The UK Government’s commitment to £600 plus billion of investment in UK recognises the critical role of infrastructure in rebuilding the economy post COVID.

The Construction Industry was already reshaping itself, but pressure for change is growing & coming from different directions. Evolving client expectations mean that projects need to be more and more individualised, modular, connected to the Internet of Things and allow for specific performance tracking, optimisation of energy and improved security and health parameters for instance.

New technological capabilities are creating opportunities to streamline processes and reduce costs. And whilst digitalisation has been a growing force in the construction industry for a number of years it has a clear role in meeting the need to reduce environmental impact, as well as meeting heightened requirements on data usage and cyber security in buildings and infrastructures.

But who provides thought leadership & takes the fees here?

Many of the leading construction firms are rapidly building up their consulting, advisory and digital capability – hiring talent from consulting and dotcom firms and trying to reposition themselves away from the traditional ‘hard hat’ business.

And the management consultancies are piling in. Infrastructure was the fastest growing industry for consulting work last year, seeing a 190% boom.

And while infrastructure is the smallest sector of consulting as measured by fee income, the post COVID recruitment activity from leading consulting houses shows that this is a key target growth sector for them.

So who’s going to own the best talent? The construction powerhouses who quickly pivot and prove their consulting value? Or will the ‘pure play’ consultants seize the proverbial high ground?

It’s anyone’s guess – but the first step in journey is to ensure your Employee Value Proposition, recruitment process and behaviours you select against are relevant to where you’re heading – not where you’ve come from.