For many businesses, finding the right talent is key to sustainable growth, but if time isn’t invested into strong recruitment and upskilling programmes, it can quickly become a barrier to success.  And no matter the size of the business, the recruitment challenges businesses face are often surprisingly similar.

As one of the UK’s leading infrastructure, construction and development groups, Kier employs around 10,000 people across multiple sectors. So, it’s important that we’re recruiting people from the widest talent pool, supporting people into employment and ensuring we have diverse teams that support business goals.

Building good recruitment and skills programmes has been imperative to our success and we’ve learnt a lot of lessons over the years we can share with other businesses on their own growth journey. These can be scaled and applied to initiatives run by companies of all sizes, and can also be supported by government programmes aiming to boost the number of young people companies are able to reach and opportunities they can offer.

1. Cast your net wider than traditional recruitment channels

One of the biggest opportunities for any employer is looking beyond the ‘usual’ candidate pool.

There are currently just under one million people in Britain, aged 16 to 24, not in employment, education or training^[1] (NEETs) despite having huge potential, and this is something we at Kier are working hard to play our part in changing. Young people are often unaware of the opportunities available to them once they leave education, particularly the wide range of roles in construction, and may not have the confidence, networks or support to access employment. Tackling this requires working with communities, schools and organisations like Jobcentre Plus who are focused on youth outreach – finding ways to offer that support and widen access to high quality jobs and training to young people from all walks of life.

Your relationships with communities are important to helping open up routes to find those out of work who you can’t engage with through traditional means. The construction industry won’t help to reduce the number of NEETs by competing harder for the same people. It will solve it by finding talent in places it has not traditionally looked, and by helping people see opportunities where they have not traditionally existed.

Recruiting diverse talent brings fresh perspectives and experiences that can strengthen problem-solving, encourage innovation and help businesses better serve their clients and communities. This diversity of thought ultimately supports greater resilience, adaptability and long-term business growth.

2. Don’t underestimate the value of giving someone their first opportunity

At Kier, we’ve seen the long-term benefits of investing in emerging talent through apprenticeships and work experience, with over 10% of our employees participating in these formal learning programmes.  These provide an excellent opportunity to give young people their first start so they can gain the experience they need to flourish.

Through support from the government’s Youth Guarantee scheme we can offer more work experience placements to a diverse pool of talent and have been able to set targets to engage with at least 2000 additional young people over the next three years, to support the next generation of skilled workers.  This engagement is a rewarding way to both develop new hires and allow current employees to take on the role of mentors. The key is to start small. Even a short work experience placement or apprenticeship can become a valuable route into long-term employment.

3. Remember that recruitment doesn’t stop on day one

Attracting talent is only half the challenge. The organisations that will thrive are those that create environments where people can continually learn and grow – both in skills and confidence.

Many young recruits need additional guidance as they transition into the workplace, and managers can sometimes feel underprepared to provide that support, particularly in smaller businesses where everyone already wears multiple hats. Over 20% of our employees hold memberships with organisations and industry bodies committed to supporting professional learning and development, the cost of which is covered by Kier.  Investing in leadership and management development programmes gives people the confidence to support colleagues throughout their careers.

4. Invest in your recruiting team as much as your new recruits

We provide training for hiring managers to help them recognise unconscious bias that may affect the recruitment process.

While SMEs may not have formal learning academies, simple conversations, awareness training and structured interviews can all help create fairer recruitment processes. By reviewing your recruitment process regularly, you can ensure you’re attracting talent based on potential, not just previous experience.

5. Think long-term about skills

Developing people who are already within your business can be just as valuable as hiring new talent, and internal training should be viewed as an investment into business resilience. This includes leadership development, career progression programmes and for us, also working with the Supply Chain Sustainability School to help upskill our partner businesses.

It’s also important to think about the type of emerging or new skills to train employees in. With growing demand for digital and AI capability, employers who invest now and explore opportunities like the Youth Guarantee that can support with funding and training options will be better placed to meet future business needs.

[1] ONS Labour market overview, UK: October 2026 

https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/uklabourmarket/latest