Looking to hire talent?
Hiring in energy is tough right now. Projects are moving fast, deadlines are tight, and good people don’t hang around long in a market that’s become a race to the bottom.
Most contractors we speak to are dealing with the same frustrations: high attrition, people leaving after a few months, and the constant cost of replacing them. University routes, college courses, they simply aren’t filling the gap fast enough, and just throwing more adverts, or money around isn’t solving the long term problem. We actually have to be honest.
The UK government is shifting apprenticeships hard towards the skills the energy transition actually needs. More flexible programmes, stronger focus on key trades like EV chargepoint installation, solar PV, heat pumps and smart metering, and a much clearer bridge straight into direct employment. It’s designed to match the ambition and urgency of net zero instead of forcing everyone through slow, traditional routes. Which simply aren't working. Burnham seems keen on championing this as his "Education project". We are still yet to receive meaningful results beyond emblematic policy creation.
We take a longer view. Our whole approach is built around being invested in the long term success of both the people we place and the firms we work with. That means going beyond quick money placements to offer an all bases covered apprenticeship guidance, consultancy, and placement services, plus access to a growing network of motivated students and early career talent earlier in the workforce pipeline. That's refreshing. More firms don't operate like this because it's very costly. We take that cost on the chin because we are confident to know that it will pay off.
This is the more sustainable way to build a workforce that actually stays and grows with you, instead of constantly cycling through short term fixes.
What is it costing to hire in this market?
What we bring to a brief
We take the time to understand the role properly. The real site conditions, the client pressures, the compliance demands, and what “good” actually looks like day to day in your business. That deeper understanding is why the candidates we present are genuinely relevant, not speculative.
Our network has been built specifically around the energy sector, which means when a brief comes in we're usually starting from a position of already knowing who operates well in this space. Where the right person isn't immediately obvious we move quickly and strategically rather than broadcasting the requirement to everyone and hoping something comes back.
Recent hires are across:
EV charge
Solar PV
Heat pumps
Smart metering
Utilities and field services
Electrical installation
Engineering maintenance
DC Technician
After the placement
The relationship that really matters is the one that continues after the offer is accepted. We stay closely involved in the early weeks because that’s where things either settle in or slowly start to go wrong. This ongoing support is what helps improve retention and prevents small issues from becoming costly problems.
Find the Right Fit
Strategic Services
Salary Benchmarking
Improve performance, employee satisfaction and reduce costs. Our salary benchmarking services, customised to energy infrastructure and renewables sectors, give you accurate market data to attract and retain the best talent.
Talent Mapping
Proactively mapping where the right talent sits in the market and how they align with your roles and business. We carry out thorough research to identify the best and hardest to find professionals, then report back on their experience, affordability and openness to new opportunities.
Psychometric & Cultural Fit Assessment
Reduce costly mis-hires and improve long term retention. We use industry specific psychometric and cultural fit assessments to ensure candidates not only have the technical skills, but will actually thrive in your team and on your sites.
Workforce Planning & Succession Strategy
Plan beyond the next hire. We help you map your future talent needs, identify succession gaps and build a clear 3-5 year workforce strategy that aligns with your project pipeline and net zero goals.
Market Intelligence Reports
Replace assumptions with a view of the actual market. A new service line may look commercially attractive until the required people prove scarce and expensive. A regional expansion may appear straightforward until competitor demand, travel expectations and salary pressure are properly examined. Our market intelligence work can cover talent availability, compensation, competitor hiring, candidate movement, regional pressure and emerging skill shortages. It gives decision makers something solid to use when bidding, budgeting, expanding or deciding where the company should build capability next.
Working with us long term
We have no inherited accounts and no old logo doing the selling. Our clients will decide what our name becomes, so the work has to be good. Every brief stays close to the founder. You won’t explain the operation to one person, negotiate terms with another and discover that somebody entirely different has been firing the same message at two hundred candidates. You’ll know what the market is saying. If people keep rejecting the money, we’ll bring the evidence. If a strong candidate has two interviews elsewhere, you’ll know there is a decision to make. If the original brief has no credible market, we’ll say that before another fortnight disappears. We want clients with plans beyond one replacement hire: a contractor opening a second depot, an installer bringing outsourced work back in house, a technical founder who needs a management layer, or a national operator whose apprenticeship intake should become a reliable source of future engineers. That kind of work gives a recruitment partner enough context to become quicker and more accurate over time. We’re here to win serious business and keep it.
We want clients doing the same.
If you have any questions about this or are looking at more information such as case studies, please contact us at:
Email: jobs@ehaustec.co.uk
Phone number: 0161 531 0336