Responding to the announcemount of how £70 billion of Government investment (detailed below) would be spent, Director General of Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) Nick Baveystock said:

“The projected pipeline of future work in the national infrastructure plan has given industry a platform on which to assess future needs, particularly potential skills gaps and priorities for developing engineering innovations. Getting a better idea of the risks and opportunities we are likely to encounter in areas that cut across various projects - like tunneling - is an extremely valuable use of this information, driving better efficiency and ultimately better value for money for the public. This is crucial to ensure we remain globally competitive in future and can deliver on vital energy, transport and water projects successfully.”

Regarding commitment pledged by Government today to apprentices, research and higher education he commented:

“Further Government support for skills-specific training facilities is very welcome - major infrastructure projects are complex and delivering them successfully requires a high level of understanding and unique skills. Equally, boosting UK research to support the delivery of projects and ensure the UK is ahead of the game when it comes to innovation is crucial and will help maintain our world class engineering base.”
This came in response to the following announcement:

£70 billion of potential government business published to boost UK growth

The Government’s long term plan to reform the way the public sector does business ramped up today as new and updated data on £70 billion of potential future government contracts was published by Cabinet ministers Francis Maude and Vince Cable.

Data has been published on £70 billion of potential future contracts over the next five years, across 13 different sectors including construction, property, medical and police equipment. Publishing data on future contract needs allows government and industry to work together to spot any skills and investment gaps so they can act to safeguard UK competitiveness and growth.

The Government’s proactive approach has been hailed by industry leaders today, and a total of 17 industry bodies and suppliers, including British Chambers of Commerce, the Confederation for British Industry (CBI), Institute of Directors and the UK Contractors Group, have signed up Government’s approach and signed ministers’ “Procurement Pledge”.

Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude said:

“We have published details of £70 billion of potential Government business. Never before has a government been so open about its long-term business needs.

“Industry leaders recognise the value of publishing these pipelines and that is why they support our reforms which will boost growth.

“Publishing data on what we plan to buy – whether it’s tunnels or computers – means we can identify skills gaps sooner and give industry a heads up so UK businesses are in a better position to compete.

Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Vince Cable said:

"In the coming years the Government will purchase billions of pounds worth of equipment and services, which means billions of pounds worth of potential opportunities for UK business. By publishing details of our expected future requirements ahead of time and adopting a strategic approach, we can help give UK suppliers the confidence to invest in people, plants and technologies here at home so they can compete for and win these government contracts, as well as seek new opportunities abroad.

"Frankly, we’ve been too short-term in how we’ve done procurement in the past. Our key competitors in Europe already see procurement as an integral part of a proper industrial strategy and it’s time we did the same. This is a win-win scenario, making our businesses stronger and providing best value for the taxpayer."

In addition to identifying skills gaps, today’s measures will help to combat the “famine and feast” nature of the jobs market where a lack of central data on projects across the country can lead to avoidable gaps between projects.

The Government has also published an initial analysis on strategic capability, using construction and tunnelling as an example and identifying some of the skills and changes required to meet future demand. In future the Government will publish plans for other key sectors.

Today’s announcement builds on a package of measures published by the Government in November 2011 to revolutionise it buys from the private sector. The package included publishing £50bn of potential business online; making it 40 per cent faster to do business with government; and collaborating with businesses in the UK at a much earlier stage in the procurement process so they do not find themselves excluded from opportunities.