Building a new railway across London requires the best team. Talent & Resources is about getting the right people with the right skills into the right role to deliver. It is also about up‑skilling the existing workforce and leaving a lasting skills and employment legacy to the industry and future projects.
Crossrail worked to improve the skills for people working on the project and the employment outcomes local communities along the Crossrail route. Crossrail set strategic labour needs targets as part of its procurement process and regularly assess contractors’ performance through the social sustainability performance assurance framework. With the commitment of the supply chain, Crossrail has been able to deliver over 600 apprenticeship starts; and has provided around 4,400 job starts for local/unemployed people living along the Crossrail route.
Crossrail has also effectively engaged with young people, parents and teachers to change the perception of engineering and construction careers. The Young Crossrail programme has engaged with over 44,000 individuals to improve the take up of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects and showcase the opportunities available in the sector.
To meet the specialised skills requirements of the tunnelling and underground construction phase of the project, Crossrail work with industry to establish the Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy (TUCA). Through this direct intervention to address skills gaps in the industry, over 16,000 people have now trained at TUCA, leaving a lasting skills legacy to the industry.
Crossrail operated as an integrated team which brings together professionals with specialist and technical skills. The integrated team is staffed with people from Crossrail Limited, the Programme Delivery Partner and the Project Partner. At Crossrail’s peak, over 10,000 people worked on the project across more than 40 construction sites with a supply chain that stretches over the UK and Europe. Bringing all these individuals and organisations together to deliver Crossrail presented challenges. Crossrail developed a new Vision, Mission and Values to create a unified culture across the organisation. Through high levels of employee engagement, Crossrail was able to bring the vision, mission and values to life and ensure that individuals and teams are aligned and collaborate effectively.
