Downtown in Business boss, Frank McKenna, is urging the Government to make digital skills a priority as part of a national campaign to improve security, address skills shortages and boost productivity. Tony McDonough reports
Business leaders are backing a campaign that is calling for digital skills passports to become mandatory on all publicly funded construction and infrastructure projects.
The Build Smarter: Mandate the Skills Passport initiative urges the Government to more closely consider digital credentials in order to enhance safety, address skills shortages, and improve productivity.
The campaign proposes a Causeway Skills Passport – a proven digital platform already used by more than 700,000 registered workers – as the national standard for verifying worker skills, competencies and H&S credentials in real time.
It powers the Network Rail Sentinel system (the world’s largest health and safety passport programme) and the Highways Passport scheme, among others, providing critical infrastructure with secure, reliable workforce data.
Leading construction technology firm Causeway Technologies are spearheading the campaign, which has quickly won the backing of businesses, contractors, training organisations, and public sector clients across the UK.
In June Causeway Technologies pledged £1m to the Royal Institute’s masterclass programme, taking hands-on tech education to young people across the UK.
CEO of Causeway Technologies, Paul Devlin, says: “The technology is here and it’s already being used on some of the UK’s largest projects – what’s missing is policy leadership.
“If we’re serious about modernising construction, this needs to become the industry standard, not just best practice.
“If this were agriculture, we’d know exactly which cow produced the milk in your fridge. Why should construction be any less accountable?
“At the very least, we should know who’s on site, what they’re qualified to do, and whether they’re safe. It’s just common sense.”
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A formal policy proposal has already been submitted to the Cabinet Office, DLUHC and Department for Education. The campaign will be supported by regional lobbying, business roundtables, and parliamentary briefings in the months ahead.
Frank McKenna, chief executive of Downtown in Business, said: “The skills passport is a simple, scalable solution. It doesn’t add red tape – it cuts through it. Mandating it would deliver a safer, more productive construction sector and help tackle the UK’s chronic skills gap.”