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    LONDON, ENGLAND, October 16, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Leading recruiter, Hays Civil & Structural has reported that professionals with previous railways, highways bridges, transport planning and drainage experience are highly sought after in the current market.

Due to the upgrading of the railways infrastructure demand has been created for rail engineers to work on a variety of projects, including station design, resignalling, refurbishment and maintenance schemes.

"Rail, signal, civil and electrification engineers are all prized skills and roles for engineers exist at both intermediate and senior level. There are opportunities for qualified individuals, particularly within design, planning and pre-contract commercial management, to work on major projects such as Crossrail," said Sean Fitzgerald, senior consultant at Hays Civil & Structural.

There has also been a steady requirement for infrastructure engineering experience, particularly those individuals with a strong design and maintenance background. Highways design, road and junction design and street lighting experience are all sought after skills. A good all round knowledge of different projects, Highways Agency and local authority experience is also a definite plus.

"Candidates need to be flexible and keep an open mind regarding rates, location, projects and employers," noted Katherine Whipps, manager at Hays Civil & Structural.

The assessment, inspection and maintenance of bridge structures has also created opportunities for qualified structural bridge engineers and bridge inspectors to work on the UK's canals and estuaries.

Whipps added: "Knowledge of bridge design software and the BS5400 code of practice are pre-requisites for these roles."

Other resilient areas are transport planning and modelling, geotechnical, water and environment.

"Employers are looking for technical expertise in PDS, MX, Micro Drainage, traffic and transport modelling software, such as Arcady, Picady, Oscady and Saturn," continues Ben Haigh, manager at Hays Civil & Structural. Demand for senior business development managers has also remained steady: "Organisations are looking for individuals with commercial skills who can generate business, which is so crucial during a downturn."

The current market situation in which jobseekers are competing for fewer jobs means that more care must be afforded to the job application process. Careful preparation is needed for CVs and interviews for jobseekers to get noticed by employers and stand a better chance of securing a role. However, a recent survey by Hays found that almost half (43%) had not witnessed any improvement in the quality of applications.

"It is important for candidates to highlight all their relevant skills and include details of the projects they've worked on and they must quantify any cost savings that may have resulted from their recommendations," added Haigh.

Although recruitment activity for engineering jobs has slowed, employers are still keen to hire specialist skills and experience, particularly for rail, highways, bridges, drainage, environmental and transport engineers. While the majority of roles require previous public sector experience and strong technical skills, organisations are also looking for individuals with first-class communication and commercial skills.

About Hays Civil & Structural:
Hays Civil & Structural is part of Hays plc, the leading global recruitment group. It is market leader in the UK and Australia, and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe. The Group employs 8,294 staff operating from 380 offices in 28 countries across 17 specialisms. For the year ended 30 June 2008 the Group had revenues of GBP2.5 billion, net fees of GBP786.8 million and operating profit before exceptional items of GBP253.8 million; the Group placed around 80,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 300,000 people into temporary assignments and the temporary placement business represented 49% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 51% of net fees.

Website: http://hays.com/engineering


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Press Release Keywords:

• rail engineers, bridge engineers, transport planning, jobseekers, engineering jobs

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