Recruit expert talent for advanced engineering
Recruitment agencies, events and partnerships can help you tap into the huge network of advanced engineering talent in the UK.
Recruitment agencies
You can search the UK Investment Support Directory to find recruitment specialists with experience in finding the right staff for your business in the UK.
There’s also a list of specialist recruitment consultants on the Recruitment and Employment Confederation website.
Talent locations
Robotics
The UK robotics talent network includes 5 centres for doctoral training at:
- University of Lincoln, for agrifood robotics
- Oxford University, autonomous and intelligent machines and systems
- Swansea University, for human interactions with intelligence-driven systems
- Bristol University, for autonomous robotic systems
- Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, for robotics and autonomous systems
Major logistics hubs, with associated talent pools for e-retail and robotics, are in:
- the Milton Keynes Logistics Hub (South East England)
- iPort Doncaster (North East England)
- Leicester, at Magna Park, Lutterworth (East Midlands)
- London, especially the DP Logistics Hub
Manufacturing centres of excellence
The largest UK manufacturing centres, measured by outlook and employment, are, in descending order of size:
- North West England, including Manchester and Liverpool
- West Midlands, including Birmingham
- South East England
- East of England, including Cambridge
- Yorkshire and Humber, including Leeds
- East Midlands, including Nottingham
Materials
Major talent clusters:
- Oxfordshire and the West Midlands (known as Motorsport Valley) for lightweight transport materials expertise
- West Midlands and East Midlands for biomaterials, for example BioCity cluster in Nottingham
- Manchester and the North West for light alloys, technical textiles, coatings and graphene and other 2D materials
- Northern Ireland, an aerospace cluster with expertise in lightweight materials
Expertise through knowledge transfer
The Knowledge Transfer Partnership scheme provides opportunities for businesses who have an idea, but do not have all the talent needed to develop it. The scheme can link your company with an academic or research organisation, providing you with the services of a graduate as an associate.
A KTP is part-funded by a grant, with a contribution also made by the company.