Massive investment in infrastructure is required to meet the needs of people in rapidly urbanising countries.  Cities like Kampala in Uganda are set to double in size in the coming 14 years.  Rapidly growing cities face an enormous challenge to develop the technical skills required to provide the required infrastructure.  

A skills audit commissioned by the Built Environment Professions in the Commonwealth conducted in 2020 drew attention to the continually growing capacity gap.  The survey also indicated that in the countries with the highest rates of urbanisation, there are the lowest number of trained professionals.

Developing adequately trained professions is no easy task and takes some 10 years.  It is clear that new innovative training methods are required to meet this challenge.

Simon Ratcliffe takes a hard look at this challenge.