The UK utilities sector faces a ticking clock: over £300 billion in investment requiring 300,000 new workers and all by 2030. This isn’t just more of the same but bigger. It’s a once-in-multiple-generations opportunity to reshape the UK utilities sector, as well as how we build, who builds it, and what our future workforce looks like.
In this article, we explore three major challenges reshaping the UK utilities sector. Together, they show why the next five years will be transformational, and why getting workforce management right is now business-critical.
The time to act isn’t later. It’s now.
The sector needs a shared solution like Utilities Passport to move forward with confidence.
Three challenges the utilities sector needs to solve
1: A rapidly scaling workforce
There are 300,000 operatives joining the UK utilities sector across the next five years.
Water: AMP8 requires 100,000 n operatives to deiver £104 billion in works by 2030.
Energy: Clean Power 2030 requires an estimated 200,000 operatives to deliver £200 billion in works by 2030.
New recruits bring fresh energy, but many will be unfamiliar with the standards, systems, and safety expectations of the job. Meanwhile, experienced hands are stepping away. We need a way to transfer knowledge, confirm capability, and onboard quickly without compromising quality or safety.
2: Complex, fragmented supply chains
Infrastructure is delivered through vast, multi-tiered supply chains. In the UK alone, there are over 23,000 contractors, 90% of which have fewer than eight operatives. That means many workers are invisible to asset owners and Tier 1s, often without standardised systems to verify skills or track site access. The result? Unnecessary duplication, inefficiency, and risk.
3: Rising expectations
Regulators like Ofwat, Ofgem, and the HSE are increasing their scrutiny. Public expectations are higher than ever. Delays and delivery failures aren’t just costly, they’re highly visible. Workforce readiness is now under the spotlight.
There’s a smarter, simpler and safer way forward with Utilities Passport
The good news? We don’t have to start from scratch. A shared workforce passport is already working in other sectors (rail and highways); and it’s gaining traction in utilities, too.
Causeway have built Utilities Passport, a sector-wide tool that offers verified skills, real-time visibility, and reduced admin. With every new user, the system becomes more valuable, bringing clarity, reducing friction, and enabling safe, confident, high-quality work.
How the Utilities Passport works
Each worker has their own smartcard (physical or virtual). It connects to a secure, central database that holds everything important about their work record: qualifications, training, site inductions, toolbox talks, medical status, even fatigue levels and shift data.
When a worker arrives on site, their card is scanned using a mobile app.
In seconds, the site team can:
- Check if the worker is qualified and safe to work there
- See if they’ve done the right training or inductions
- Record shift data
- Record toolbox talks or briefings
This record travels with the worker, even if they move to another site, company, or region. No need to start from scratch. The card is always up to date because it syncs with live info from across the supply chain. It’s like carrying an entire filing cabinet filled with your verified CV, training history, and site clearance in your pocket.
Passports are proven in other sectors like Rail and Highways
Other industries have already shown what’s possible.
Rail: Network Rail uses Sentinel to manage site access and stop 600-700 unsafe entries each month.
"There is only one Sentinel! Causeway plays a major role in supporting us with our objective of 'Putting Passengers First'. They epitomise the mantra of 'Being Easy to Engage With', allowing us to positively respond to our customers’ challenges and requests."
Jo Astor Duggan - Network Rail
Highways: The Highways Passport supports over 35,000 workers, standardising inductions, verifying qualifications, raising standards and saving up to 12 hours of admin per week on each project.
"Ensuring that the workforce remains safe and competent is key to delivering all of National Highways' work. Highways Passport is a supply chain initiative which we fully endorse and regard as best practice."
Nick Harris, Chief Executive, National Highways
Both systems are built on Causeway SkillGuard.
The same trusted platform that powers Utilities Passport.
Driving change in utilities
Utilities Passport is already live:
- Thames Water has over 30,000 workers on the system.
- South West Water is rolling out now.
- Major contractors like Costain are implementing it across all their frameworks.
It’s helping:
- Delivery partners verify competence instantly.
- Site teams cut down on duplicate inductions.
- Workers move between projects without restarting from zero.
More utilities are coming on board because they can see the long-term benefits.
The Utilities Passport provides a shared source of truth for utilities
Most of the work - and cost - in this sector lies in the supply chain.
That’s why shared visibility is essential.
With the Utilities Passport, you get:
- A secure, mobile record of each worker’s skills and site activity.
- Real-time insight into workforce capacity and availability.
- A consistent, auditable approach to onboarding, training, and safety.
It’s not just about compliance. It’s about preparing for what’s next. Shared data means we can:
- Collaborate on training.
- Forecast future needs.
- Demonstrate the local value of every pound invested.
£300 billion to deliver, 300,000 workers to mobilise and just five years to do it
Success depends on a workforce that’s connected, capable, and ready to deliver from day one. Utilities Passport is a proven way to get there.
Miss this moment, and we risk higher costs, delivery delays, and growing public scrutiny.
