Skanska Hires for London Push: What It Means for Property Jobs
Skanska is hiring senior staff as it tracks £10bn of UK offices, data centres and defence work. Here's what that means for property and construction careers.
Some news this week cut through the gloom. On 12 November, Building reported that Skanska is hiring senior people again because it wants to win more building work in London (Building, 12 Nov 2026). The contractor says it is tracking close to 50 projects across the UK in commercial offices, data centres and defence, with a combined potential value of more than £10bn.
That matters, because the rest of the week's news was hard going. The same day, the RICS October residential survey showed agreed sales at -24 and the 12-month sales outlook at its weakest since July 2023 (Mortgage Solutions, 12 Nov 2026). On the housing side, plenty of firms are holding back. In big commercial and technical construction, at least one major contractor is putting its foot down.
What Skanska actually said
Skanska's new head of building, Lee Marks, told Building that the firm is "recruiting now across a range of roles". He named project and commercial directors, senior project directors, and planning and design teams.
This is a real change of direction. Early last year, Skanska said it would cut back on London commercial work. It planned to cap the number of jobs it took on at any one time: two at pre-contract stage, two on site and two close to completion. Marks wants to compete for more work in the capital again. In his words, "London will, of course, remain at the heart of our business".
The work behind this is real too. According to Building:
- Skanska has six big commercial office schemes live on site in London, worth more than £1bn in total.
- It is due to start the £280m 55 Old Broad Street scheme for Ashby Capital later this month.
- It is in a pre-construction services agreement (PCSA) for a £130m mixed-use scheme called the Mark, near the Tower of London.
- Other live jobs include 105 Victoria Street and a new £273m office at 1 Appold Street, Broadgate, for British Land.
- Outside London, it is looking at a £200m job in Cambridge for Railpen.
Marks didn't sugar-coat it. He said "the market remains cautious and macroeconomic conditions are challenging". I like that. It's a growth plan from someone who has looked at the risks, not a press release written on hype.
Data centres are quietly hiring
The detail I'd pay most attention to is data centres. Skanska is already asking people to register interest in its data centre fit-out team. One advert, a Project Manager role based in Slough, closes on 20 November 2026 (Skanska UK listing via hire.moi). The team says there are openings across engineering, project management, commercial, planning and site operations. The same listing shows Skanska UK with 154 open roles at the time of writing.
This is where the exponential age turns into actual buildings. Every AI tool people use at work, whether that's Grok Bot, Claude or ChatGPT, runs on physical capacity somewhere. Someone has to plan it, cost it, build it, commission it and look after it. Data centre fit-out is heavy on MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) work and tightly controlled commissioning, which is why the people who can deliver it are in demand.
What this means for property careers
If you're a quantity surveyor or commercial manager, this is your market. Skanska is looking for commercial directors, and every £100m-plus scheme needs a commercial team behind it: cost plans, valuations, change control and supply chain. If you've spent your career on housing and want to move across, data centres and Grade A offices are where the new pipeline is.
If you're a planner or design manager, Marks named both. Complex commercial jobs live or die on the programme, and good planners aren't easy to find.
If you're a project manager or site manager, the data centre advert asks for a large-scale MEP track record, line management experience and the five-day SMSTS site safety course as a minimum. If you have the site experience but not the MEP depth, that's a skills gap you can close. Ask your current employer for packages that put you closer to services.
If you work in commercial agency, asset management or facilities management, keep an eye on London offices. Contractors only commit to new office schemes when developers and funders have backed them. A run of new Grade A starts in the City and Broadgate tells you that investors still believe in prime, well-located, sustainable office space, even with the wider market in a cautious mood. Those buildings will need leasing, managing and running.
If you're in residential, don't panic. A weak sales market is tough on agents and housebuilders right now, but the RICS survey also found tenant demand rising and rent expectations at their strongest since early 2024. Lettings and property management are still busy, and many skills transfer. Site managers and QSs from housebuilding are exactly what commercial contractors want.
My take
The UK property jobs market is splitting in two. Housing transactions are under pressure from higher rates. Meanwhile, the technical end of construction and commercial property (data centres, defence, prime offices) is still building and still hiring. One big contractor's hiring plan doesn't make a boom. It is a useful signal, though, and it's coming from a firm with a clear view of its order book.
My advice: be specific. Update your CV with real project values, contract types and outcomes. Learn the language of the sector you want to move into: MEP, commissioning, PCSA, NEC or JCT contracts. Use AI tools to help you research employers and tighten your applications, then speak to people who are actually doing the work. The firms that are hiring want people who can show what they've delivered.
There are good opportunities out there for people who go looking. Browse the latest UK property and construction jobs on PropertyRoles and find your next move.
