Stephen Tomkins is Balfour Beatty’s project director at Hinkley Point C
The UK’s energy market stands at a critical juncture. As the country accelerates its transition towards renewables, the demand for skilled professionals has never been greater. However, the industry faces an undeniable challenge: a widening skills gap that threatens to slow progress just when we need to be moving at full speed.
“Pipeline visibility ensures continuity and knowledge transfer, allowing professionals to build on their skills”
We must recognise that the key to overcoming this challenge isn’t just attracting fresh talent – it’s retaining and developing what we already have. Internal mobility is a secret weapon, enabling businesses to deploy skilled professionals seamlessly across projects, ensuring that expertise and capabilities are not lost, but instead carried forward to drive new opportunities.
It is about adaptability and the willingness to embrace change. For me, starting out in the army, I quickly learned the importance of discipline, preparation and efficiency – principles that have guided me throughout my professional life. Whether it was ensuring I had the right tools at hand or tackling the toughest tasks first, these ingrained skills made a tangible difference when I transitioned into the construction and infrastructure industry.
After leaving the army, I was drawn towards marine engineering and found myself working on Cardiff Bay Barrage, one of the largest civil engineering projects in Europe during its construction in the nineties. Fast forward to today, I have continued to follow my curiosity, which has led me to head up some of the UK’s most significant energy infrastructure projects, including Sellafield and now Hinkley Point C, where we are delivering one of the most complex marine engineering projects currently taking place in the world.
Moving from one major energy project to another, such as Sellafield to Hinkley Point C, requires not just technical expertise, but a mindset geared towards continuous learning, problem-solving and adaptability. To embed this in a workplace culture, people must be equipped with the tools they need to succeed, not just on one project, but across an entire career. For example, at Sellafield, I developed an understanding of nuclear construction and safety – skills that proved invaluable when I later took on a role at Hinkley Point C. Instead of starting from scratch, I was able to apply my experience and hit the ground running.
Enabling expertise to grow
In the energy sector, such an approach is more important than ever. We have a robust pipeline of projects spanning nuclear, offshore wind and critical grid infrastructure. When one project nears completion, another is already underway, creating a natural pathway for talent to move seamlessly between roles. This visibility ensures continuity and knowledge transfer, allowing professionals to build on their skills, develop niche specialisms and transition smoothly from one high-profile project to the next, without the uncertainty that often comes with contract-based work in the sector.
Take Hinkley Point C: we have engineers and construction professionals who started their careers on that project and are now applying their expertise to other major energy schemes. Instead of seeing skills drain away, we see them evolve and strengthen. The same principle applies to other critical projects, not just in the energy space, but across a diverse range of sectors.
What makes this system work is a culture that values curiosity, learning and resilience. From apprentices to senior leaders, people are encouraged to keep their skills sharp and explore new opportunities within the business. By offering structured training, mentorship, leadership coaching and on-the-job experience, we’re not just filling roles, we’re futureproofing the industry.
As the energy transition gains momentum, companies must look to support traditional recruitment methods by embracing the power of internal mobility. By keeping talent within the industry, investing in professional development and creating clear pathways for career progression, we can address the skills shortage head-on and ensure that the UK remains at the forefront of global energy innovation.
In an industry that’s constantly evolving, harnessing people and their natural curiosity to grow is the foundation for long-term success.