The construction industry is not simply experiencing a shortage of graduates coming through the ranks. Experienced engineering professionals are also in short supply and with UK contractors targeting a smaller pool of candidates, many are recognising the need to target more diverse markets for candidates.
One of the UKs biggest contractors, Carillion, has instigated a major recruitment drive to stem the dearth of mainly Civil and Rail Engineers available for work on their UK projects, by looking further afield to South Africa.
Working in partnership with Hill McGlynn, Carillion placed advertisements in the South African Times to start the recruitment process. The advertisements attracted an exceptional response of over 400 potential candidates, and a party of Carillion and Hill McGlynn staff travelled to Johannesburg and Durban to undertake a gruelling schedule of interviews with over 100 engineers over the course of two weeks.
Nearly 40 job offers were made to start work in the UK in September 2001. Once the engineers have settled into the projects and the UK business culture, the whole recruitment process will be analysed for future development.