BEST ENGINEERING RECRUITMENT AGENCY 2018

Winner: Fircroft

Sponsored by: The Guild of Construction Workers

Fircroft provides a range of workforce solutions to engineering companies, including contract and permanent recruitment, managed services provision, recruitment process outsourcing, global mobility and onboarding. Oil & gas projects can crop up in the most far-flung, inhospitable locations. Fircroft’s experienced international team of recruiters allows it to source engineering talent for projects, no matter where they are based. It is trusted by oil & gas companies to recruit talent for locations as diverse as Iraq, Nigeria, Kazakhstan and Europe. Every year Fircroft starts more than 2,500 contractors. In even the most challenging locations, its network of offices, strategic partnerships and relationships with foreign embassies ensures that it can take the highest possible care of staff and contractors.

• When Fircroft starts its contractors, it arranges all relevant passports, visas, work permits, travel arrangements, accommodation, payroll, taxation, family support and more in a 100% compliant manner.
• An example of a challenging vacancy the firm successfully filled was for Mercedes AMG HPP, which manufactures Formula 1 engines. When it needed a mechanical designer, Mercedes turned to Fircroft’s automotive division. Fircroft has since made five more placements for this client.
• MechTool, a supplier protective equipment for use against fire, blast and radiant heat hazards, needed a HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) engineer to be deployed to Kazakhstan for a three-week-long project, at just a week’s notice. Fircroft managed to find an ideal candidate, arrange for interviews and fly him to Kazakhstan for the assignment.
• An example of excellent candidate service in this period has been finding an HR adviser for oil & gas company Glencore’s operations in Chad. Fircroft managed to find a candidate who fulfilled all the conditions. However, after the initial interview, Chad entered a period of political unrest. Fircroft kept in contact with the candidate under difficult conditions, though, before she eventually started.
• Several of the firm’s clients have benefited from an innovative online pay-and-billing system, which increases operational efficiency, improves accuracy and improves the user experience for contractors and clients.

Judges’ Comments:

“The winner was able to adapt to challenging political international conditions and deliver great results. It supported clients with exceptional attention to detail on compliance and governance.”