The UK tunnelling industry is experiencing the biggest drain of talent since the early nineties. Faced with huge cuts, rising taxes, VAT hikes and an uncertain future for major projects, our engineers and managers are flocking overseas. Current favourite destinations (sounds like a travel blog – Ed) are Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia – with a few lucky individuals managing to get placements in The US.
I was speaking to Nod Clarke-Hackston, International Sales Manager of VMT recently who said he’s basically seeing guys in their 30s and 40s in Asia who have traded in the agonising wait for the first sod to be turned on Crossrail for a few years in the sun. With the current income tax rate in Singapore, for example, at 10%, and 13th month pay cheques the norm, who can blame them? I bumped into an old friend of mine at The BTS recently who is based in Singapore and he advised me that he just can’t ever see himself returning to Blighty.
We British have this smug aloofness which has constantly been a source of ridicule by the Aussies, Kiwis and Sarfers when they whoop us at cricket and rugby and it extends to us thinking we are the centre of the tunnelling universe even though we haven’t executed a major project since The Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
Another colleague of mine was showing a delegation of Chinese tunnellers around his site and the conversation naturally turned to Crossrail.
“Ah yes” one of his guests mused, “Crossrail is a huge project. We currently have seven such projects underway at home.”
Quickly doing some pound for pound comparisons on the scale of the UK vs China, he replied, “Yes, your country is vast compared to ours.”
To which his guest replied,” no I mean seven projects in our province”.
Little Britain? You bet!

UK tunnel recruiters will have to cast the net further to attract talent