By Paul Devlin, CEO, Causeway Technologies
2030 is the most ambitious milestone the UK water sector has ever faced and AMP8 is the moment that will shape whether we deliver. With £100 billion in investment and 100,000 new people joining the sector, the scale is unprecedented.
That presents enormous challenges, but also a once-in-a-generation opportunity to do things differently. To build delivery models that are faster, safer, and smarter. To modernise how we manage the workforce at the heart of this transformation.
Because AMP8 isn’t just about infrastructure. It’s about trust, safety, and whether we’ve got the right people, systems and visibility in place to deliver what we’ve promised.
Right now, I’m not convinced we do.
We’ve Missed Something Critical
Every water company has investment plans. Most have innovation strategies. But too few have a clear picture of who’s turning up to site. And that’s a problem – especially at a time when public confidence and delivery pressure has never been higher.
We’re heading into a record spend period. Yet most utilities still can’t answer three simple questions:
- Who’s working on your assets today?
- Can you prove they’re qualified to be there?
- Do your delivery partners have enough people to deliver, safely and on time?
In a sector under scrutiny, this isn’t a side issue. It’s a serious operational risk. If we don’t fix it, AMP8 will fall short.
The Independent Water Commission put it plainly in their 2025 interim report:
“The current regulatory system for the water industry in England and Wales has largely lost public trust. In many respects, it is not delivering the desired outcomes.”
That loss of trust isn’t just about pollution or bills. It’s about control, or the lack of it, over who’s actually delivering the work on the ground. If we can’t see the workforce, we can’t manage the risk.
Why Water’s Workforce Challenge Is Different
The water sector has long, complex supply chains. That makes workforce visibility incredibly difficult. In turn, making it harder to enforce standards or plan delivery.
- Over half of AMP8’s workforce will be new to the sector, carrying more risk, both in safety and productivity.
- Much of the delivery sits with tier 2 and 3 contractors who often lack joined-up systems.
- We’re losing experienced people fast – and their critical know-how.
Add in tight margins, outdated onboarding, and inconsistent data, and it’s clear we can’t manage this risk the way we used to.
A Proven Solution: The Skills Passport
Other sectors are also facing this challenge. Many have found an essential solution – Causeway’s digital skills passport. In rail they have Sentinel, in highways they have Highways Passport. Utilities can’t afford to be the last to act.
The Utilities Passport, already in use across Thames Water, South West Water and many Tier 1 water contractors, uses the same technology as Sentinel and Highways Passport to give each operative a verified digital record. ID, skills, medicals, inductions, site history. It travels with them across sites, clients and contractors creating a single source of truth the sector can rely on.
What does this unlock?
- Fewer inductions, faster onboarding. Teams get time back on site.
- Safer delivery. Unqualified operatives are flagged before they step on site.
- Real savings. Duplicate training is eliminated. Forecasting gets sharper. Compliance easier to prove.
- It gives you the data to plan properly – match supply and demand, identify gaps, and build the 2030 workforce.
Time to Lead – or Risk Being Left Behind
The passport model is proven. It’s already live across major utilities and contractors, with tens of thousands of operatives onboard. Most organisations can begin rollout in only a few months. No major tech overhauls required.
So the question isn’t whether the sector needs this. It’s how fast we can scale what already works.
AMP8 will test every assumption – about capacity, compliance, and how we collaborate. We can’t afford to approach it with outdated systems and blind spots we already know how to fix.
This is water’s decade. We’ve got one shot to get this right. Let’s not fail for lack of visibility.
Visit our website and get in touch:
causeway.com/utilities-passport
