Contractors look abroad for high-rise expertise

UK contractors are actively seeking skilled stadium and high-rise construction experts from Europe and America, according to recruitment firm Potensis. Speaking to CJ, Potensis founder and chief executive officer Richard Milsom said his firm was in hot pursuit of project directors to work on stadium projects given the UK’s relatively poor track record in delivering stadia.

“We are currently scouring Europe for stadium experts for contractors,” said Milsom. “Stadiums are tricky projects for contractors and are high risk. However, there are some in the field who are looking to tackle the market as long as they have the right team on board.” Milsom would not reveal exactly what firms were on the recruitment drive, due to confidentiality reasons, but did confirm that it was nothing to do with the Olympic Stadium bid.

Potensis, which works for firms such as Laing O’Rourke and Sir Robert McAlpine, is also on a recruitment drive in the US, looking for expertise in high-rise developments to coincide with the planned large-scale developments in London.

Milsom added that the jobs most in demand by contractors were project planners, especially ones that can work on £100m contracts. “There are fewer than 50 of these in the whole of the UK,” he added. For housebuilders, the main demand was for land managers, while M&E firms are looking for good project managers on packaged works. About 85% of skills are sourced from within the UK and the rest from overseas, said Milsom. However, he expects the margin to reduce to 60:40 in favour of the UK within five years.

[Contract Journal, 18 October 2006, p 2]