As the digital landscape evolves at pace, I increasingly see a clear and solvable challenge within our industry: we continue to overlook the need to embed digital capability and structured upskilling within our contracts.

From my own experience, inconsistent digital adoption is not a fixed barrier, it is a gap that can be closed through deliberate action.

Many organisations speak confidently about innovation, yet the everyday reality across sites, design teams and supply chains often reflects uneven skills and inconsistent digital behaviours. This is not a permanent flaw in our sector. It is an opportunity ready to be addressed and resolved.

For this reason, I strongly advocate for digital training and competency requirements to be formally incorporated into construction contracts. These expectations should apply not only to internal teams, but equally across the supply chain. Treating digital capability as a contractual requirement is a confident and practical step towards creating a truly aligned environment where data, workflows and digital assurance hold the same weight as programme, cost and safety.

Why digital upskilling clauses have been overlooked

Although digital requirements sit within EIRs and ISO 19650 processes, many contracts still avoid directly mandating digital competency. Instead, they rely on broad statements such as “The Contractor shall comply with the EIR,” which offer little clarity or accountability. Traditionally, contracts have focused on cost, time, quality, health, safety and risk. Digital processes, such as BIM, information management, Common Data Environment protocols and data standards, have often been positioned as supplementary rather than fundamental to achieving certainty.

There is also a common assumption that project teams already possess the required digital proficiency. While some certainly do, digital capability across the supply chain is highly variable. Larger organisations may be well established, but many subcontractors and SMEs still struggle with standardised software use, consistent data practices and clear digital workflows. This variation does not represent failure, it simply shows where structured support and practical training can rapidly raise capability and reduce friction.

How procurement and commercial teams can be enabled

Procurement often leads on contract drafting, yet digital leaders are frequently consulted too late in the process. As a result, digital clauses end up added on rather than integrated. This often results in vague expectations rather than measurable commitments. By involving digital leadership earlier, procurement teams can gain the clarity, guidance and confidence required to build stronger, outcome-driven clauses that genuinely support delivery.

What is changing

Progressive clients and major programmes are now beginning to include more robust digital requirements. These include pre-appointment capability assessments, clearly defined outcomes aligned to ISO 19650 and evaluation criteria that extend beyond price. Mandatory training on Common Data Environment use and ISO 19650 principles, continuous digital performance reviews, structured improvement planning and clear expectations around digital coordination and assurance are becoming more common. Although these examples are not yet widespread, they demonstrate a positive direction and a shift in mindset.

The case for contractual upskilling

Digital upskilling goes far beyond learning software. It is about helping every organisation understand the purpose behind structured, secure and interoperable data. When teams recognise the end goal, they can adopt consistent workflows that support coordination, digital assurance, predictable handovers and efficient delivery.

This is where genuine value emerges. When this shared foundation exists, everything improves, such as better:

• Information access and control
• Speed and quality of decision making
• Cross-organisation collaboration
• Trustworthy clash detection and coordination
• Programme certainty
• Visibility of risk and safety
• Reliability of asset information

High-quality structured data is not an add-on. It is the enabler for 4D, 5D, automated assurance, digital rehearsals and reliable handovers to owners and operators. A digitally capable supply chain is not a future aspiration, it is a present day competitive edge.

Model clauses, such as NEC Z-Clauses, already provide a foundation for defining digital capability, competency expectations and ongoing upskilling requirements. This show that the mechanisms already exist and what we need now is use them consistently.

Failure to address digital skills is not an inevitable problem for our sector. It is a challenge that can be solved through clear expectations, structured training and contractual alignment. When we commit to this, we do more than improve digital delivery, we raise the standard of the entire industry.

My view is simple: the projects that invest in digital capability today will be the ones that outperform, out-deliver and outlast the rest tomorrow.