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HL-Lower Thames Crossing aims to create skills legacy SF-The Lower Thames Crossing (LTC) is one of the UK’s largest infrastructure projects, but those leading its employment and skills programme argue its most enduring legacy won’t be measured in kilometres of new road or tonnes of concrete, but in the people it trains. MB-As well as building the new crossing beneath the Thames Estuary, the project is seeking to address skills shortages through local recruitment, accredited training and collaboration with other major infrastructure projects. Central to that ambition is a network of skills hubs that will meet local workforce and training targets through short courses, which provide successful participants with recognised qualifications and hands-on experience to get them upskilled and ready for the workplace. Work underway on LTC Designed to alleviate chronic congestion at the Dartford Crossing by constructing a new 23km road and a 4.2km twin-bore tunnel beneath the Thames Estuary, the LTC has attracted significant attention. Connecting Kent and Essex, it is described by National Highways as its “most ambitious scheme in 35 years”. It features the UK’s longest road tunnel and is intended to double road capacity across the river east of London. Enabling works began in late 2025, and in July 2026, the project moved into early construction and preparatory works. In the same month, it was confirmed that Herrenknecht will manufacture the 16.4m diameter Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), which will be the largest ever used in Europe. Tunnelling operations are scheduled to begin in 2028. The National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (Nista) recently upgraded the project’s delivery confidence from Amber to Green in its 2024/25 annual report and the road is currently anticipated to be open to traffic in the early to mid-2030s. The project received planning permission in March 2025, with no legal challenges being submitted. However, the LTC has not been without controversy. The estimated cost of the project has risen to approximately £11bn. The government is pursuing a mixed funding model comprising around £3.1bn in public funding, including an £891M tranche announced in the 2025 Autumn Budget to complete publicly funded works, alongside approximately £7.5bn in private funding using a Regulated Asset Base (Rab) model. In July, the National Audit Office confirmed it would investigate the LTC following requests from campaigners regarding finances and cost hikes. Skills and training In August 2025 National Highways launched the Lower Thames Crossing Skills Taskforce, an independent group responsible for ensuring employment and skills are central to the project. Chaired by former home secretary Lord David Blunkett, the taskforce includes Kent and Essex MPs, councillors, representatives from local education providers, business groups and trade unions. Its aims are to help develop the skills needed to meet LTC’s low-carbon targets and support the construction industry’s drive toward net-zero, with a focus on new jobs and business opportunities for the local community. The core goals and targets of LTC’s Skills Taskforce are: - Green Skills: Developing the low-carbon expertise needed to meet net-zero construction goals and phase out diesel use by 2027 - Local Employment: Sourcing at least 45% of the workforce from within 32kms (20 miles) of the route, with at least 20% coming from the most impacted boroughs - Local Business Support: Spending a minimum of £800m with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) - Training Hubs: Opening a network of skills hubs along the route to offer mentoring and training for higher-paid local jobs Earlier in the summer, NCE spoke to taskforce members for an update on how the work is progressing and what the aims will mean for local communities. A major part of the taskforce’s remit is seeking to tackle industry skills shortages through its local workforce and training objectives. A skills strategy outlined the project’s targets, including the number of graduates, apprentices, and work experience placements available. It also outlined the number of training opportunities and hours pledged to support local teachers and students. Priority would be given to prison leavers, the long-term unemployed and women returning to work. Rather than being introduced later in LTC’s development, the taskforce say recruitment initiatives and commitments to developing a local workforce were incorporated into the project’s Development Consent Order (DCO), before being reflected in the contracts awarded to the Tier 1 firms delivering the scheme. As such, the targeted recruitment initiatives and local recruitment were “enshrined” in the project from the beginning, says Lower Thames Crossing head of supply chain development Natalie Bonnick. “It was one of the first principles of the programme,” she says. “Those commitments were then cascaded into the contracts of our main works contractors. So, there’s a contractual commitment to deliver on that ambition.” The first dedicated skills hub was established in Gravesham, in West Kent, in October 2025, with further sites planned in Kent and Thurrock to open up thousands of training and job opportunities for local people. At the hubs, new recruits will be enrolled on short courses and given accredited training to help them gain both recognised qualifications and hands-on experience. The goal is to get workers upskilled or ready for the world of work. “It really is putting local people at the heart of the scheme,” adds Bonnick. “We’ve got a huge programme that offers them fantastic opportunities.” A key part of the strategy is developing a talent pipeline before labour demand reaches its highest level during construction. As well as the skills hubs, the scheme is supported by colleges, training providers and local recruitment. And the aim is to do things ahead of time. “Our key is really to create a strong talent pipeline before our demand peaks,” says National Highways skills and employment specialist Samantha King. “Rather than waiting for that moment where suddenly we need everyone on site and we can’t use local workforce because we haven’t trained them up, it’s about building that pipeline now and training people up now.” “When the job does peak, those people have real, sustainable jobs, and they can grow and continue to upskill.” Carbon neutral construction The programme is also focused on developing skills required beyond current construction methods. The skills hubs also have a particular focus on delivering low-carbon construction skills by enhancing existing accredited courses to support the industry’s transition to net zero. Historically, the construction industry is a significant contributor to carbon emissions, due to the use of high carbon materials and fuels such as diesel, concrete and steel. However, National Highways has designated LTC a carbon neutral construction “pathfinder” project and it aims to reduce construction carbon emissions by 70% compared to initial estimates by using low-carbon materials and eliminating diesel from worksites by 2027. This aim is reflected in the training being offered to LTC’s new staff. Alongside the skills needed today, it includes future skills, with pre-employment programmes introducing hydrogen and carbon literacy. “We’re looking at all those future skills, not just the skills that we need now. It’s looking at skills for 10 or 15 years’ time,” says King. “Through all our pre-employment programmes, we are feeding through hydrogen and carbon literacy.” Transferable skills passport In addition to the training they will receive, those involved in the programme will be issued with a transferable skills passport. The initiative is intended to enable people to move between major infrastructure projects by recording both qualifications and experience gained while working. “The idea of providing a skills passport where people accumulate their qualifications, but also their learned experience and what they’ve done on the job, will equip them to be able to move to other projects if their time on the Lower Thames project comes to an end,” says David Blunkett. “And that way we won’t waste the talent.” King says the aim is to ensure the industry isn’t “duplicating” training and that major projects are “not in competition for work”. “But actually, we are making sure that we’re growing a workforce,” she says. “[The trained workers] might work on Lower Thames Crossing and move across to Sizewell C and then end up at Heathrow, as an example.” “So, we’re not working in our silos. We’re looking at synergies of working, best practice and training.” Local recruitment To ensure the project benefits the communities affected by the development, LTC says it will spend at least £800M with SMEs, which equates to at least £1 in every £3 of the construction budget. Another priority is local recruitment. The project aims to employ at least 45% of its workforce from within 32km (20 miles) of the route and at least 20% from the most impacted boroughs. A pilot scheme delivered with Gallagher Group and Flannery Plant Hire, near Maidstone, led to every participant successfully being employed within the construction industry. “I’d argue that actually employing local people improves not just the local sentiment, but also the productivity and efficiency of our workforce,” says Bonnick. As well as providing opportunities for local people, LTC aims to remove barriers for those who may have not previously felt able to work in the sector. Through inclusive recruitment, the taskforce will support and encourage women and people from ethnic minority backgrounds to join the construction sector. This will also help bridge the skills gap. “If you think about the huge shortage of skills in the construction sector, we can’t disregard these groups,” says Bonnick. “They’re a fantastic addition to our workforce. And without them, we won’t drive any change in the industry.” Another driver of workplace diversity will be new technology, says Blunkett. “We’re talking now about robotics, we’re talking ways of delivery which don’t require muscle, they require skill and they require dexterity,” he says. “That immediately starts to reduce the barrier. Both the psychological barrier and the physical barrier for people coming in.” Another group being supported through the project are prison leavers. And Blunkett says schemes that promote former prisoner employment should be seen “as part of reducing recidivism”, something he considers “a massive problem”. “Somebody who has got a job can afford to rent a home. Somebody who’s got a home has got stability. Somebody who’s got a job and a home is much less likely to reoffend,” he says. “So, it’s a no brainer, really.” The future Alongside supporting delivery of the Lower Thames Crossing and the wider construction industry, the taskforce members say they want the project to have a lasting impact, beyond solving traffic congestion. “That’s one of the most exciting things,” says Bonnick. “In one of the most deprived areas in the UK – there are pockets of South Essex and North Kent that have high levels of unemployment, low levels of skills, real poverty – we are providing training, high quality training that’s industry-leading to deliver net zero programmes.” “So, there’s a real legacy that we intend to leave behind.” Like what you've read? To receive New Civil Engineer's daily and weekly newsletters click here. Have your say or a new account to join the discussion.