Geomechanics.io

A 13.46m diameter Herrenknecht Mixshield TBM has broken through into the future Balboa station on Panama Metro Line 3 after completing the first-ever TBM undercrossing of the Panama Canal at depths exceeding 60m below sea level. The 5,600kW, 26,616kNm machine, fitted with an accessible cutterhead and more than 4,500 sensors linked via the Herrenknecht.Connected platform, has achieved peak advance of 150 segment rings (about 300m) per month through mixed sandstone, tuff, breccias and basalt. Around 1.5km of the 4.5km twin-track tunnel remains to final breakthrough.

Federal funding for New York’s US$16bn Hudson Tunnel Project has been frozen, forcing the Gateway Development Commission to suspend works from 6 February after spending over US$1bn and employing about 1,000 site workers. A Manhattan federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order, giving the administration until 5 p.m. on 12 February to restore reimbursements or appeal, while contractors warn that demobilisation, resequencing and remobilisation will add cost and delay. Sites are now in “safe-pause” mode, with dewatering, ground support and environmental monitoring maintained, and assembly of two Herrenknecht TBMs in New Jersey likely to slip beyond the planned spring 2026 launch without funding certainty.

Swiss Federal Railways has awarded an Implenia/Marti 50:50 joint venture five of six MehrSpur Zurich–Winterthur lots worth just under CHF 1.7 billion, including the 8.3 km Brüttener tunnel (Lot 240) with twin 10 m diameter single-track tubes and a 1 km spur to Zurich Airport. TBM excavation will start in August 2029, with a roughly ten-year construction phase using BIM for planning and execution and extensive special foundations, earthworks and embankments. Additional works cover full redevelopment of Dietlikon station, about 6 km of new track across Dietlikon and Wallisellen sections, multiple underpasses, bridges and the Neumühle railway bridge and Storchen underpass near Winterthur.

TBM Xihe, a 7.3m-diameter, 100m-long, 1,000-tonne Herrenknecht slurry machine, has completed the up-track drive to the future Tung Chung West Station and has begun boring the down-track tunnel towards Tung Chung Station for MTR’s Tung Chung Line Extension in Hong Kong. The Bouygues Travaux Publics–Dragages Hong Kong JV turned the TBM underground within the launch shaft using a push-pull method and self-propelled modular transporter, avoiding full disassembly and surface transport. About 1.3km of new twin-bore tunnels are being driven close to existing rail and urban structures, with commissioning targeted for 2029.

Gamuda Engineering has secured the Sydney Metro Stations Package West as principal contractor, covering design and construction of five new underground stations at Westmead, North Strathfield, Burwood North, Five Dock and The Bays on the 24km Sydney Metro West line between Greater Parramatta and the CBD. The scope includes deep station boxes, entrances and access points, full station fit-out and integration with surrounding precincts, with Laing O’Rourke and DT Infrastructure joining as MetroVista delivery partners. Site works are scheduled to start on Monday, 5 January 2026.

Two in five UK construction firms report a direct hit to their bottom line despite political promises of accelerated infrastructure delivery, exposing a gap between headline commitments and actual project flow. Contractors cite delayed notice-to-proceed on major road and rail schemes, stop–start funding cycles for schools and hospitals, and prolonged planning approvals as key drivers of margin erosion. For geotechnical and civil specialists, this means underutilised design and site teams, disrupted ground investigation programmes, and greater commercial risk when pricing long-lead works.

Graham has secured a £286m contract to redevelop Manchester Metropolitan University’s Cambridge Halls, delivering 2,302 student bedrooms in two new multi‑storey blocks rising up to 30 storeys on the site of demolished 1990s accommodation. The Cartwright Pickard–designed scheme combines cluster flats, studios, ground‑floor commercial units and a community health centre fronting Cambridge Street. Targeting BREEAM Excellent with air source heat pumps, PV panels, low‑energy heat recovery ventilation and intelligent BMS, phase one is due in 2029 with final completion in 2030.

Women into Home Building is opening applications for its eighth fully funded three-week intake, combining one week of online training with two weeks of on-site placements in site management and new building inspector roles with NHBC. Since its 2023 launch by the Home Builders Federation and partner house-builders, over 150 women have completed introductory training, but only about one-third have secured industry jobs, against a backdrop of women making up just 15% of the construction workforce and 5% of site managers. Applications for May 2026 placements run from 16 February to 22 March via pathwayctm.com.

Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council has appointed Barnfield Construction as main contractor for an £8.5m conversion of the fire‑damaged, Grade II listed St John’s Church into a digital and cyber business centre. Designs by Manchester-based OMI Architects provide 9,500 sq ft of flexible workspace within the 239-year-old structure, linked to the planned Blackburn Skills Campus and opportunities from the National Cyber Force at Samlesbury Enterprise Zone. Enabling works start in March, main construction begins in summer, with completion targeted for early 2028.

Erewash Borough Council has approved Fassa Bortolo’s new UK headquarters and building materials factory at New Stanton Park, a 170,000 sq ft complex with manufacturing plant, training academy and warehousing. The facility will feature a 60-metre main tower, three metres higher than the former Stanton Ironworks chimney, on a 220-acre brownfield business estate masterplanned for up to 4,000 jobs. For materials suppliers and contractors, the site signals a significant East Midlands production hub for renders, mortars and plasters within a £350m global expansion programme.

Alumno has started construction of a £23m, six-storey purpose-built student accommodation block on St George’s Road in Glasgow’s Woodlands district, delivering 262 beds in four- and five-bed cluster flats plus studios. Clark Contracts is acting as design-and-build contractor, with Stallan Brand Architects, RankinFraser Landscape Architecture, Will Rudd Davidson, Ridge & Partners and Sound Advice Acoustics forming the professional team, and funding from Henderson Park. The scheme includes a ground-floor common room, sixth-floor dining, study and lounge spaces, and rear landscaped courtyards, with completion targeted for summer 2027.

Transport for London has awarded M Group a £119M, five-year contract to maintain its portfolio of bridges and civil structures, with an option to extend the deal by a further three years. The framework will cover inspection, repair and strengthening of key assets across London’s strategic road and rail network, where many structures date from pre-motorway or early Underground expansion eras. Contractors and consultants can expect demand for complex access solutions, night-time possessions and staged works to keep high-traffic routes operational during interventions.

Network Rail has issued a prior information notice for a £450M Scotland’s Railway Electrification Framework, signalling a multi-year programme to extend 25kV overhead line equipment as part of Scotland’s rail decarbonisation plan. The framework is expected to cover design, civils and structures, mast and portal installations, feeder stations and sectioning cabins across multiple routes, with contractors needing proven experience in live-rail possessions and integration with existing signalling and structures. Geotechnical and civil packages are likely to include new foundations, bridge parapet and clearance modifications, and structural assessments for increased electrical clearances.

Work has begun on a £28m upgrade of RAF Coningsby’s Air Operating Surfaces, with VolkerFitzpatrick reconstructing taxiways and apron areas under a construction contract initially valued at £18.6m and Aecom acting as consulting engineer. As the Lincolnshire base is one of two RAF Quick Reaction Alert stations, all works must be sequenced around 24/7 Typhoon launch readiness for 3 (Fighter), XI (Fighter) and 29 Squadrons. Completion is scheduled for October 2026, implying prolonged phasing, night working and tight airside access controls for contractors.

Jackson Civil Engineering has secured a £20m contract from East Sussex County Council to replace the single-lane, 1870s Exceat Bridge on the A259 over the River Cuckmere in the South Downs National Park. The scheme, funded by £7.9m from the Levelling Up Fund, £11.28m from Bus Service Improvement Plan Round 1 and council capital, will remove a major traffic pinchpoint between Seaford and Eastbourne where queues currently form in both directions. Preparatory works are due to start in spring, with environmental sensitivity a key requirement given the Seven Sisters Country Park setting.

The £1bn regeneration of Leeds’ four-hectare Eastgate Quarter has advanced with Khalbros and Torsion Group’s JV appointing FeildenCleggBradley Studios as lead architect/masterplanner and Danish urban designers SLA to reshape land between Vicar Lane and Bridge Street, from Lady Lane to the A64(M). Roscoe will deliver structural and civil engineering, AMA will advise on highways and transport, and FD Global will assess wind conditions, alongside ecology, archaeology, heritage and daylight/sunlight specialists. The mixed-use scheme, now in pre-application with Leeds City Council, aims to densify a long-underused inner-city area while reusing heritage buildings and expanding the city centre.

Wales has launched its first dedicated roofing, slating and tiling apprenticeship, delivered jointly by CITB, the National Construction College, Bridgend College and the National Federation of Roofing Contractors, with an initial cohort of nine apprentices starting in South Wales next month and a second intake planned for September. Training will combine classroom teaching with outdoor practical instruction led by a CITB roofing tutor, targeting both public and private sector demand. CITB’s Construction Workforce Outlook projects the UK will need 630 additional roofers by 2029, including at least 50 in Wales, within a wider requirement for 47,000 extra construction workers annually.

Construction has started on Lovell Homes’ £42m Swinfen Vale scheme on a 10.4-acre greenfield site off Beveridge Lane, Ellistown, forming part of Harworth Estates’ wider regeneration of southeast Coalville. The development will deliver 146 one- to four-bedroom homes, all designed to achieve SAP B energy ratings using gas heating supplemented by roof-mounted solar panels. Lovell will contribute £1m via planning obligations to local infrastructure and services, with first homes due on sale in July 2026 and initial occupation targeted for September 2026.

Construction of the 7.5‑kilometre M12 Motorway dual carriageway at Badgerys Creek is progressing around the Central Interchange, which will link the M7 and The Northern Road directly to Western Sydney International (Nancy‑Bird Walton) Airport. The interchange comprises multiple bridge structures, elevated ramps and extensive retaining walls, with precast concrete elements supplied and coordinated by National Precast members to manage complex geometry and staging. For geotechnical and civil teams, the works demand careful interface of precast foundations, approach embankments and retaining systems with existing motorway corridors and airport access constraints.

The second stage of the Main South Road Duplication Project has opened to traffic in Adelaide, doubling carriageway capacity between Aldinga and Sellicks Beach and removing a key bottleneck on the Fleurieu Peninsula corridor. Delivered by the Fleurieu Connections Alliance, led by CPB Contractors, the works convert this section of Main South Road from a single to dual carriageway, with new intersections and median separation improving traffic flow and crash risk performance. For civil and pavement engineers, the duplication sets the geometric and structural standard for future upgrades further south.

Restoration of Cornwallis’ flood-damaged drainage network and reconstruction of the missing section of Cornwallis Road in New South Wales has been completed by Hawkesbury City Council in partnership with NSW Public Works. Works included rebuilding the road and repairing the levee system to protect low-lying, flood‑prone properties along this corridor on the Hawkesbury floodplain. For geotechnical and civil teams, the project signals renewed design focus on drainage capacity and levee robustness after recent extreme flood events in the region.

Construction of a new mass transit link between Bristol city centre and Bristol Airport is being prioritised by the West of England Combined Authority, with construction targeted to begin within four to five years. The scheme is expected to provide a high-capacity, segregated corridor along the heavily congested A38 route, replacing or supplementing existing bus services that currently face peak-hour delays. Early work will need to address tight urban corridors, airport security and access constraints, and integration with Bristol’s wider public transport upgrades.

Albert Bridge in west London has been closed to motor traffic after a routine inspection found a cracked cast iron component at one of the bridge abutments, Kensington and Chelsea council confirmed. The 1873 Grade II* listed structure, a hybrid cable‑stayed and suspension bridge over the Thames, remains open to pedestrians and cyclists while engineers assess the defect. Structural investigations will focus on load paths through the affected abutment detail and the implications for fatigue and brittle fracture behaviour in the historic cast iron.

A campaign is urging local authorities to fund remediation of the 150‑year‑old hydraulic swing bridge over the River Tyne, which has remained in a fixed, closed position since 2019. The structure, originally designed to pivot to provide a navigable channel for shipping, now requires significant mechanical and hydraulic system repairs before any reopening can be considered. For civil and structural engineers, the case raises questions over life‑extension strategies, heritage load assessments and the cost–benefit of restoring full swing functionality versus partial structural refurbishment.

New South Wales is rolling out Renewable Energy Zones (REZs) to replace ageing coal plants, clustering large-scale wind, solar and storage projects where grid capacity can be efficiently reinforced. Engineers are being redeployed from coal and gas infrastructure into REZ planning, high‑voltage transmission design and grid‑forming inverter integration, with a strong focus on connection studies and system strength. The shift is driving demand for civil and geotechnical works on new substations, access roads and foundations in remote sites, plus materials expertise for high‑temperature, high‑UV environments.

More than 100 GMB members at Severfield’s Lostock, Bolton plant – including welders, platers and machine operators – will stage three strike days from 16–24 February after being offered a 0% pay rise. The action follows an overtime ban and comes as new chief executive Paul McNerney pursues a return to profit after a £17.5m pre-tax loss on £450.9m revenue, linked to weld issues on HS2 and National Highways bridges. Severfield has just completed 23,000 tonnes of structural steelwork for Agratas’ Somerset gigafactory Building One, a 525m × 167m × 34m unit, which is not expected to be affected.

Slippage of Mace’s Paddington over-station development start from Q1 to Q2 2026 has been confirmed, with site acquisition for £55m now scheduled for 25th February 2026 but overall completion still targeted for Q3 2028. Joint venture developers Helical and Places for London have secured a £220m development financing facility from Pimco Prime Real Estate to cover both the acquisition and construction. The Grimshaw-designed scheme comprises a 19‑storey, 235,000 sq ft new-build office structure directly above Paddington station’s northern entrance, overlooking the Grand Union Canal.

Fourth quarter construction output in Great Britain fell 2.1% quarter‑on‑quarter in Q4 2025, with new work down 2.6% and repair & maintenance down 1.5%, driven by a 3.6% drop in private house‑building. Despite this, annual output for 2025 still grew 1.8% versus 2024, while construction output prices rose 2.7% in the 12 months to December. New orders declined 3.8% (£469m) in Q4, mainly in private commercial and industrial work, as developers cited low planning approvals, rising costs and mounting viability pressures, particularly for SMEs.

Willmott Dixon has begun early works on Swansea University’s four-storey, 2,000 m² National Institute for Sport & Health at Swansea Bay Sports Park, funded through the Swansea Bay City Deal and due to open in 2027 as an R&D hub linking public, private and academic partners. In Gravesend, the contractor and Gravesham Borough Council are starting ground preparation and demolition for the £43m Cascades Leisure Centre, which will feature a 25-metre pool, 17-metre learner pool, aqua play and flumes, six-court sports hall and multi-level soft play, targeting opening in 2028.

Genpower has relaunched the JCB-branded line with the JCB Pro 18V cordless platform, developed tool-by-tool over two years to compete directly with Bosch Blue, DeWalt, Makita and Milwaukee for professional construction, maintenance and agricultural use. The Pro 18V combi drill delivers 160Nm torque via a brushless motor with anti-kickback control and a 13mm ROHM metal chuck, while the Pro 18V grease gun provides up to 10,150psi (700 bar) and 300g/min flow with cartridge and bulk-fill options. All tools share a common 18V Li-ion battery system to standardise site kits and reduce downtime.

Approval of a £1bn redevelopment will expand Liverpool Street Station’s capacity from today’s 98 million passengers a year towards more than 200 million, responding to a forecast 35% rise to 158 million by 2041. The Network Rail scheme, with Aecom as lead consulting engineer alongside Platform4 and Acme, focuses on improved access, circulation and accessibility while adding new commercial, cultural and public spaces. Design development has been driven by detailed heritage assessments, multi‑disciplinary engineering and formal environmental impact assessments.

Construction has started on The Hive, a £24m co-living development at Kelham Island that will deliver 100 studio apartments with shared kitchens, laundry, gym and yoga studio, office space and a roof terrace by spring 2027, making it Sheffield’s largest purpose-built co-living scheme. Grantside has appointed HBC Construction as main contractor, with Edge as project manager and Cartwright Pickard, Arup, Hoare Lea and Urbana forming the design and planning team. The project is positioned as a high-density, amenity-rich model supporting Sheffield’s target of 20,000 new city-centre homes over the next decade.

Bam UK & Ireland has secured an £18.6m contract to build 120 ensuite bedrooms and four family apartments for clinical staff and students at North Devon District Hospital in Barnstaple, funded from the national New Hospital Programme’s £22.7m allocation. The on-site blocks will use shared kitchen, living and dining spaces and are intended to cut long staff commutes and mitigate local housing shortages that hinder recruitment. As the first phase of the Our Future Hospital redevelopment, the scheme precedes new operating theatres, ICU capacity, diagnostics and women’s and children’s facilities.

A proposed £34bn upgrade of Britain’s electricity transmission and distribution network over 15 years is projected by Arup to unlock £194bn in wider economic benefits and support tens of thousands of jobs. The study points to accelerated grid reinforcement, new high‑voltage connections for offshore wind and solar, and targeted investment in substations and interconnectors as critical to connecting low‑carbon generation and electrified transport and heat. For civil and geotechnical engineers, this signals sustained demand for large‑scale cable corridors, substation platforms, foundations and associated transport and logistics works.

Work to upgrade the East Coast Main Line between Welwyn and Hitchin has reached its halfway point, with engineers set to start digital signalling tests later this month to enable in‑cab signalling on this busy mixed‑traffic corridor. The programme forms part of the wider ECML East Coast Digital Programme, replacing lineside signals with ETCS‑based cab displays to increase capacity and reduce maintenance exposure on one of the UK’s highest‑loaded main lines. Upcoming tests will focus on integrating onboard ETCS equipment with existing interlockings and traffic management systems.

Geotab has outlined a next-generation telematics roadmap for Australian fleets at Geotab Connect 2026, featuring AI-powered video safety tools designed to analyse driver behaviour and incident risk in real time. The company is also rolling out new in-vehicle hardware and “ruggedised” asset trackers aimed at operating reliably on remote haul roads and construction sites where traditional cellular coverage is limited. For civil and infrastructure contractors, the package targets tighter control of mixed fleets, from heavy trucks to off-highway plant, with improved location, utilisation and safety data.

Transport for London has restarted preliminary market engagement for the Bakerloo Line Upgrade (BLU) Stage 1 Infrastructure Works, progressing modernisation of one of London’s oldest deep tube lines. The notice covers early contractor input on complex brownfield works in constrained tunnels and stations, including track, power and signalling renewals integrated around existing assets and live operations. Contractors are being asked to respond to a refined delivery and packaging strategy aimed at reducing possession durations and construction risk while maintaining service levels.

Vp has cut its profit forecast for the year to March 2026 to £26–29m (pre-tax, before amortisation and exceptionals) after a “disappointingly muted” January return in construction and slower-than-expected AMP8 water spend, despite reporting £17m adjusted profit in the first six months. The group is shrinking its Brandon Hire Station network from more than 100 branches to 41 and shedding 400 jobs, while also disposing of its 856-strong Mr Cropper pile cropping fleet to Aska Rodgers. New chief executive Alice Woodwark signals that material AMP8-driven revenue growth is now expected in FY27, not this year, implying continued tight plant demand from both general construction and early-stage water frameworks.

Bauer Technologies has secured the specialist piling package for phase two of the £650m Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Midland Metro extension, subcontracted by MPB Structures for Transport for West Midlands’ Midland Metro Alliance. The programme, running into Q3 2026, includes reinforced bearing piles, contiguous piled walls and test piles for embankment stations, abutments, piers and retaining structures, using rotary bored and continuous flight auger techniques to handle variable ground and tight access. Works feature large-diameter bearing piles up to 1,000mm and integrity testing with digital thermal imaging.

Structural steel specialist Severfield has appointed former ISG finance chief Andrew Page as chief financial officer and executive director, effective Monday 16 February 2026, replacing interim CFO Jan Bramall, who has held the role since November 2025. Page previously joined ISG on an interim basis for Cathexis in early 2024 to pursue refinancing before the contractor entered administration that September, and is not generally viewed as responsible for the collapse. His earlier senior finance roles at Centrica, British Energy, FirstGroup and Ocado give Severfield a CFO with listed-company and construction-sector restructuring experience as it pursues a new group strategy.

Rail engineering consultancies Ayesa Engineering (Spain) and Egis (France) have been appointed to support the Ferrovial Bam Joint Venture in delivering HS2 Track Systems Lots 1–3, part of the £3bn rail systems portfolio. The Ayesa-Egis JV will design and assure complex slab track, tunnel and bridge interfaces, and systems integration across the Track Urban, Open Route Central and Open Route North sections, covering most of the 140‑mile Old Oak Common–Birmingham Curzon Street main line. The move imports Spanish and French high-speed rail practice into HS2 despite Spain’s significantly poorer recent rail safety record than the UK.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) and Speedy Hire are launching a UK-wide occupational safety and health (OSH) skills commission to tackle shortages in competent safety practitioners across construction, infrastructure and industrial sectors. The initiative will convene contractors, plant hire specialists and training providers to map current OSH competencies, identify gaps in areas such as work-at-height, lifting operations and temporary works, and propose structured training pathways. Outcomes are expected to influence site induction standards, certification requirements and procurement criteria for major projects.

Walter Thompson (Contractors) Ltd has secured a £6.3m, 12‑month contract to convert Middlesbrough’s Grade II‑listed 1846 Old Town Hall into more than 7,000 sq ft of office space for digital and creative tenants in the Boho Zone. Works include demolition of a 1970s extension, essential structural interventions to the historic fabric, and full restoration and reactivation of the original clock tower. A new modern marketplace extension is planned as a focal element of the town’s 2028 bicentenary, backed by over £4.5m from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and £1.8m in government funding.

Victoria’s Transport Accident Commission has opened a new $600,000 funding round for community-based road safety projects, targeting local councils, schools and community groups. Grants will support initiatives such as low-cost traffic-calming works, pedestrian and cyclist safety upgrades near schools, and data-led speed management campaigns tailored to local crash patterns. Civil and traffic engineers should note opportunities to trial small-scale infrastructure treatments and behavioural interventions that can later inform larger capital works and network safety programmes.

Piling is complete for a new road bridge over the Werribee train line in Altona, Victoria, as part of works to remove the Maidstone Street level crossing. A 140-tonne piling rig has drilled 23 bored piles up to nine metres deep and 1.5 metres in diameter, which have each been filled with reinforced concrete to form the bridge foundations. The works set the geotechnical baseline for the superstructure, with deep foundations designed to control settlement and maintain track and road alignment under traffic loads.

Engineering and construction firms are using National Apprenticeship Week (9–15 February) to promote structured routes into civil engineering, with contractors, consultants and public-sector clients jointly publicising apprenticeship intakes and training pathways. Initiatives centre on Level 3–6 civil engineering and technician apprenticeships aligned to ICE and IStructE routes, combining site-based experience on live infrastructure projects with day-release or block-release study at FE colleges and universities. Employers are stressing early exposure to design offices, digital tools such as BIM, and geotechnical and structures rotations to address skills gaps on major UK transport and water schemes.

Network Rail will this month strengthen the River Plym railway bridge east of Plymouth by renewing age‑expired steelwork and rail bearers on the structure. The works target key load‑bearing elements that carry the twin‑track formation over the river, aiming to maintain route availability for passenger and freight services on this main line section. Contractors will need to manage short possessions over tidal water, with careful sequencing of steel replacement and track realignment to control deflection and minimise settlement.

Skanska has begun a £273m structural refurbishment of Broadgate’s One Appold Street in the City of London, retaining the existing 1980s concrete and steel frame while adding six new floors and expanding the floorplate to create a 14-storey, 360,000 sq ft office building plus 48,000 sq ft of leisure and hospitality space. The scheme, for the British Land–GIC Broadgate joint venture, includes a new façade aligned with neighbouring Broadgate assets and full in-house MEP installation. Target ratings of NABERS 5–5.5* and BREEAM Outstanding put strong emphasis on circularity and embodied carbon reduction, with completion due in Q1 2029.

Barhale has secured three Thames Water schemes under the £200m+ AMP8 major projects framework, covering Brent Cross (London), Benson (Oxfordshire) and South Basingstoke (Hampshire). At Rushgrove Park, Brent Cross, it will design and build an offline foul storage attenuation system with a 560 m³ shaft tank, CSO interception and pumped return, while at Benson it will install a 500 m foul gravity sewer with 15 manholes for new housing and increased capacity. In South Basingstoke, works include a new 590 m sewer plus upsizing of an existing 484 m sewer and manhole upgrades at Kempshott Lane, with design by Barhale’s ESL unit to improve resilience under more extreme rainfall.

A 5.5% fall in electrical apprenticeship starts in 2024/25, against a 4.1% rise in overall apprenticeships, signals a widening UK electrical skills gap just as Skills England forecasts a need for 12,000 additional electricians by 2030. ECA’s 2026 Electrical Skills Index reports more than 26,000 enrolments on government-funded classroom electrical courses, yet fewer than 1 in 5 learners progress to an apprenticeship or skilled employment within 12 months. ECA leaders warn that without targeted support for SME training employers, delivery of Clean Power 2030 and wider electrification projects will stall.