How AECO teams are rethinking the skills gap

The construction industry has a talent problem, and it has had one for years. But according to the findings of our 2026 Bridging the Gap report, the way the industry is responding to it may be changing.

When we surveyed 2,006 AEC professionals and asked what their organizations are doing to address the talent and skills gap, the number one answer wasn't recruitment. It was simplifying tools and workflows to reduce the training burden on teams.

That's a significant shift in thinking. It signals that the industry has begun to accept that it can't hire its way out of a structural problem. It has to build its way out, by investing in the people it already has.

The biggest obstacle isn't the technology

Francesca Lofiego is the Digital Lead at StructureTone UK, a leading fit-out company that has grown from around 100 to over 400 employees in under a year. She built the company's first BIM function from scratch, and the challenge she describes will be familiar to anyone who has tried to drive digital adoption across a project team.

"The main obstacle in construction is not really finding the best technology, but is convincing people to adopt a different approach from what they have been doing for the past years." 
Francesca Lofiego, Digital Lead, StructureTone UK

Implementing BIM, or any digital coordination platform, is rarely a software problem. It's a people problem. Fully leveraging 3D coordination requires the entire project team to work within a shared digital environment, not just the BIM specialists. Construction managers, design managers, and technical services managers all need to be onboard.

For Francesca, the reward came in seeing that shift happen. Watching project teams who had previously resisted new workflows begin to embrace them was, she says, one of the most fulfilling parts of building the function. That change doesn't happen by chance. It happens because someone invested in it.

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Consider candidates from adjacent industries 

When it came time to build out her team, Francesca applied the same philosophy to recruitment. Seim Lei Yati, her first hire and now a Digital Construction Coordinator at StructureTone, came from an architecture background with no prior BIM experience in a contractor setting. That wasn't a dealbreaker.

What Francesca saw in the interview process was a candidate who approached a brief thoroughly, thought problems through methodically, and demonstrated the kind of mindset that could grow into the role.

‍"I can teach you how to use the software. What interests me the most is the approach that people put on their work, how they look at things, how they think about solving issues, rather than technical aspects." 
Francesca Lofiego, Digital Lead, StructureTone UK

She also flagged data literacy as an increasingly critical and undervalued skill. Clients are asking questions about digital twins and asset data without always understanding what they're asking for. Professionals who can bridge that gap, translating what clients need from data into something actionable, will stand out.

For hiring managers struggling to find candidates with polished BIM credentials, Francesca's advice is clear: invest in potential. Look for problem-solvers. Consider candidates from adjacent industries, because diversity of thinking strengthens teams in ways that technical experience alone cannot.

From architecture to BIM 

For Seim, stepping into her first digital construction role meant letting go of some deeply held assumptions about what BIM actually is.

"When someone says BIM, you tend to think it's all about software, that you just sit in your room and do the models. But it's far from the truth. You are very much involved in the project. It's all about communication, managing expectations, workflows, and you have to speak everyone's language." 
Seim Lei Yati, Digital Construction Coordinator, StructureTone UK

Coming from architecture, Seim was accustomed to a design-focused, largely self-directed way of working. Construction BIM is almost the inverse. The role demands cross-functional communication across subcontractors, consultants, and site teams. It requires relinquishing singular ownership in favor of collective responsibility.

The shift was challenging, but also genuinely enjoyable. The skills Seim built in architecture were transferable. Spatial thinking, attention to detail, and an understanding of how design translates into built reality all crossed over. What she had to develop from scratch was collaborative fluency, the ability to manage expectations and coordinate across disciplines at the same time.

Advice for those looking for a job in AECO

Both Francesca and Seim converge on the same point when it comes to practical advice: stop treating technical skills as the primary filter.

"Be willing to learn. You're going to always have something you don't know, just be willing for that. Be part of the team, be part of the project. And finally, be curious. That really helps you with your role and how to move forward." 
Seim Lei Yati, Digital Construction Coordinator, StructureTone UK

The skills that define success in digital construction roles, open-mindedness, communication, flexibility, curiosity, and the ability to manage expectations across multiple disciplines, are not software skills. They are human skills. And they are learnable.

That's where structured training and continuous learning become essential, both for individuals looking to make the move and for teams trying to build digital capability from within.

The Revizto Academy 

Whether you're an individual looking to build BIM coordination skills for the first time, or a team lead trying to get a project team up to speed on a new platform, the Revizto Academy offers structured learning paths built around real construction workflows.

For teams building digital functions, and for professionals considering their next move, developing the right habits and knowledge early makes every subsequent step faster.