The Rail, Engineering, Energy, Renewables, Power Blog

The Employment Agencies Standards (EAS) Inspectorate have recently warned 38 teaching and childcare recruitment agencies for failing to comply with the law.

Eleven of these agencies were found to be not following correct processes when carrying out Identity and Qualification checks on people they planned to supply for work.

During ‘Operation Hazard’ EAS inspectors visited 50 agencies and found 140 breaches. While many offences were minor, the worst practices included:- (more…)

We have a number of opportunities for candidates with Metro and Tunnel Design experience to be part of the largest rail construction project in Europe.

Crossrail is set to change the face of London for years to come connecting Central London, Canary Wharf, the West End and Heathrow Airport to areas both east and west of the capital. It will bring 1.5 million people within a 60-minute commute of the city. (more…)

The most fundamental right is to have a job but this must be balanced against fairness and the rights of workers, Lord Young, minister for postal affairs and employment relations at the department for business, innovation and skills (BIS), told the REC National Convention in London today.

He told the audience of around 200 delegates that the government recognised that many workers enjoy agency work, as it gives them the flexibility and an opportunity to re-enter the labour market: “I see recruitment agencies making a positive contribution to this.” (more…)

Imagine living in a unique land, full of of breathtaking scenery. New Zealand has craggy coastlines, sweeping golden beaches, verdant rainforests, snow-capped alpine mountains, gurgling volcanic pools, fuming active volcanoes, flashing fish-filled rivers and glacier-fed lakes, all beneath a brilliant blue sky.

Breathtaking New Zealand Scenery

Pair this with a thriving indigenous culture, bustling cosmopolitan cities, traditional towns and friendly people with a distinct lust for life and you have an outstanding and unusual combination.

We currently have some wonderful opportunities for skilled workers in the Civil and Structural Engineering Sector who are interested in moving to New Zealand.

If you are experienced in any of the following disciplines, please contact Susan Cardy on 0118 932 0100 for further information or apply online.

• Transportation Engineers/Planners/Modellers
• Safety Engineers (Highways)
• Bridge Engineer/Bridge Design Engineers
• Civil Engineers (Highways)
• Estimators (Civil)
• Quantity Surveyors (Civil)
• Traffic Engineers
• Project Managers (Highways)
• Hydrogeologist
• Hydrologist
• Geotechnical Engineer
• Environmental Planner
• Overhead Lines Engineer
• Overhead Wiring Construction Manager

British companies look set to suffer collateral damage in the government’s rush to demonstrate its credentials as tough on immigration. The switch to a new points based system, meant to bar all but the best and most needed workers from outside the European Union, was being planned long before Gordon Brown controversially threw his weight behind British jobs for British Workers two years ago.

Indeed, the government has sought to take a more hard line approach since the 2005 election, drawing up a working visa regime that was straightforward and objective about whom it allowed into the country. Despite that gestation period, leading immigration specialists argue that the system was rushed into existence last year, largely for political reasons. (more…)

With the government rumoured to be contemplating £30bn cut in transport investment, the Crossrail scheme could be a victim of the global economic downturn. With the recession tightening its grip on the UK’s finances, fears have emerged that the project billed as the £16bn saviour of the construction industry is just too expensive in the current climate. With Crossrail being in development for the past 20 years costs have built up to an “impossible to quantify” amount.

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Network Rail is to spend another £50m on the West Coast Main Line, after the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) ordered the company to take action over continuing problems. Virgin Trains complained to the ORR in April, and the result was an order that Network Rail should produce a WCML action plan by mid-June. (more…)

Work on hundreds of sites across the country, thought to include the Olympics and Crossrail, could be brought to a halt by strike action proposed for later in the summer. (more…)

London endured its most disruptive bout of industrial action for nearly two years yesterday as a tube strike hit thousands of fans attending the England World Cup qualifier at Wembley and threatened to cost the UK economy up to £100m. (more…)