For the third issue in a row, the Infrastructure Intelligence magazine is being published digitally due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis, writes Andy Walker in his latest editor's comment.

This is our third digital edition of Infrastructure Intelligence published during the coronavirus crisis. I’m writing this editor’s comment as the UK government removes more countries from its safe travel corridor list, a further reminder that the recovery from Covid-19 will be an uneven one and that we are a long way from anything approaching normal. 

The economic effects of the crisis are already being felt by the construction sector, with many firms announcing redundancies. The calls from leading industry figures, like WSP’s Mark Naysmith, for companies to think about the future talent pool when making difficult decision are welcome and I hope that business leaders in our sectors are listening.

In that light, the launch of the Construction Talent Retention Scheme is a crucial development and everyone involved in the initiative deserves credit. An industry that has been historically challenged by skills shortages can ill afford to lose talent as it may never get it back. The scheme should be supported by everyone in the sector and it’s yet another example during this crisis of the industry working together for the common good.

While the government has taken unprecedented steps to support businesses during this crisis, I believe that more will need to be done yet if we are to avoid catastrophic job losses and a major recession. We are clearly not out of the woods yet and further support will be needed in the weeks and months ahead.

Andy Walker is the editor of Infrastructure Intelligence.

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