RoSPA skills shortage warning: safety and supervision lessons for UK project teams
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell
First reported on New Civil Engineer
30 Second Briefing
Skills shortages across civil engineering and construction are increasing workplace risk, RoSPA warns in a new report, as experienced supervisors, temporary works coordinators and plant operators are stretched thinner on complex sites. The charity links gaps in competence to poorer control of high‑risk activities such as lifting operations with mobile cranes, work at height on scaffolds and excavations near live services. RoSPA urges contractors and clients to prioritise formal competence assessment, targeted refresher training and tighter supervision ratios rather than relying on inexperienced agency labour to fill vacancies.
Technical Brief
- RoSPA’s report targets civil engineering and construction workplaces, focusing on site-based operational risk exposure.
- The charity frames skills shortages as a safety-critical issue, not just a productivity or programme concern.
- RoSPA calls for clients to embed competence requirements and supervision ratios explicitly in contract documentation and pre-qualification.
- Recommendations include structured, periodic competence reviews rather than one-off training at induction stage.
- The report urges tighter control of agency and short-term labour, with formal verification of qualifications and experience.
- RoSPA positions its guidance as complementary to existing CDM duties, focusing on practical competence management on site.
- For similar infrastructure programmes, the message is to treat competence planning as a core risk-control item alongside design and temporary works.
Our Take
RoSPA’s warning on UK skills shortages aligns with its move, reported in our coverage on 11 February 2026, to set up a UK-wide OSH skills commission with Speedy Hire, signalling a shift from pure advocacy towards structured capacity-building in safety competence.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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