 2030’.
The comprehensive publication stems from the latest INSPIRE event hosted by the Built Environment Futures Assembly (BEFA). This powerful leadership forum was established by the University of the Built Environment (UBE) to break down professional silos, spark collaboration, and drive excellence across engineering, construction, and real estate.
Supported by the Construction Industry Council (CIC) and the Construction Leadership Council, the report explores how the sector can confront its fragmented workforce “permacrisis”. It advocates moving away from reactive, short-term responses to skills shortages in favour of a strategic, demand-led approach.
Shifting the conversation from skills shortages to strategic workforce planning
The report challenges us to move beyond familiar references to a ‘skills crisis’. While the sector’s workforce pressures are real and persistent, the solutions cannot be limited to simply calling for more entrants, more courses or more initiatives. We need a more strategic, evidence-led understanding of demand, supply, capability and competence across the whole workforce system.
Core recommendations
The report highlights three critical areas for industry advancement:
- Intelligence: Better workforce intelligence, stronger forecasting, and integrated data systems
- Education: More flexible training pathways focusing heavily on technical and professional roles
- Technology: A clearer understanding of how artificial intelligence is reshaping future skills and competence
Strategic insights from Peter Rolton
As part of an expert panel addressing sustainable workforce solutions, our Executive Chairman, Peter Rolton, shared vital evidence-based insights alongside senior leaders from Skills England, Arcadis, and the Cabinet Office. Peter specifically highlighted the complex implications of AI for professional practice, emphasising how technological tools must be matched with elevated capability and ethical standards to safeguard trust as workflows evolve.
Read the full report to explore the findings and help future-proof our industry:
Download
The Built Environment Futures Assembly is a powerful leadership forum for the built environment sector to build future-facing capacity, capability and competency through shared knowledge, learning and innovation.
Peter Rolton is part of the Strategic Advisory Board for the Built Environment Futures Assembly (BEFA) facilitated by the University of the Built Environment.
