Rail recruiters are gearing up for a number of billion-pound “megaprojects”, hiring new staff, planning office openings and building contact bases.

On 10 January, demolition began at Tottenham Court Road station, marking the start of Crossrail, Europe’s largest civil engineering project. The new rail link between Maidenhead to the West of London and Abbey Wood to the East will cost £16bn and the project is already enticing rail recruiters. Peak staffing levels are expected to be around 14,500 people, with a high demand for technical skills.

However, the Crossrail project, which is scheduled for completion in 2017, is just a small part of the development planned for the UK’s rail network.

Andrew Rowlands, managing director of NES Track, the rail division of NES, which is bidding for work on Crossrail, told Recruiter the company has already begun an extensive expansion plan to prepare for the increase in demand for staff.

“In anticipation of the megaprojects, we have increased our recruiter base from eight to 22 consultants over the last six months,” he said.

Rowlands hopes to secure business in major ongoing infrastructure rail projects, including the £3.5bn Thameslink, £200m North London Line capacity enhancement, £170m Glasgow airport rail link and £170m for Edinburgh Tram Link.

Paul Turner, director of construction recruiter Turner Lovell, which has already placed personnel into the Crossrail development, told Recruiter: “Crossrail is just one of the projects we are going after. We have been heavily involved in Thameslink for Balfour Beatty, providing engineers, programme managers, technical administration staff, for example.”

A spokesperson for Crossrail said that most recruitment would be done by its project partners [the construction partner will be announced in March], suggesting recruiters talk to the contractors during the bidding process. Rowlands said his company is already in contact with the firms which are likely to be awarded the large construction contracts. “It is about aligning yourself with the companies you believe are going to secure the work,” he explained. As a subsidiary of Network Rail, Crossrail is relying on its parent’s expertise and personnel. Daniel inchcombe, a senior consultant in the rail division of technical staffing firm Shorterm, told Recruiter a number of his contacts in Network Rail have been seconded to the project and he hopes to capitalise on these connections.

A spokesperson for Crossrail said that most recruitment would be done by its project partners [the construction partner will be announced in March], suggesting recruiters talk to the contractors during the bidding processes.

Rowlands said his company is already in contact with the firmswhich are likely to be awarded the large construction contracts. “It is about aligning yourself with the companies you believe are going to secure the work,” he explained.

As a subsidiary of Network Rail, Crossrail is relying on its parent’s expertise and personnel. Daniel Winchcombe, a senior consultant in the rail division of technical staffing firm Shorterm, told Recruiter a number of his contacts in Network Rail have been seconded to the project and he hopes to capitalise on these connections.

A spokesperson for Crossrail said that the number of personnel moving from Network Rail would increase as the project moves forwards.

Winchcombe said: “For our business it is a very big part of the development for rail. It could be very lucrative and high profile.” He added that the division has hired four new people and re-structured areas of the business in response to demand in the sector.

Billy McNeill, operations director at construction recruiter McGinley, told Recruiter he hopes to work with strategic construction partners such as Balfour Beatty, Amey and Ferrovial, which are bidding for the rail projects. He said it would provide a welcome respite for construction recruiters, adding: “It would bring some much needed stability in the current economic climate and will allow us
to continue investing.”

McNeill added that McGinley is likely to open a new site office and hire local people, if successful in its own Crossrail bid.

There is no doubt recruiters involved in construction and engineering will see a boom in demand for staff and take advantage of the long-term investment in the nation’s rail network. Recruiters need to gear up their businesses in order to be in the best position to compete for lucrative contracts.