The Lower Thames Crossing (LTC) project has opened its first Skills Hub in Gravesend to offer free, work-based construction training for local people. The project aims to recruit a significant proportion of its workforce from within a 20-mile radius, and the Skills Hub will help equip the local community with the skills needed to build the project and support the wider infrastructure pipeline.
The Hub is being delivered with the Department for Work and Pensions, Kent County Council and Engage. Train. Support. Ltd. Participants will have the opportunity to gain NPORS (National Plant Operators Registration Scheme) or CPCS (Construction Plant Competence Scheme) qualifications to work as plant operatives, one of the six key roles required during the construction of the Lower Thames Crossing.
Chris Ottley, Skanska’s Project Director for the Kent Roads section of the LTC project, said: “The Skills Hub, located in close proximity to our offices at Gravesend, will provide training courses for the key skills needed to deliver the project. It is one key part of a number of Skills, Education and Employment solutions that will enable us to deliver employment benefits and opportunities to the local community.”
Skanska recently recruited three apprentices from the local community, all of whom have now started Degree Apprenticeships in Civil Engineering and Quantity Surveying.
The Lower Thames Crossing is one of Britain’s most important economic infrastructure projects. It will tackle congestion on the Dartford Crossing and create opportunities for work and businesses by providing a reliable new link between the ports of the south east, the Midlands, and the north.
Lord David Blunkett, Skills Advisor, Lower Thames Crossing, said: “We all want to see economic growth across the country that delivers real opportunities for people to improve their lives. Infrastructure projects such as the Lower Thames Crossing have the unique ability to deliver on this.
“The launch of the Lower Thames Crossing Skills Hub in Gravesham demonstrates the ability of a once in a generation infrastructure project to provide local people with new skills. The Skills Hub can act as a catalyst for lifelong careers in the construction sector, ensuring participants receive accredited qualifications and a guaranteed job interview.
“The Skills Hub will help unlock the regional and national economy, strengthening the local supply chain and ensuring construction projects of the future can draw upon a robust workforce.
“I look forward to the Lower Thames Crossing’s continued commitment to skills development and creating the next generation of construction workers.”
The project also plans to open a Skills Hubs in Essex, to help local communities north of the Thames develop new skills and access jobs created by the project.
The project received planning permission in March 2025 and is now working with the government on funding options.