What is the Water Skills Strategic Group and what is its role?
4th February 2026
Find out what is Water Skills Strategic Group and how it’s helping the UK build a skilled workforce to deliver a £104 billion investment
It’s no secret that the UK’s water infrastructure is in need of some serious upgrades. Thankfully, as of 2025, the government has announced a £104 billion investment aimed at upgrading crumbling pipes, stopping sewage spills and securing water supplies.
But in order to carry out these necessary works, the UK needs a skilled workforce. That’s where the Water Skills Strategic Group comes in.
What is the Water Skills Strategic Group and what is it for?
In the late 2025, the UK government created the Water Skills Strategic Group, which is a high-level group of experts tasked with helping to steer the delivery of infrastructure upgrades and tackle the skills gap, which may prevent the implementation of new projects across the country
To be more specific, this group will assess whether there are the skills needed to deliver nine new reservoirs, nine large scale water transfer schemes and implementing widespread fixes to the many leaks across the water pipe network.
This investment will create around 30,000 new jobs, so it’s important we have a skilled workforce such as bioresources technicians, hydraulics specialists, engineers, construction workers and surveyors to carry out the necessary work.
The members of the group
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and Energy & Utility Skills co-chair the Water Skills Strategic Group, which brings together water companies, professional bodies like Water UK and British Water, regulators and other sector organisations.
The group will meet quarterly to identify skills gaps across the sector, deliver the necessary training and qualifications, and develop strategies to attract new talent. It will also have a framework in order to measure the progress and ensure that the group is achieving its objectives.
What this means for the UK’s water sector
Not only does the Water Skills Strategic Group support the successful implementation of upgrades across the UK’s water system, but it also plays a massive role in creating a highly skilled workforce capable of reducing inefficiencies and operational costs in the sector. A well-trained workforce ensures that projects, such as repairing ageing infrastructure and managing water resources are completed efficiently and to a high standard. This prevents recurring issues such as leaks, service interruptions, and costly emergency repairs, which can drive up expenses.
For businesses, this translates into more stable and predictable business water prices, helping companies plan their budgets with confidence while benefiting from improved reliability and service across the water network.
Why this matters?
By bringing on The Water Skills Strategic Group with industry bodies the government hopes to nurture a workforce that is ready for the challenges of tomorrow. A skilled and efficient water sector delivers projects faster, more reliably and, in the long run, helps to keep the business water prices predictable for businesses across the UK.
At Everflow, we support businesses in understanding, navigating and responding to these changes. Our team works with businesses to find ways to optimise water usage, control costs, especially in the climate of rising business water prices driven by these necessary infrastructure upgrades, and stay ahead of evolving regulations.
Contact Everflow today!
At Everflow, our goal is to make your utilities simpler – we ensure you get great-value contracts that are tailored to your needs and easy to manage. Get a bespoke quote using the link below.
