Delivering AMP8 depends on people, not just capital and reform

The Government’s A New Vision for Water: White Paper sets a clear direction of travel for the sector. It represents a structural reset, anchored in transparency, independent evidence, stronger regulation, and long-term resilience. The scale of ambition is significant. The commitment of £104 billion through AMP8 is both necessary and welcome. But capital and reform will not deliver cleaner rivers, resilient infrastructure, or restored public confidence. Delivery will depend on whether the sector has the people, skills and competence to turn ambition into reality.

This is the defining challenge of AMP8. The pace and scale of investment now required exceeds anything the sector has delivered in recent decades, at the same time as regulatory expectations tighten, assurance requirements increase, and public scrutiny intensifies. Workforce demand estimates show that more than 30,000 additional skilled roles will be needed across England and Wales during AMP8, spanning engineering, operations, construction, digital monitoring, environmental protection and safety critical roles.

While the White Paper does not include a standalone workforce chapter, its implications for people and skills are explicit. Ending operator self-monitoring, moving to open monitoring, embedding engineering capability within regulation, and raising expectations on asset health, resilience and public health all materially increase the demand for demonstrable competence.

This is not simply about volume: it is about quality, consistency and trust. The workforce must be capable of operating safely, independently and to standards that withstand regulatory, legal and public scrutiny.

There is also a significant opportunity. AMP8 provides the first credible platform in a generation to break the cycle of short-term planning that has undermined recruitment, retention and skills investment across the water sector and its supply chain.

Longer planning horizons, clearer regulatory intent and sustained investment create the conditions for employers to invest with confidence in people, training and modern delivery methods. Done well, this can support productivity, strengthen public health protection and create high-quality, long-term careers across the country.

Without decisive action, workforce capacity will become the binding constraint on delivery and the generational opportunity presented by AMP8 will be lost. The scale and complexity of this investment elevates the role of the supply chain to a delivery partner of equal importance to asset owners, without whom the ambitions of AMP8 cannot be realised.

This requires the water sector to operate as a single, integrated system to a degree not seen in previous asset management periods. It also demands a shared national narrative that can attract future talent and sustain confidence in long-term careers in water. Achieving this will require a level of partnership, coordination and collective leadership that goes beyond historic practice, but it is both achievable and within reach.

Steve Barrett, Director of Membership and Strategic Engagement at Energy & Utility Skills Group, said:

“For our water members, AMP8 is both an opportunity and a responsibility. The scale of investment and reform now under way will only succeed if the sector has the skilled, competent and confident workforce to deliver safely and at pace. Through our work with DEFRA, including the co-chaired Water Skills Strategic Group, the focus is firmly on turning national ambition into a system capable of practical workforce delivery across the UK. That means understanding demand, building capability across the supply chain, and ensuring skills and competence are elevated to the importance of critical infrastructure.”

As expectations rise, the role of trusted assurance and national skills infrastructure becomes increasingly important. Rachel Thomas, Managing Director of Energy & Environment Awards, said:

“EUSR is a proven national asset, providing more than 20 years of trusted assurance of training and serving as the water sector’s primary register of skills. More than 300,000 skilled workers across the utilities sector hold in excess of 800,000 registrations on externally quality assured, on industry-agreed training programmes.

“As the Water White Paper moves into implementation, EUSR is well placed to support delivery from day one, ensuring the training and assurance needed to meet higher expectations on safety, competence and transparency are in place. Through our UK-wide network of more than 250 training providers, the sector has the expertise, capability and capacity required to deliver change at the scale and pace AMP8 demands.”

To realise the opportunity of AMP8, workforce planning and competence cannot be treated as secondary considerations. They must be seen as critical infrastructure, alongside assets, networks and technology. Standards, training and independent assurance are not administrative overheads: they are delivery enablers.

The sector has a narrow window to act. If workforce strategy, investment and reform are aligned now, AMP8 can mark a turning point for delivery, resilience and confidence. If they are not, ambition will continue to outpace capacity, and the opportunity of this investment cycle will be lost.