Sectors
Manufacturing resourcing for plant, process and capital projects.
Maintenance, automation and capital project people for heavy industry, food and drink, automotive and advanced manufacturing — for both keeping plant running and building the next line.
Market context
What’s driving demand in Manufacturing
UK manufacturing is resourcing two different problems. Established plant needs maintenance, automation and continuous improvement people to keep ageing assets productive, while a capital investment wave — gigafactories, decarbonisation retrofits, reshored production lines — needs project engineers who can install and commission new capability.
Automation is the pinch point in both. Controls engineers with current PLC, SCADA and robotics experience are pulled between site maintenance teams, systems integrators and end users, and the same person is often equally employable in pharma, food and automotive — which is exactly why manufacturing loses them.
Shift working complicates the maintenance side. Continental and four-on-four-off patterns narrow the candidate pool considerably, so plants that resource reactively tend to end up covering gaps with contract labour at a materially higher cost per hour than planning ahead would have required.
- 4-on-4-off
- Common continental shift pattern that materially narrows the available maintenance candidate pool
- PUWER
- The regulations governing safe provision and use of work equipment across every UK plant
- ECITB
- The sector skills body whose competence framework underpins engineering construction roles
Sector context only — publicly stated policy targets, regulatory regimes and industry cycles. These are not NE Project Solutions performance figures.
Disciplines
Roles we typically place
A representative sample rather than a limit — if the discipline sits inside a manufacturing scope, we can usually resource it.
- Maintenance Engineer (multi-skilled)
- Automation & Controls Engineer
- Project Engineer (capital)
- Continuous Improvement / Lean Engineer
- Quality Engineer
- Production / Shift Manager
- Robotics Engineer
- Mechanical Fitter
Tickets & compliance
What has to be in place before day one
We verify certification, clearance and right-to-work status before a candidate reaches your shortlist — and track expiry dates so a lapsed ticket never stops a shift.
ECITB competences
Engineering Construction Industry Training Board assessments for process and plant disciplines.
LOLER & PUWER
Statutory inspection and safe use regimes for lifting equipment and work equipment.
18th Edition (BS 7671)
Wiring regulations and inspection and testing competence for electrical maintenance staff.
IOSH / NEBOSH
Managing safely and general certificate qualifications for supervisory and SHE roles.
Safe isolation & LOTO
Lock-out tag-out competence and permit-to-work systems for plant intervention.
CCNSG Safety Passport
National safety passport for engineering construction sites and shutdown work.
How we help
Three ways we support Manufacturing programmes
Workforce Solutions
Maintenance, automation and quality staff for permanent and contract roles, including hard-to-cover continental and four-on-four-off shift patterns.
Workforce Solutions for ManufacturingManaged Project Services
Managed teams for line installation, relocation and shutdown work — delivered to a scope and a date rather than supplied as loose headcount.
Managed Project Services for ManufacturingConsultancy Services
Workforce planning for capital investment programmes, including the shift from installation resource to a trained steady-state operations team.
Consultancy Services for ManufacturingOther sectors we work in
The same disciplines and tickets travel further than people expect — many of our contractors move between these markets.
Ready when you are
Resourcing a manufacturing project?
Tell us the scope, the tickets and the window. We’ll come back with people who can actually mobilise to it.