Critical infrastructure workforce partner
The money is committed. The workforce isn't.
Critical infrastructure market signals
£725bn committed to UK infrastructure over the coming decade
63,000 additional clean energy roles needed by 2030, with 36,000 workers retiring in the same window
71% of engineering construction employers now report hiring difficulties, up from 53% in 2021
Clients and sector experience
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Built for the owners, operators and delivery partners behind the UK's essential services, where an unfilled role stops being a resourcing problem and becomes a delivery risk.
Mission critical and cleared talent Whole asset lifecycle Site ready mobilisationWhy Carbon60
35 YEARS RECRUITING THE SPECIALISTS THAT KEEP ESSENTIAL SERVICES RUNNING
Site ready, not just shortlisted
A CV shows someone can do the job. It doesn't show they can get through the gate. EUSR and SHEA registrations, National Water Hygiene, CSCS and ECS cards, HV and LV authorisation and BPSS, SC or DV clearance are all confirmed at briefing stage and evidenced before mobilisation.
One partner from design to life extension
Most suppliers own a phase. Carbon60 recruits across all five: plan and design, build, equip, maintain and develop. The rate benchmark, the induction and the site knowledge don't reset every time the programme moves stage.
Single discipline depth, resourced to the asset
The consultant putting forward a commissioning engineer has been recruiting commissioning engineers for years. They know the competence framework, the going day rate, and how travel, rotation and local labour availability affect whether an offer is accepted.
Industry expertise
SECTORS WE COVER
Specialist recruitment across the critical national infrastructure sectors that keep the UK running.
Energy
Engineering and technical talent across generation, transmission, distribution and storage of electricity, gas and oil, from grid connections to offshore wind.
Data Centres
Specialists who design, build, commission and operate hyperscale, colocation and mission critical facilities, keeping them available, secure and resilient.
Water
Engineers and technical professionals across public water supply and wastewater, resourcing AMP8 capital delivery and the operational teams behind it.
Chemicals
Recruiting for the safe handling, processing and manufacture of strategic and hazardous chemicals, including COMAH regulated sites.
Communications
Technical talent for the broadcasting, telecoms, fibre and postal network providers that keep the UK connected.
Civil Nuclear
Specialist engineers across new build, generation, plant operations and decommissioning, with BPSS, SC and DV requirements managed from briefing stage.
Transport
Engineers and technical specialists across rail, highways, aviation and ports, from signalling and electrification to the teams that maintain the network.
The disciplines we recruit into
SEVEN SKILL VERTICALS THAT KEEP THE UK'S ESSENTIAL SERVICES RUNNING
The people who set technical direction before anything gets built.
Civil Engineer · Structural Engineer · Geotechnical Engineer · Process Engineer · Mechanical Design Engineer · Electrical Design Engineer · Building Services and MEP Engineer · BIM Coordinator · CAD Technician · Design Manager
The people who keep multi-year, multi-site capital delivery reportable and on budget.
Project Manager · Programme Manager · NEC Project Manager · Project Engineer · Planner · Planning Engineer · Cost Engineer · Quantity Surveyor · Commercial Manager · Contracts Manager · Risk Manager · Document Controller
The site based teams behind network, treatment, generation and estates programmes.
Site Manager · Site Agent · Sub Agent · Section Engineer · Site Engineer · Setting Out Engineer · Works Manager · Foreperson · Pipelayer · Groundworker · Plant Operative · Temporary Works Coordinator · SHEQ Advisor
The engineers and operatives reinforcing the networks, from primary substation to last mile.
HV and EHV Engineer · Substation Engineer · Protection & Control Engineer · Power Systems Engineer · Cable Jointer · Overhead Linesperson · Authorised Person (HV/LV) · Senior Authorised Person · Electrical Testing Engineer · Connections Engineer
The specialists who install the plant, prove it works and hand it over.
Commissioning Engineer · Commissioning Manager · EC&I Engineer · Instrumentation Technician · Control Systems Engineer · SCADA and PLC Engineer · Telemetry Engineer · Functional Safety Engineer · MEICA Engineer · Pipefitter · Coded Welder · Installation Supervisor
The people who hold availability up and unplanned outages down, on assets with a service life measured in decades.
Multi-skilled Maintenance Engineer · Mechanical Fitter · Electrical Technician · Field Service Engineer · Shift Team Leader · Control Room Operator · Plant Operator · Reliability Engineer · Asset Manager · Asset Data Analyst · Maintenance Planner · Outage & Shutdown Specialist · Critical Facilities Engineer
Capability for infrastructure now as exposed to a network as it is to the weather.
OT and ICS Security Engineer · Cyber Security Engineer · SOC Analyst · Network Engineer · Cloud Engineer · Data Engineer · Data Scientist · Digital Twin Specialist · Systems Integration Engineer · NIS Compliance Specialist · Security Architect
Supporting every stage
SPECIALIST PEOPLE ACROSS THE WHOLE ASSET LIFECYCLE
Carbon60 partners with the owners, operators and delivery partners behind energy, civil nuclear, water, communications, data centres, chemicals, food, health and space infrastructure, from feasibility through to asset renewal.
Plan & Design
Feasibility, optioneering, consenting and detailed design. The civil, process, electrical and building services specialists, plus the planners and cost professionals who make a business case deliverable.
Build
Construction and civils at scale. Site management, engineering, groundworks, temporary works and SHEQ, resourced against local labour markets and mobilised to a programme date.
Equip
Installation, integration, testing and commissioning. The mechanical, electrical, EC&I and control systems people who take a completed structure to a proven, operating asset.
Maintain
Planned and reactive maintenance, outages, shutdowns, reliability and asset management. Holding availability, compliance and performance where the regulator and the customer expect them.
Develop
Upgrade, extension, life extension and decarbonisation. The engineers who make an existing asset fit for the next thirty years, and the new entrants trained to run it.
Experience and accreditations
TRUSTED ACROSS UK CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE
Awards, accreditations and commitments
Speak to a specialist
The pressure point
RECORD INVESTMENT HAS MET A SHRINKING WORKFORCE
The constraint has moved from funding to people.
Peak delivery across water, energy, nuclear and digital has arrived at once. A large share of the workforce is approaching retirement. Every asset owner, tier one and supply chain partner is now competing for the same commissioning engineer, the same authorised person, the same coded welder. Adverts return volume, not capability.
Milestones that hold
Unfilled specialist roles are the most common reason a programme date slips. Engineering, construction and commissioning specialists can be mobilised at pace, as contract, permanent or a named project team, so delivery capacity increases without the schedule being renegotiated.
Beyond the applicant pool
Safety critical and technical roles stay open while internal teams process unsuitable applications. Single discipline consultants engage passive specialists directly, expert to expert, and confirm tickets, competence and clearance before a CV reaches a hiring manager.
One standard, not twelve
A growing agency list creates IR35, vetting, rate and governance exposure that's hard to hold together across multiple sites. Carbon60 can operate as the single specialist partner, or govern a wider supplier ecosystem to consistent sourcing, vetting and rate standards.
Availability, not just capital
Availability is often constrained by maintenance technicians, control room operators and authorised persons rather than by budget. Recruitment, and where useful train and deploy routes, cover the skilled trades and technical roles that keep essential services running.
How to work with us
EIGHT ROUTES, ONE ACCOUNTABILITY
Carbon60 offers a range of services and products to ensure your people strategy enables your business to grow.
Specialist Recruitment
Contract and permanent hiring across the seven skill verticals. Expert to expert, single discipline, precise shortlists.
Project Recruitment
Named teams mobilised against a construction programme, an outage window or a commissioning date, working to defined outcomes rather than filled seats.
Recruit, Train, Deploy
Capability built where the market can't supply it. Sourced for aptitude, trained to your standard and the required competence scheme, deployed onto site.
Early Talent
Graduate, apprentice, ex-forces and returner routes into infrastructure, because a retirement wave isn't solved by hiring the same people twice.
Managed Service Provider
Governed management of your contingent workforce, with visibility of spend, time to fill, rate integrity and supplier performance across sites.
Recruitment Process Outsourcing
End-to-end ownership of permanent hiring, from workforce planning through to onboarding.
Statement of Work
Outcome-based delivery where accountability sits with us, built for programmes in which delay carries regulatory or commercial consequence.
Services Procurement
Support in specifying, sourcing and governing outcome-based service requirements rather than headcount, including local labour and social value commitments made at tender stage.
Our experts
TALK TO PEOPLE WHO UNDERSTAND DELIVERY ON SITE
Andy Morris Director - Client Solutions
Workforce SolutionsCritical Infrastructure
Works with asset owners, operators and tier one partners to shape the right mix of specialist, project and managed workforce solutions for each programme.
BJ
Barry Jones Sector Lead - Critical Infrastructure
Energy & RenewablesMission Critical
Connects businesses with best-in-industry technical professionals across energy, renewables and mission critical infrastructure.
Kraig Smith IT Delivery Head
Software EngineeringeCommerce Technology
Heads up the Software Engineering & Development and eCommerce Technology division, sourcing the digital talent behind connected infrastructure.
AR
Adam Rock Head of HIT Delivery
Advanced ManufacturingEngineering
Leads HIT delivery across Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering, placing STEM talent into technical and engineering programmes.
FAQS
Which critical infrastructure organisations does Carbon60 work with?
We partner with the asset owners, operators, tier one contractors and supply chain partners behind the UK's essential services, across energy, data centres, water, chemicals, communications, civil nuclear and transport. Support runs across the whole asset lifecycle, from plan and design through build, equip, maintain and develop.
How do you make sure candidates are site ready before they mobilise?
Tickets, registrations and clearances are confirmed at briefing stage, not after an offer. That includes EUSR and SHEA registrations, National Water Hygiene, CSCS and ECS cards, HV and LV authorisation, and BPSS, SC or DV clearance where the site requires it. Everything is evidenced before a candidate arrives at the gate, so there are no surprises on day one.
Can you supply security cleared candidates for nuclear and other sensitive sites?
Yes. We regularly place candidates who already hold live BPSS, SC or DV clearance. Where a role needs a new or upgraded clearance, we work to your sponsorship and vetting timelines and factor them into the mobilisation plan, so the programme date reflects what's realistic.
Can you mobilise a full project or outage team at short notice?
Through Project Recruitment, we mobilise named teams against a construction programme, an outage or shutdown window, or a commissioning date. Teams are resourced against local labour availability, travel and rotation requirements, and work to defined outcomes rather than simply filling seats.
We use several agencies across our sites. How can you help with IR35 and governance?
Carbon60 can operate as your single specialist partner, or govern a wider supplier ecosystem through a Managed Service Provider model, giving you consistent sourcing, vetting and rate standards alongside visibility of spend, time to fill and supplier performance. Under the off-payroll rules, status determinations remain with you as the end client, and we'll support a consistent, auditable process across every site.
What if the skills we need simply don't exist in the market?
Where the market can't supply a capability, our Recruit, Train, Deploy model sources people for aptitude, trains them to your standard and the required competence scheme, then deploys them on site. Our Early Talent routes add graduates, apprentices, ex-forces and returners, because a retirement wave isn't solved by hiring the same people twice.
Sales discovery
SPEAK TO A SPECIALIST
Tell us the programme, the stage and the constraint. You'll get an honest read on the market and the timescale before a vacancy is committed to us.
Prefer to talk? Call us on +44 (0) 1582 692692.