Sectors
Utilities resourcing for network investment at scale.
Design, delivery and streetworks people for electricity, gas and multi-utility networks — resourced around RIIO price control cycles and the framework model the sector actually runs on.
Market context
What’s driving demand in Utilities
Network operators plan and spend in regulated cycles, and the current RIIO price controls have committed record investment into electricity transmission and distribution. That turns into very concrete demand: reinforcement schemes, substation upgrades, overhead line refurbishment and a connections queue that has become a national policy problem in its own right.
Delivery almost always runs through frameworks, and framework partners live or die on their ability to staff up quickly when a tranche of work is released. A contractor who can put a compliant, NRSWA-ticketed team on the ground in a fortnight wins work that a slower one loses — regardless of technical capability.
There is also a demographic squeeze. Jointers, linespersons and authorised persons take years to train and a significant share of the experienced population is approaching retirement, so networks are simultaneously recruiting for delivery today and building apprentice pipelines for a decade out.
- 5 years
- Length of a RIIO price control period, which sets the funding rhythm every network delivery plan follows
- NRSWA
- Statutory qualification regime governing who may supervise and carry out works in the public highway
- 2030
- Clean power target date driving grid reinforcement and connections reform across GB networks
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 utilities scope, we can usually resource it.
- Overhead Lines Engineer
- HV / LV Jointer
- Network Design Engineer
- Protection & Control Engineer
- Substation Project Manager
- NRSWA Streetworks Supervisor
- Connections Engineer
- Metering & Field Services Engineer
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.
NRSWA cards
Operative and supervisor units under the New Roads and Street Works Act for any works in the highway.
EUSR / SHEA
Safety, Health and Environmental Awareness passports for Power, Gas and Water.
HV AP / SAP
Client-specific authorisation to switch, isolate and issue safety documents.
City & Guilds jointing
Recognised jointing qualifications and network-operator competence assessments.
CSCS / CPCS
Construction and plant operator cards for site access and lifting operations.
G39 / ENA guidance
Electricity Networks Association safety guidance and operator-specific working practices.
How we help
Three ways we support Utilities programmes
Workforce Solutions
Trades, technicians and engineers with NRSWA, EUSR and authorisation status confirmed — the checks that would otherwise delay a first shift.
Workforce Solutions for UtilitiesManaged Project Services
Managed gangs and delivery teams for released framework tranches, supervised on site with output reported against the client's own schedule.
Managed Project Services for UtilitiesConsultancy Services
Price-control-horizon workforce planning: what the next tranche needs, when the market can supply it, and where the apprentice pipeline has to close the gap.
Consultancy Services for UtilitiesOther 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 utilities project?
Tell us the scope, the tickets and the window. We’ll come back with people who can actually mobilise to it.