Tag: Advance TRS

At Advance TRS, we believe that success isn’t just about delivering exceptional recruitment services—it’s about making a lasting, positive impact on the communities we serve. As a rapidly growing recruitment consultancy, we are committed to giving back through various charitable and community-focused initiatives. Whether it’s volunteering our time, raising funds for important causes, or sponsoring local events, we’re passionate about making a difference. 

Volunteering: Giving Time to Make a Difference 

We believe that everyone has the power to contribute to their community, and we actively encourage our team to get involved through volunteering. From participating in charity events to supporting local causes, our employees are dedicated to making a difference beyond the workplace. Volunteering provides our team with an opportunity to give back while building strong connections with their colleagues and the local community. 

Charity Fundraising: Raising Funds for Causes That Matter 

Our commitment to charity is one of the core values that define Advance TRS. Over the years, we have proudly raised over £100,000 for various charities, including Railway Children, Water Aid, and Macmillan Cancer Support. We’ve taken part in an array of fundraising challenges, from Tough Mudder’s and fire walks to mountain climbs and marathons. These events not only help raise vital funds for important causes but also foster a sense of camaraderie and team spirit within our business. 

Whether we’re riding 100 miles for charity or doing a sponsored walk, we are always looking for new and exciting ways to support the charities we care about. And our ambition doesn’t stop here—we’re eager to continue growing our charitable efforts and raise even more in the years to come. 

Advance TRS Take on the WaterAid Dragon Boat Race

Local Sponsorships: Supporting Our Community 

We’re also passionate about supporting local organisations and events through sponsorships. By partnering with local businesses, schools, and sports teams, we aim to foster long-term relationships that benefit our community. Our sponsorship efforts provide essential funding for local projects and create opportunities for young people and community groups to grow and thrive. 

Recap of Advance TRS 2023 Charity Events

Training Opportunities: Building Skills in the Community 

At Advance TRS, we’re not only focused on recruitment but also on nurturing talent and offering training opportunities to help individuals in our community develop valuable skills. We offer work experience placements, training programmes, and opportunities for young professionals to gain insight into the recruitment industry. By investing in people, we aim to create a lasting positive impact that helps build stronger, more resilient communities. 

Training & Development: Empowering you to grow at Advance TRS

Help Us Make a Difference 

At Advance TRS, we’re proud of the impact we’ve made in our local communities, and we’re always looking for new ways to expand our reach. Whether through volunteering, charity fundraising, local sponsorships, or providing training opportunities, we’re dedicated to making a real difference. 

Want to be part of a team that makes a difference? Explore careers at Advance TRS.

Are you an experienced recruiter looking for the next challenge in your career? At Advance TRS, we provide a unique opportunity to elevate your career with your experienced recruitment expertise by offering access to major projects, working alongside a high-performing team, and leadership roles within a company known for its integrity and quality. 

Why Choose Advance TRS? 

As a leading specialist recruitment consultancy in the built environment, Advance TRS supports ambitious recruiters in taking their careers to the next level. Here’s why seasoned professionals should consider joining our team: 

1. Higher Earning Potential 

Advance TRS values the experience and skills that you bring to the table. With competitive packages and an uncapped commission structure, your hard work is directly reflected in your earning potential. We understand the importance of rewarding top performers and ensuring you are well compensated for your contributions. 

Work For Us 

2. Access to Big Projects 

Our team works on some of the largest and most exciting infrastructure projects across the UK and Ireland. With clients in sectors such as construction, rail, highways, water, and energy, recruiters at Advance TRS can work on high-profile placements that shape the future of key projects in the built environment. This exposure enables you to grow your expertise while connecting with some of the industry’s most influential organisations. 

Our Sectors 

3. Career Progression 

We believe in empowering our staff to achieve their full potential. At Advance TRS, we offer clear pathways for career progression, whether you’re looking to step into a leadership role or deepen your expertise in a specialised recruitment sector. You’ll be part of a company that is committed to continuous growth and development, giving you every opportunity to take on greater responsibility and achieve your career goals. 

Meet Jake Rodger, leading our Rail Signalling and Digital Rail Division 

4. High-Performing Teams 

Collaboration is at the heart of what we do. Our team of recruitment consultants is built around strong core values such as commitment, integrity, and collaboration. Working in top-performing teams means you’ll have the support and resources needed to succeed, surrounded by like-minded professionals who are just as passionate about delivering excellence. 

Our Culture and Core Values: Joining a Values-Driven team at Advance TRS 

5. Leadership Opportunities 

For experienced recruiters ready to step into management, Advance TRS offers leadership opportunities where you can drive the success of your own team. Whether you’re building a niche sector or mentoring consultants that are just starting out, you’ll have the autonomy and support to make a lasting impact. 

Meet the Team 

Advance Your Recruitment Career Today 

If you’re an experienced recruiter ready for more responsibility, higher earning potential, and the chance to work on big projects, Advance TRS is the place for you. Our focus on career progression and high-performance culture means there’s no limit to what you can achieve! 

Experienced in recruitment? See how Advance TRS the roles we have available, here. 

Whether you’re accepting a new job offer or seeking a raise in your current role, knowing how to negotiate a salary is essential. It can be intimidating, but with the right preparation and approach, you can secure a salary that reflects your value. Here are some best practices to keep in mind when negotiating a salary. 

Do Your Research 

Before entering any salary negotiation, it’s vital to know your market value. Research salary ranges for your role based on industry standards, your location, and your experience level. Websites like Glassdoor, Payscale, and industry-specific salary reports can provide valuable insights. Additionally, speaking to recruiters or industry professionals can give you a better understanding of what others in your field are earning. 

By building up your knowledge base with data, you will be able to confidently present a reasonable figure and back it up with market trends. 

Work with Your Recruitment Consultant 

Partnering with a recruitment consultant can significantly strengthen your position during salary negotiations. As experts in the job market, they have access to up-to-date salary data and insights into what companies are willing to offer for roles like yours.  

Your consultant can act as a valuable mediator, advocating for your desired compensation while maintaining a positive relationship with the employer. They can help frame your requests professionally, ensuring the negotiation process stays balanced and collaborative. Additionally, they’ll often know what benefits or perks are negotiable, allowing you to secure a better overall package. 

Evaluate the Entire Compensation Package 

When negotiating salary with a potential employer, remember that base salary is only part of the overall compensation package. Benefits such as bonuses, healthcare, pension contributions, holiday entitlement, flexible working, and even stock options can add substantial value. 

If the employer’s budget is tight or they can’t meet your ideal salary, negotiating on these other aspects can make the overall offer more attractive. Be open to discussing the full package to ensure you’re getting the best deal possible. 

Timing is Key 

When joining a new company, the best time to negotiate salary is after you’ve received the job offer rather than beforehand. Employers expect negotiations at this stage, so it’s the perfect moment to raise your requests. 

However, avoid bringing up salary too early in the interview process, as it can give the impression that you’re more focused on pay than the role itself. Let the employer see your enthusiasm for the position and wait until they’re keen to hire you before discussing money. 

Understand Your Value to the Company 

When a company is eager to hire you, it’s because they believe you will bring value to the team. Reflect on your unique skills, qualifications, and experience that set you apart from other candidates. Think about how you can solve problems for them or help them achieve their goals. This understanding strengthens your position during salary negotiations. 

During the discussion, reference specific skills, accomplishments, or certifications that make you a strong fit for the role. This helps the employer see why paying a higher salary is a good investment in your potential. 

Stay Flexible 

While salary is a key part of the negotiation, flexibility in your approach can help you reach a better outcome. If the company can’t meet your salary expectations, consider negotiating other perks like professional development opportunities, career progression plans, or an earlier salary review. 

You can also explore things like remote working options or reduced commuting expenses, which might improve your work-life balance and make the offer more attractive overall. 

Negotiating your salary when joining a new company can be nerve-racking but by doing your research, understanding your value, and staying professional throughout the process, you’ll be in a strong position to secure a fair offer. Remember, the negotiation is a two-way conversation, and with the right approach, you can find a salary and benefits package that works for both you and your future employer. 

Looking to change careers? Take a look at the roles we have available, here. 

At Advance TRS, we believe that a successful business thrives when its people are happy, healthy, and motivated. As a rapidly growing recruitment business, we take pride in our “work hard, play hard” culture. We strive to deliver exceptional service to our clients and candidates, but we also know the importance of taking care of ourselves and each other.  

That’s why we offer a comprehensive health and wellbeing package that ensures every team member feels supported, valued, and able to thrive both professionally and personally. 

Wellness at Work: Time to Recharge 

We know how important it is to have time to focus on your mental and physical wellbeing, which is why we introduced our Wellness Hour. This initiative allows every employee to take an hour out of their workweek to do something that promotes positive health and wellbeing. Whether it’s going for a walk, practising yoga, or simply taking a break to clear your mind, the Wellness Hour is designed to help our employees recharge and come back feeling refreshed. 

Our journey to wellness

A Culture That Celebrates Success 

At Advance TRS, we work hard, but we also know how to celebrate. Whether it’s our quarterly lunches for team members who hit their targets or our overseas incentive trips for top performers, we’re committed to recognising hard work and rewarding success. Previous trips have included unforgettable destinations like Paris, Cannes, and Amsterdam—perfect for bonding with your colleagues and enjoying well-deserved downtime. 

Our culture and core values

A Holistic Approach to Wellbeing 

Wellbeing isn’t just about health insurance or taking breaks—it’s about creating an environment where people feel valued and appreciated. That’s why we offer a wide range of incentives, from Perkbox discounts on health and beauty products, gym memberships, and even home appliances! 

Wellbeing at Advance TRS

A Balanced Work-Life Environment 

In today’s fast-paced world, it’s more important than ever to have a balanced work-life environment. At Advance TRS, we actively encourage our teams to take time off and relax, ensuring that we come back to work feeling refreshed and ready to deliver the best for our clients and candidates. Our annual leave policies increase with tenure and after a year with us, you get an extra day to celebrate your birthday without this being deducted from your leave entitlement.  Our long service awards at 10 and 15 years also grant additional leave to celebrate. 

Like the Sound of Joining Our Team? 

At Advance TRS, your health and wellbeing are a priority, and we’re constantly exploring new ways to support our team. From wellness initiatives to recognition of your hard work and achievements, we create an environment where you can feel motivated, supported, and empowered to be your best self. 

Ready to join a company that values your wellbeing? Explore our current openings and join Advance TRS today! 

Are you ready to embark on an exciting and rewarding recruitment career? At Advance TRS, we offer entry-level opportunities for ambitious individuals looking to start their journey in the recruitment industry. With comprehensive training, mentorship, and fast-track career paths, we ensure that our resourcers have all the tools needed to succeed and thrive in their roles. 

Why Start Your Recruitment Career with Advance TRS? 

As a specialist recruitment consultancy in the built environment, we provide a platform for entry-level recruiters to gain invaluable experience and build successful careers. Here’s what you can expect from joining our team: 

1. Skills Required for Success 

Recruitment is a dynamic and people-centric career, requiring a combination of communication, organisation, and problem-solving skills. At entry-level, we look for individuals who are driven, resilient, and eager to learn. While no prior experience in recruitment is necessary, a passion for connecting people with opportunities and the ability to work in a fast-paced environment are key. 

If you’re someone who enjoys building relationships and is motivated by results, recruitment could be the perfect career for you. 

Advance TRS Core Values

2. Training and Development 

At Advance TRS, we believe in setting our new recruiters up for success from day one. Through our structured training and development programmes, you will learn the ins and outs of the recruitment process, from understanding client needs to mastering candidate management. We provide all the tools and resources you need to thrive, ensuring that you are fully equipped to start making an impact. 

Our training is designed to fast-track your development, enabling you to quickly take on responsibilities and build your portfolio of clients and candidates. 

Work for us

3. Mentorship and Support 

At Advance TRS, we understand the importance of guidance when starting a new career. That’s why we pair all our new starters with experienced mentors who provide continuous support and advice. Working alongside industry experts, you’ll gain insights into best practices and receive valuable feedback that will help you grow and develop as a consultant. 

You won’t be doing it alone—our collaborative environment ensures that you’re supported every step of the way. 

Meet the team

4. Fast-Track Career Paths 

We recognise and reward talent and ambition. For high-performing individuals, Advance TRS offers fast-track career paths that enable you to progress quickly through the ranks. Whether you aim to specialise in a particular sector or want to lead a team, there’s plenty of room for growth and progression within our company. We provide opportunities to take on more responsibility as you gain experience, helping you shape the career you want. 

Meet Jake Rodger, leading our Rail Signalling and Digital Rail Division

5. Career Progression in the Recruitment Industry 

Starting your recruitment career at Advance TRS opens up a world of opportunities. With a solid foundation in recruitment, you can advance to roles such as Senior Consultant and Account Manager. As you build your expertise and client relationships, you’ll have the chance to influence major infrastructure projects and contribute to shaping the future of key industries across the UK and Ireland. 

Could you turn a job in sales into a career in recruitment?

Start Your Journey with Advance TRS 

If you’re looking for a career where you can make a real impact, Advance TRS offers an exciting path with plenty of growth opportunities. With comprehensive training, mentorship, and the potential for rapid progression, this is your chance to build a rewarding career in recruitment! 

Ready to start your journey in recruitment? Check out our positions, here. 

At Advance TRS, we understand that strong relationships are the foundation of success in any field—particularly in both sales and recruitment. In both industries, the ability to build long-term, trusting relationships is what separates top performers from the rest. Whether it’s nurturing client relationships or connecting with candidates, the principles remain the same. 

Do you have what it takes to use your relationship building skills to pursue a career in recruitment? Here are some of the transferrable skills you can use to boost your start in recruitment.  

Long-Term Relationship Building

In recruitment, just as in sales, developing relationships that stand the test of time is key. It’s not just about making one placement or closing one deal—it’s about cultivating partnerships that last for years. By understanding our clients’ needs and ensuring we maintain open communication, we can position ourselves as trusted advisors – which is the same when it comes to candidates. When we help professionals secure their ideal roles, we also build a network of skilled individuals who return to us when it’s time for their next career move. 

Trust and Stakeholder Management

Trust is at the heart of any successful relationship. Whether you’re working with clients, candidates, or internal stakeholders, trust ensures that people feel confident in your ability to deliver. Sales professionals often excel in this area because they understand the importance of clear communication, managing expectations, and always acting with integrity. In recruitment, these same qualities are crucial for building rapport with clients and candidates alike, ensuring that everyone feels valued and respected throughout the process. 

Why Relationship Management Matters in Recruitment 

At Advance TRS, we pride ourselves on creating long-lasting relationships that benefit both our clients and candidates. By taking the time to understand each parties goals and priorities, we ensure that we can consistently match top talent with the right opportunities. Our consultative approach to recruitment, built on trust and collaboration, is what sets us apart in the sectors we serve. 

Great at building relationships? Use your expertise in recruitment—see the jobs we have available. 

Navigating the job market in the built environment sector can be challenging. Partnering with a specialist recruitment consultancy like Advance TRS can make all the difference. Here’s how our expertise and services provide distinct advantages to help you find the right role.

In-Depth Industry Knowledge

At Advance TRS, our consultants have specialised knowledge across sectors in the built environment, including rail, construction, and engineering. We understand the nuances of these sectors, allowing us to match you with roles that perfectly fit your skills and career aspirations.

Current Market Trends

Our team keep up to date with the latest industry trends and demands. This means you receive valuable insights on emerging opportunities, in-demand skills, and market conditions, giving you a competitive edge in your job search.

Personalised Service

We take the time to understand your unique career goals, preferences, and strengths. By getting to know you and your professional background, we ensure that we match you with roles that align with your individual needs and ambitions.

Access to Exclusive Opportunities

Thanks to our strong industry connections, Advance TRS offers access to a wide range of job opportunities, including exclusive roles that aren’t advertised publicly. This gives you access to a broader spectrum of positions that might be a perfect fit for you.

Efficient Job Search

The recruitment process can be time-consuming and complex. We handle the legwork, from identifying suitable roles to preparing your CV and arranging interviews. This makes your job search more efficient and less stressful.

Expert Advice and Support

Our consultants provide expert advice on CV writing, interview preparation, and salary negotiations. We guide you through each step of the recruitment process, ensuring you present yourself effectively and secure the role that’s right for you.

Career Development


Working with Advance TRS isn’t just about finding a job; it’s about building a long-term career. We’re committed to your professional growth and providing you with ongoing support and advice as you advance in your career, helping you make informed decisions about future opportunities.

Ongoing Support


Even after you’ve secured a role, our support continues. We maintain relationships with both candidates and clients, offering continued assistance to ensure that you thrive in your new position and continue to grow professionally.

Ready to Find Your Perfect Role?

Partnering with a specialised recruitment consultancy like us provides you with expert knowledge, personalised job matching, and comprehensive support throughout the recruitment process. Let us help you navigate the job market and find the role that’s right for you.

Explore the opportunities available on our website and take the next step in your career.

At Advance TRS, we understand the growing importance of environmental responsibility. At Advance TRS, we work closely with the environmental sector, providing specialised recruitment services that support sustainable project delivery and environmental management. Our team connects top talent with leading organisations, ensuring compliance with environmental standards and promoting best practices across water, energy, and environmental markets. Our dedication to the environment is a crucial part of our broader commitment to excellence and reliability in every sector we serve. 

Our Climate Pledge 

At Advance TRS, we recognise the impact our business can have on the environment, which is why we are committed to implementing responsible practices wherever possible. As part of our climate pledge, we actively explore ways to reduce our carbon footprint and support the industries we serve in their sustainability goals. From small initiatives to larger-scale efforts, our pledge reflects our commitment to environmental responsibility. 

Environmental sustainability is a priority for us. We have a clear environmental commitment plan, including membership in the SME Climate Hub and signing the Climate Pledge by December 2024 to achieve net-zero carbon emissions. By December 2025, we aim to achieve ISO14001 certification and become carbon neutral by December 2027. Additionally, as silver members of the Supply Chain Sustainability School, we collaborate on sustainable practices across our supply chain. 

SME Climate Hub Members  

We have joined the SME Climate Hub, a global initiative that aligns small and medium-sized enterprises with the goals of the Paris Agreement. By doing so, we commit to actively participate in collaborative efforts to mitigate climate change and foster sustainable practices within our operations. 

Advance TRS Members of the SME Climate Hub

Sustainable Partnerships 

Our environmental commitment extends to the partners and clients we work with. As a recruitment consultancy operating within the built environment sectors, we aim to align ourselves with businesses that share our focus on sustainability. By working with forward-thinking organisations, we contribute to long-term solutions that benefit both the environment and the industries we serve. 

A Greener Future with Advance TRS – Water, Environment, Energy & Renewables Experts 

Environmental responsibility is an essential part of our journey at Advance TRS. As we continue to work across key infrastructure markets, we are dedicated to playing our part in building a sustainable future for generations to come. 

We are dedicated to championing environmental responsibility in every aspect of our work. Our team of experts in the water and environmental sectors plays a pivotal role in supporting sustainable water resource management, flood risk reduction, and ecological conservation. With a collective 50+ years of experience, we align our recruitment solutions with the pressing environmental needs of the sector. By partnering with leading organisations involved in critical frameworks such as AMP6/AMP7 and Environment Agency initiatives, we ensure that our projects not only meet regulatory compliance but also contribute to long-term environmental stewardship. 

In the energy and renewables markets, we play a vital role in facilitating the transition to a cleaner, more sustainable future. We specialise in sourcing talent for renewable energy projects, offshore wind operations, and other clean energy initiatives. Our recruitment strategy prioritises long-term environmental goals, helping our clients build teams that innovate and implement sustainable solutions. By focusing on environmental responsibility, Advance TRS ensures that the professionals we connect to the industry are equipped to meet both current and future challenges in the fight against climate change. 

Introducing Advance TRS’s Energy & Renewables Desk

Energy & Renewables – Jake Jessey

Water, Environment & Infrastructure – Rob Kelly

Water & Flood Risk – Alex Shaw

Be part of our green journey—find your next role in the environmental engineering market. 

Jobs in Water & Environment

Jobs in Energy & Renewables

Navigating the job market in the built environment sector can be challenging. To stand out in this competitive field, avoiding common application mistakes is crucial. Here’s a guide to the top 5 pitfalls and how to steer clear of them. 

1. Not Tailoring Your CV and Cover Letter 

Tip: Customise your application for each role. Highlight skills and experiences that align with the job description and company’s needs.  

Pitfall number one is sending generic applications to employers. In the built environment sector, where roles can vary significantly, a tailored CV and cover letter are essential to demonstrate your fit and showcasing your skills for a specific job. 

2. Overlooking Keywords in Job Descriptions 

Tip: Use keywords from the job description in your CV and cover letter to improve your chances of passing the ATS screening.  

Many applications are filtered by Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) that search for specific keywords. Failing to include these can result in your application being overlooked. 

3. Lack of Clear Career Progression 

Tip: Show a clear career path with relevant roles and projects that highlight your development and expertise.

A CV that lacks a clear career trajectory can be confusing. Demonstrating how you’ve grown and specialised in your career is crucial in the built environment sector. 

4. Inadequate Interview Preparation 

Tip: Prepare for technical assessments with industry-specific questions and review common behavioural interview questions to showcase your fit for the role.  

Technical and behavioural interviews are critical in the built environment sector. Insufficient preparation can impact your performance. 

5. Poor Attention to Detail 

Tip: Proofread your CV and cover letter multiple times and seek feedback from others to ensure accuracy and professionalism.  

Errors in your application, such as typos or incorrect details, can undermine your professionalism. Attention to detail is key in a sector where precision matters. 

How to Improve Your Chances of Success 

  • Research the Employer: Understand the company’s projects and values to tailor your application effectively. 
  • Network with Professionals: Build connections within the sector to gain insights and opportunities. 
  • Engage in Continuous Learning: Stay updated with industry trends and consider further training to enhance your skills. 
  • Seek Feedback: Get input on your CV and interview techniques to refine your approach. 

By avoiding these common pitfalls and implementing these strategies, you can significantly improve your chances of landing a job in the built environment sector. Present a well-prepared, tailored application to stand out in this competitive field. 

Follow us on LinkedIn to view our latest roles and opportunities, or sign up for our job alerts, here.  

Choosing between contracting and a permanent role in the built environment can make a big difference to your career path and lifestyle. Both routes offer distinct advantages and challenges, making it crucial to consider which aligns best with your professional goals and personal preferences.

Contractor Roles: Flexibility and Independence

Pros:

  • Flexibility: Contracting in the built environment allows you to choose projects and set your own hours. This can be especially appealing for those who prefer varied work or wish to work remotely.
  • Higher Earning Potential: Contractors often have the opportunity to earn more per project compared to permanent roles, particularly if they have niche skills that are in high demand.
  • Diverse Experience: Working on different projects with various clients can provide a broad range of experience, from commercial buildings to infrastructure projects, enhancing your skills and portfolio.

Cons:

  • Inconsistent Income: The variability in project availability can lead to fluctuating income, which might be challenging if you prefer financial stability.
  • Lack of Benefits: Contractors do not typically receive benefits such as health insurance, paid leave, or pension contributions that are common in permanent positions.
  • Administrative Burden: Contractors must manage their own business tasks, including taxes, contracts, and client negotiations, which can be time-consuming.

Permanent Roles: Stability and Structured Growth

Pros:

  • Job Security: Permanent roles offer more financial stability and job security, which can be reassuring, especially in sectors like construction or infrastructure where long-term projects are prevalent.
  • Career Development: Permanent positions often come with clear career progression pathways, training opportunities, and professional development, helping you advance within the company.
  • Company Benefits: In addition to a steady salary, permanent employees typically receive benefits such as health insurance, retirement plans, and paid time off.

Cons:

  • Less Flexibility: Permanent roles usually involve set working hours and less freedom to choose projects or work remotely, which might not suit those seeking flexibility.
  • Potential Monotony: Working for one employer may limit the variety of projects you work on, which could be less appealing if you thrive on diverse experiences.

Which Path Is Right for You?

Deciding between a contractor and a permanent role largely depends on your personal and professional priorities. If you value flexibility, diverse experiences, and are comfortable with the administrative aspects of freelancing, it might be the right path for you. On the other hand, if you prefer stability, structured career development, and comprehensive benefits, a permanent role could be more suitable.

Ready to explore your options?

Check out the latest roles available in the built environment on our website and find the perfect opportunity that matches your career goals, whether you’re considering a contractor role or seeking a permanent position.

At Advance TRS, our dedication to social value and ethical practices is at the heart of our operations. We are committed to making a positive impact in the communities we serve and upholding high standards of integrity and responsibility. Here’s how we lead by example and why this commitment makes us an employer of choice.

Driving Positive Change in Our Community

We are committed to supporting the communities in which we operate – engaging in various community initiatives. For example, our team has raised over £100,000 for charities such as Railway Children and Oakleaf Enterprise, demonstrating our ongoing commitment to social impact and local support and actively contributing to meaningful projects close to our hearts.

Commitment to Ethical Practices


Our recruitment processes are founded on principles of transparency and integrity. We ensure that our practices are fair and unbiased with our environmental commitments including joining the SME Climate Hub, signing the Climate Pledge, setting Science-Based Targets by December 2024, working to achieve ISO14001 Certification by December 2025 and Carbon Neutral Status by December 2027.

This commitment to ethical recruitment helps build trust and strengthens our relationships with all parties, whilst finding the best match for both candidates and clients.

Fostering an Inclusive and Supportive Workplace

We are proud to champion diversity and inclusion within our workplace. At Advance TRS, we value a diverse range of perspectives and backgrounds, which enriches our team and enhances our service delivery, as well as striving to promote a culture of inclusivity where every employee feels respected and empowered to contribute their best.

We support initiatives like Women in Rail and ensure our job advertisements are carefully worded to avoid any bias using smart tools such as the Gender Bias Decoder. Additionally, our comprehensive training programmes and partnerships with local educational centres, such as offering work placements and apprenticeships, help develop the next generation of professionals.

Supporting the wellbeing of our employees is a priority for us. We provide a range of benefits and support mechanisms to ensure a healthy work-life balance, professional development, and career growth. By investing in our people, we create a positive and motivating work environment that attracts and retains top talent.

Why Advance TRS

Our commitment to social value and ethical practices makes us a preferred employer for those who share our values. We attract individuals who are passionate about making a difference and who want to work for a company that leads by example.

Our focus on ethical practices and community engagement enhances our reputation and builds trust with clients, candidates, and the wider community. This trust is integral to our continued success and our ability to attract high-quality talent who are aligned with our values.

Join Us

If you’re looking to join a company that prioritises social responsibility and makes a meaningful impact, explore the opportunities available on our website and become part of a team that is dedicated to making a difference!

At Advance TRS, good governance is fundamental to maintaining our reputation as a trusted partner and expert collaborator in recruitment. It’s not just about compliance with rules and regulations—it’s about setting a standard of excellence that permeates every aspect of our business, from client interactions to candidate placements. 

The Role of Our Management Board 

Our management board plays a pivotal role in upholding these high standards, overseeing the strategic direction and ensuring that our operations remain aligned with our core values of integrity, reliability, and collaboration. This top-level leadership ensures that our consultative and solution-driven approach consistently meets the expectations of both our clients and candidates. 

By closely monitoring industry trends, regulatory updates, and the specific needs of our key infrastructure markets—such as energy, rail, and construction—the board ensures we remain at the forefront of the recruitment industry, continually delivering high-quality solutions. 

Meet the management board

Legal Compliance: Protecting Our Clients and Candidates 

As specialists in recruitment across highly regulated sectors, legal compliance is essential to our operations. We diligently adhere to all relevant legislation, ensuring that every placement, contract, and engagement is conducted in line with industry standards and employment laws. 

From data protection to contractual obligations, our commitment to legal compliance reassures both our clients and candidates that they are partnering with a consultancy that prioritises transparency, fairness, and ethical conduct at every stage. 

Advance TRS’ Corporate Social Responsibility

Governance Across Key Infrastructure Markets 

Operating across built environment sectors, we understand the complexities and challenges each one brings. Our governance framework ensures that we manage our resources effectively, deliver consistent results, and maintain strong relationships with clients by tailoring our recruitment solutions to their specific needs. 

With a team characterised by our in-depth sector knowledge and a collaborative approach, Advance TRS remains committed to providing a high level of governance that matches the high standards required by the industries we serve. Our recruitment solutions—from permanent hires to managed services—are designed to not only meet but exceed expectations, supported by robust oversight from our leadership team. 

Good governance at Advance TRS is about ensuring accountability, quality, and consistency in everything we do. It’s how we deliver exceptional results, time after time. 

Learn more about our governance practices and join a company with high standards, get in touch here. 

After an incredible 13 years of growth and impact at Advance TRS, it’s a time to reflect on our achievements, partnerships, and the positive impact we’ve made within the built environment sector. Our journey has been characterised by growth, driven by our commitment to integrity, quality, and loyalty. 

Our Journey of Growth

Over the years, Advance TRS has connected top talent with leading companies across various sectors within the built environment. We have expanded our services to deliver on major recruitment programmes, ensuring that projects are staffed with highly skilled professionals. Our dedication to exceeding expectations has been at the core of our operations, allowing us to push boundaries in the recruitment industry. 

Our Timeline:

2011 – Advance Training & Recruitment Services founded by Andy Ridout 2015 - Advance TRS achieve ISO 19001 and OHSAS 18001 certification after a rigorous audit process. 2016 - Advance TRS win both the High Growth and Overall Winner awards at the 2016 SME Surrey Business Awards. 2017 - Paul Metcalfe joins Advance TRS as Non-Executive Director. Advance Training & Recruitment Services re-branded as Advance TRS. Along with the re-brand, Advance TRS unveiled a new corporate identity and website reflecting the new brand. 2018 - Rob Kelly joins Advance TRS and opens the South Coast Office in Port Solent. 2020 - Advance TRS confirmed as RPO delivery partner for Alstom on CP6 works across the UK. 2021 - Advance TRS launch the first Advance TRS Golf Day for Rail Aid! Raising over £15,000 for Railway Children Advance TRS open a new office in London 2024 – Advance TRS group launch a new company – CITILINE with Ben Shayegan specialising in Telecoms M&E recruitment.

Building Strong Partnerships

Our success is built on the strength of the relationships we’ve forged with clients and candidates alike. We have worked closely with leading companies, ensuring that they find the right talent to meet their project needs.  

At the same time, we have remained committed to supporting our candidates in achieving their career aspirations, and creating a mutually beneficial environment for all parties involved. 

Find out more about our exclusive partnership with Alstom

Giving Back to the Community

At Advance TRS, we believe in the importance of giving back. Over the years, we have raised over £100,000 for charities such as Railway Children, Rail Aid, and Macmillan. Our team has embraced challenges like Tough Mudders, demonstrating our commitment to making a difference in the community while pushing ourselves to new limits. 

View our latest charity fundraising activities (Dragonboat race) 

Looking Ahead

As we celebrate this milestone, we look forward to the future with excitement. The built environment sector continues to evolve, and we are ready to adapt and seize new opportunities. Our focus will remain on delivering high-quality recruitment solutions while maintaining the integrity and commitment that has already defined our journey to date. 

View our latest opportunities to join the team

Learn more about the Advance TRS Group

Thank You

This success would not have been possible without the dedication of our incredible team and the trust of our clients, contractors and candidates. Together, we have navigated challenges, celebrated successes, and built lasting relationships that will continue to fuel our growth. 

As we move forward, we remain committed to making a lasting impact in the built environment and our community. Here’s to more milestones and continued success at Advance TRS! 

At Advance TRS, we believe that the key to our success lies in the growth and development of our employees. Our commitment to professional development is woven into the fabric of our culture, ensuring that every team member has the opportunity to thrive and reach their full potential. 

Learning and Development 

Our approach to training is always tailored to meet diverse needs, offering learning and development pathways that are designed to support your career aspirations and help you excel in your role. Whether you’re looking to enhance your leadership skills, gain new qualifications, or deepen your industry knowledge, we are committed to providing the tools and resources you need. 

Support for Well-being and Professional Growth 

At Advance TRS, we understand that well-being is a crucial aspect of professional success. We offer a dedicated wellness hour each week and support from our on-site mental health first aiders to help you maintain a healthy work-life balance!  

Rewards and Recognition 

We believe in recognising and rewarding hard work. Beyond a competitive salary and uncapped commission for sales roles, we offer a range of benefits designed to support and incentivise our employees such as bonuses, days and nights out, vouchers and company trips. 

Our employees enjoy a variety of perks, including savings on top brands, gym memberships, and technology. We also encourage participation in charity fundraising activities, allowing you to give back to the community while developing new skills. 

Career Milestones and Team Building 

Celebrating achievements is a big part of our culture here at Advance TRS. We reward top performers with overseas incentive trips and provide opportunities for team building through quarterly conferences and social events. These experiences not only enhance our team members professional growth but also build strong team connections! 

Commitment to Excellence 

We are dedicated to maintaining high standards and best practices across all areas of the business. Our dedication to quality has been recognised through numerous industry awards, including being named the Overall Winner at the SME Surrey Awards. These accolades are a testament to our commitment to excellence in service and employee experience. 

Join Us 

At Advance TRS, we are committed to empowering you to grow and succeed! If you’re looking for an environment where your professional development is a priority, we invite you to explore opportunities with us. Advance your career with us—check out our available opportunities, here. 

As we slowly but surely approach the end of 2024, the engineering landscape is continuing to evolve rapidly, driven by advancements in technology, increasing sustainability goals, and the ongoing need for innovation.

Employers are on the lookout for engineers who not only possess technical expertise but also understand the latest industry trends. If you’re an engineer looking to stay competitive, these are the in-demand skills and certifications to focus on.

1. Automation & Robotics

With more and more industries relying on automation – skills in robotics, AI, and machine learning are becoming an increasingly high demand. Engineers who can design, programme, and maintain automated systems will be extremely sought-after across sectors like automotive, aerospace, and healthcare.

2. Sustainability & Green Engineering

The global push towards sustainability is changing how industries approach production and energy use. Engineers with a background in sustainable design, renewable energy systems, and environmental impact assessments will find themselves in high demand.

3. Cybersecurity

With the increasing adoption of smart technologies and the Internet of Things (IoT), cybersecurity has become critical. Engineers who can design secure systems or identify and fix vulnerabilities will be highly valued, especially in fields like civil, electrical, and software engineering.

4. Data Analysis & Big Data

Data is the backbone of modern engineering – from predicting equipment failures to optimising production processes. Engineers with strong data analysis skills, particularly those experienced with big data tools like Hadoop and Spark are becoming vital for many employers.

5. Cloud Computing & Edge Computing

Cloud and Edge Computing are increasingly important as more engineering tasks are reliant on data storage, processing power, and real-time insights. Engineers with knowledge of cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud, along with edge computing frameworks, will be valuable assets.

Certifications to Boost Your Engineering Career

In today’s competitive job market, certifications are an excellent way to demonstrate your expertise and stand out to employers. Specialised certifications not only showcase your technical skills but also prove your commitment on keeping up to date with the latest industry standards. Engineers looking to enhance their career prospects should consider certifications such as:

  • Certified Automation Professional (CAP) for automation and robotics
  • Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for sustainable engineering
  • Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) or Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) for cybersecurity
  • Certified Analytics Professional (CAP) for data analysis
  • AWS Certified Solutions Architect or Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert for cloud computing

Whether you’re pursuing automation, sustainability, cybersecurity, or data analysis, the right certification can position you as an expert in your field, making you a top candidate for emerging roles in 2025.

5 Signs It’s Time to Change Engineering Jobs – Advance TRS

Staying Ahead in 2025

Engineering roles are growing exponentially, and staying current with the latest technical skills, certifications, and trends will ensure you remain competitive in this fast-paced industry.

Ready to level up your engineering career?

At Advance TRS, we specialise in connecting talented engineers with employers who value innovation and expertise. Visit our website to explore exciting opportunities that match your skills!

How to Maximise Your LinkedIn Profile

Crafting a Standout CV | Engineering Career Advice | Advance TRS

Are you interested in a career in cyber?

Sam Riley is your specialist recruiter for all things digital engineering within the Rail, Defence, Aviation, and other Public Sectors. Connect with him on LinkedIn, here.

At Advance TRS, our culture & core values aren’t just guidelines – we believe in them, and we recognise each of them in the way we act both with each other and with those we support.

Building Trust Through Integrity

For us, integrity is more than just a buzzword – it’s our promise. We commit to delivering only what we know we can achieve and take pride in being honest in every interaction. Whether we’re working with clients or supporting colleagues, transparency is key to building trust.

We know that challenges arise, but we face them head-on with openness, giving realistic timelines and asking for help when needed. This culture of honesty drives our strong relationships both inside and outside the company.

Dedication to Quality and Strong Connections

We believe quality should never be compromised, and our commitment to high standards is what sets us apart. From sourcing the best candidates to ensuring a smooth onboarding process, our dedication to excellence is consistent at every step.

Relationships are the foundation of our business. Whether it’s with clients, candidates, or colleagues, we work hard to build connections that last! This same dedication extends to how we treat each other within the team, ensuring everyone feels valued and empowered.

Teamwork and Collaboration Lead to Success

We’re strong believers that collaboration is key to achieving success. We work together—whether internally or alongside our clients—to meet shared goals. No two roles or projects are the same, so we take a tailored approach to ensure the best possible outcome for all parties.

This culture of teamwork is what drives our ability to consistently deliver the right results, ensuring that we meet both client expectations and personal development goals.

Our Values in Action

What makes Advance TRS unique is how our core values and personal qualities are intertwined to form the basis of the Advance TRS DNA we look for in every recruit:

DRIVEN, HARD-WORKING, FOCUSED, AMBITIOUS, OPTIMISTIC, SELF-MOTIVATED, PERSISTENT, CARING, FUN, COMMITTED  

These traits, alongside our core values of Integrity, Loyalty, Quality, Commitment, and Honesty, create an environment where success thrives, both for the business and for our employees. It’s a place where you can grow, challenge yourself, and be supported every step of the way.

Why Choose Us?

We don’t just talk about our values—we live them every day. Our ability to align these principles with our performance ensures that we’re not only delivering outstanding service to our clients but also fostering a workplace where everyone can thrive.

Want to work for a values-driven organisation? Explore the job opportunities we have available, here.

Transitioning from a sales role to recruitment is a great way to expand your skill set, translating your already established skills into a new career where you can maximise your earning potential! 

Core skills from a career in sales include relationship building, negotiation, and client management, all of which are incredibly valuable and go hand in hand with a career in recruitment. 

Here’s how your expertise in these areas can set you up for success in a recruitment role. 

Relationship Building: A Key to Success

The importance of building and nurturing relationships in sales is essential to establishing trust and rapport – a skill that is equally crucial in recruitment. Whether you’re working with candidates or clients, by developing a relationship and engaging with customers in sales, you gain a deep understanding of their needs, career aspirations, and motivations.

Similarly, in a recruitment setting – a strong relationship with clients helps you understand their business needs, culture, and the role they are looking for.

Your ability to connect with people and maintain these relationships will enable you to create a network of talent and opportunities.

Client Management: From Customers to Hiring Managers

One thing most sales professionals can say with confidence is they are good at managing client expectations and delivering promises! In recruitment, client management takes on a similar form but rather with a focus on hiring managers and HR teams.

By having experience in handling client accounts, understanding their requirements, and the ability to deliver results – you’ll have skills that are invaluable in recruitment, finding that managing the expectations of clients and candidates requires the same level of attention, communication, and follow-through.

Negotiation: Finding the best fit

At the heart of both sales and recruitment is negotiation. In sales, you negotiate deals and prices, whereas, in recruitment, you’d negotiate job offers, salaries, and terms with candidates and clients.

Your ability to find a mutually beneficial agreement is crucial in ensuring that both parties are satisfied – a skill that is particularly important when it comes to closing deals and ensuring that you place the right candidate in the perfect role!

Making the Transition

Having the ability to build relationships, manage clients, and negotiate effectively will not only help you in a new role but also differentiate you as a recruiter who understands the nuances of client and candidate management from a sales perspective.

Rest assured, if you’re contemplating a move from sales to recruitment – your skills are a major asset. Ready to transfer your sales skills to recruitment? Explore our open roles and make the switch!

At Advance TRS, we specialise in a Payroll Outsourcing service that caters to the specific requirements of the engineering industry. We ensure full compliance with industry standards such as IR35 and are proud to hold RISQS approval and Sentinel Sponsor status.  

Our efficient processes allow businesses to onboard and manage contract workers with ease – ensuring that your contract workforce remains operational, compliant, and secure.  

So, what can you expect from our Payroll Outsourcing? 

Our Payroll Outsourcing services are designed with flexibility and reliability in mind. We manage all the critical aspects of payroll, from contract and tax compliance to accurate processing and timely payments. Our team takes care of everything from the paperwork and background checks to onboarding contractors seamlessly into your project. 

We are committed to providing tailored solutions, whether you need payroll processing weekly, fortnightly, or monthly – we can adapt our services to suit your preferences and meet your specific needs. And with quality at the heart of everything we do, we guarantee accuracy in every payroll run through our rigorous quality assurance processes, while staying fully compliant with all relevant regulations in a timely manner. 

At the core of our service is a transparent and open communication process. We keep clients and contractors informed every step of the way, providing regular updates and reports on payroll activities – ensuring complete visibility and fostering trust between all parties. 

Focus on Customer Care

Customer care is also a top priority – at Advance TRS, we pride ourselves on the exceptional support provided by our dedicated payroll team, allowing clients and contractors to receive the highest level of care.   

From onboarding to payroll processing, our team are always on hand to resolve issues quickly, ensuring a smooth and transparent experience from start to finish – being key elements to our service.  

By continuously reviewing our processes and incorporating feedback, we stay ahead of the curve to meet and exceed expectations, allowing our clients to focus on their core business while we take care of the payroll needs, reliably! 

Here’s is just some of the excellent feedback that our payroll team have received from satisfied clients and contractors: 

  • “You really do make this a breeze; I do appreciate your efficiency.” 
  •  “A million thanks for processing quickly the Time Sheets despite the delay from our team.” 

Feedback

We value your feedback, as it plays a crucial role in helping us improve our Payroll Outsourcing practices. By incorporating your suggestions, we can implement enhancements that ensure we continue to deliver the best possible service we can. 

Have you worked with our payroll team? Let us know how we’re doing by rating your experience with our team.  

National Payroll Week is a week of appreciating the dedicated teams behind payroll and the vital role they play in the smooth operations of the business. But what do the payroll team do exactly?

Let’s go behind the scenes and delve into the intricacies of each of the Advance TRS payroll teams’ roles and the services that they offer.

What payroll services do Advance TRS offer?

Our team often refers to themselves as like ‘2 sides of the same coin’ – there is the payroll side and then the billing (invoicing) side, with both functions relying on each other to work.

The Advance TRS payroll team take care of the payroll for both Advance TRS and our sister company CITILINE – from contractor onboarding to looking after client accounts and credit control.

Each team member plays an important role in making this as seamless as possible for candidates, contractors and clients. So, what roles do each of our payroll team members play?

Esta Stollard-Taylor, Payroll Executive

Esta Stollard-Taylor National Payroll Week

Responsible for processing weekly payroll for contractors, Esta ensures payments are accurately made to their preferred method (limited company, umbrella company, or directly). Esta plays a crucial role in onboarding new contractors, ensuring they have everything they need for timely and efficient payment processing. When it comes to any payment-related queries, Esta is the person to go to! Her main focus is providing the most seamless, positive and best experience to contractors from start to finish of their assignments.

Michelle Marsh, Accounts & Credit Control Manager

Michelle Marsh National Payroll Week

Often referred to by the team as PAC MAN (Payroll, Accounts, Credit Control Manager), Michelle acts as a crucial intermediary between payroll, accounts and credit control. With extensive knowledge of the accounting systems used, Michelle provides invaluable support and expertise to the team and is currently responsible for processing payments for CILTILINE’s contractors, whilst training Jade, our new Payroll Supervisor to take over in the coming months. She also processes various reports that are essential for the overall operations of the business.

Jade Freer, Payroll Supervisor

Jade Freer National Payroll Week

Lastly, our newest member of the Advance TRS payroll team, Jade, who is currently undertaking training with Michelle to take over the payroll processing and invoicing of both CITILINE and Advance TRS. Jade’s focus will be on providing our clients with an excellent experience with our accounts team.

Give your feedback this National Payroll Week!

The positive feedback we receive from our contractors is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our payroll team. One contractor recently expressed gratitude for our team’s ‘little smiley replies’ that brighten their week.

This kind of feedback is what motivates us to continue providing an exceptional service and we’d love to hear from you if you have feedback for our payroll team.

Join us

We’re always searching for new talent to join our team. To learn more about these exciting opportunities, visit our Work for Us page.  

In today’s competitive job market, traditional methods of job hunting are no longer sufficient. To stay ahead, job seekers must embrace digital tools and strategic networking to uncover hidden opportunities that may not be advertised on conventional job boards. Here’s how you can leverage digital networking effectively to enhance your job search:

1. Optimise Your LinkedIn Profile

LinkedIn remains a cornerstone for professional networking and job searching. To maximise its potential:

  • Complete Your Profile: Ensure your profile is comprehensive and up-to-date. Include a professional photo, a compelling headline, and a detailed summary of your skills and experiences.
  • Highlight Achievements: Showcase key achievements and relevant skills that align with your career goals and target industries, such as rail, water & environment, or energy & renewables.
  • Join Industry Groups: Engage with industry-specific groups and communities to expand your network. Participate in discussions, share insights, and connect with professionals who can offer valuable advice or job leads.

Connect with Advance TRS on LinkedIn.

2. Attend Virtual Events and Webinars

In the era of remote work and virtual connectivity, attending online events is an excellent way to stay informed and network effectively:

  • Participate Actively: Register for virtual industry events, webinars, and conferences related to engineering and your specific job sectors. These events provide opportunities to learn about industry trends, advancements, and potential job openings.
  • Network Virtually: Take advantage of networking sessions during these events to connect with industry professionals, recruiters, and potential employers. Engage in conversations, ask questions, and exchange contact information to nurture valuable connections.

3. Network Strategically

Effective networking goes beyond online platforms—it involves building meaningful relationships:

  • Reach Out to Contacts: Leverage your existing network of alumni, colleagues, and industry contacts for informational interviews or casual coffee chats. These interactions can provide insights into company cultures, job roles, and potential opportunities.
  • Seek Referrals: Networking often leads to referrals for job openings that may not be publicly advertised. Building rapport with professionals in your industry increases your chances of receiving recommendations for suitable positions.

4. Utilise Job Search Engines and Niche Websites

While general job boards are useful, niche websites and specialised job search engines offer targeted opportunities:

  • Explore Niche Websites: Look for specialised job boards focusing on engineering sectors like rail, water & environment, bridges & highways, and more. These platforms often feature industry-specific vacancies that match your skills and interests.
  • Set Up Alerts: Create alerts on job search engines and niche websites to receive notifications about new job postings relevant to your expertise. This proactive approach ensures you stay informed about potential opportunities as soon as they become available.

Register to receive the latest jobs straight to your inbox.

View our latest jobs and opportunities on the Advance TRS job board.

At Advance TRS, we understand the importance of digital networking in today’s job market. Explore our comprehensive resources and expert guidance to support your career advancement in rail, water & environment, energy & renewables, and beyond. Connect with us today to discover how we can empower you to seize hidden opportunities and achieve your professional goals.

The Benefits of Working with a Recruitment Agency: A Guide for Technical Professionals

Technical Job Interview Success Strategies

Nurturing Careers, Securing Success: Our Candidate Care Package

In today’s digital landscape, leveraging online platforms and networking strategically is essential for uncovering hidden job opportunities and advancing your career in engineering and specialised sectors. By optimising your LinkedIn profile, participating in virtual events, strategically networking with industry professionals, and exploring niche job boards, you can significantly enhance your job search effectiveness. At Advance TRS, we understand the importance of digital networking in today’s job market.

Explore our comprehensive resources and expert guidance to support your career advancement in rail, water & environment, energy & renewables, and beyond. Connect with us today to discover how we can empower you to seize hidden opportunities and achieve your professional goals.

Ready to take the next step in your career? Contact Advance TRS today and let us help you navigate the digital landscape with confidence.

Your CV is more than just a document—it’s your first opportunity to make a lasting impression on recruiters and hiring managers. Tailoring your CV specifically for engineering and specialised sectors such as rail, water & environment, bridges & highways, energy & renewables, buildings & groundwork, or aviation is crucial to showcasing your relevant skills and experiences effectively. Here’s how you can craft a standout CV that sets you apart:

1. Highlight Relevant Skills and Keywords

In the competitive field of engineering and specialised sectors, recruiters often look for specific technical proficiencies, certifications, and project experiences. To ensure your CV catches their attention:

  • Identify Key Skills: Review job descriptions of positions you’re targeting to identify the essential skills and qualifications. These could include software proficiencies, technical expertise (e.g., CAD software, project management tools), and industry-specific knowledge.
  • Incorporate Keywords: Integrate these identified skills and keywords throughout your CV, especially in your summary, skills section, and experience descriptions. This not only aligns your CV with the job requirements but also helps with applicant tracking systems (ATS) that scan CVs for relevant keywords.

2. Quantify Achievements

Numbers and metrics speak volumes in demonstrating your impact and achievements. When describing your work experiences:

  • Use Concrete Examples: Quantify your achievements with specific numbers and metrics wherever possible. For instance, highlight cost savings achieved through process improvements, percentage reductions in project timelines, or increases in efficiency and productivity.
  • Showcase Results: Illustrate how your contributions positively impacted previous employers or projects. Whether it’s completing projects under budget, exceeding performance targets, or successfully implementing solutions, quantify these achievements to substantiate your capabilities.

3. Customise for Each Application

Resist the urge to use a generic CV for multiple job applications. Instead:

  • Tailor Your CV: Customise your CV for each job application by emphasising skills, experiences, and achievements most relevant to the specific role and company. This tailored approach demonstrates your genuine interest and alignment with the employer’s needs.
  • Highlight Relevant Experience: Prioritise and showcase experiences that directly relate to the job requirements and industry focus. This targeted approach helps recruiters quickly see your suitability for the position.

4. Professional Summary

At the top of your CV, include a concise professional summary that serves as your elevator pitch:

  • Highlight Your Career Goals: Briefly outline your career objectives and aspirations within the engineering or specialised sectors. This helps recruiters understand your motivations and career trajectory.
  • Key Qualifications: Summarise your key qualifications, including your most relevant skills, certifications, and years of experience. This section provides a snapshot of your strengths and capabilities right from the start.

At Advance TRS, our recruitment consultants are dedicated to helping you navigate the competitive job market with confidence. When you partner with an Advance TRS consultant, you gain access to expert guidance tailored to enhance your CV and maximize your job search success. Our consultants offer personalized support in identifying and highlighting your key skills, certifications, and industry-specific experience relevant to sectors such as rail, water & environment, bridges & highways, energy & renewables, buildings & groundwork, and aviation.

They provide valuable insights into current industry trends and employer expectations, ensuring your CV stands out to recruiters and hiring managers. Moreover, working with a recruitment consultant at Advance TRS means you benefit from our extensive network of industry contacts and exclusive job opportunities. Whether you’re seeking career advice, interview preparation, or targeted job placements, our consultants are committed to empowering you throughout your professional journey. Partner with Advance TRS today and let us help you achieve your career goals with confidence and expertise.

The Benefits of Working with a Recruitment Agency: A Guide for Technical Professionals

Technical Job Interview Success Strategies

Nurturing Careers, Securing Success: Our Candidate Care Package

Crafting a standout CV tailored for engineering and specialised sectors requires a strategic approach that aligns your skills and experiences with the specific demands of the industry. By highlighting relevant skills, quantifying achievements, customising for each application, and including a compelling professional summary, you can significantly increase your chances of securing interviews and advancing your career goals.

At Advance TRS, we understand the importance of a well-crafted CV in achieving career success. Explore our comprehensive resources and upskilling programs designed to support engineering professionals across rail, water & environment, bridges & highways, energy & renewables, buildings & groundworks and aviation, and more. Let us empower you to stand out in your job search journey and reach new heights in your career.

Follow us on LinkedIn and view our latest roles and opportunities.

Connect with us today to learn more about how we can help you craft a CV that makes a powerful impact.

The Advance TRS team, including members Jake, Sam, Mike, Sissy, Lauren, Simon, Rob, Charlie, Alex, and Jake J, is preparing for the WaterAid Dragon Boat Race on 11th July. This exciting event aims to raise awareness and funds for WaterAid’s mission to provide clean water and hygiene education to those in need. 

“Signing up for dragon boat race seemed like a great way to challenge myself, work in a team and raise money for an important cause”  

Mike Buttler Recruitment Consultant 

About the event  

Dragon boat racing is a traditional Chinese sport that dates back over 2,000 years and is now one of the fastest-growing corporate sports in the UK. The WaterAid Dragon Boat Race is an exciting event that combines the thrill of competition with the mission of improving global access to clean water. Teams from various organizations come together to paddle towards victory while raising funds for WaterAid. These funds are crucial in supporting sustainable water projects and educating communities on hygiene practices. 

How you can support  

  1. Donate: Contribute to their fundraising efforts. Every donation, big or small, brings WaterAid closer to achieving its goals.  
  1. Spread the word: Share their mission on social media to help raise awareness about the global water crisis and the importance of clean water and sanitation.  
  1. Cheer them on: Join the event on 11th July to support the Advance TRS team.  

WaterAid  

WaterAid is dedicated to addressing the global water crisis. Currently 771 million people lack access to clean water close to home, impacting education, livelihoods, and health. Supporting WaterAid through events like the Dragon Boat Race can transform lives and communities by providing essential water and hygiene solutions. Together, we can ensure that everyone has access to clean water, creating a healthier future for all.. Read more about the charity here  

Advance TRS 

At Advance TRS, our commitment to personal challenge and community support Is at the heart of our company. Under the leadership of our Founder and Managing Director, Andy, we have embraced fundraising as a core principle, raising over £85.000 for impactful charities like Railway Children and Action for Children.  

We are actively seeking new team members! Visit our “Work for Us” page to explore the exciting opportunities we currently have available.  

Join us in supporting the Advance TRS team at the WaterAid Dragon Boat Race and contribute to a cause that brings clean water and hope to millions around the world. 

Navigating the job market as a technical professional can be challenging, whether you’re a seasoned engineer or just starting your career in the technical field. Recruitment agencies offer a unique set of advantages that can streamline your job search and provide valuable support throughout the process. At Advance TRS, we understand the specific needs of technical professionals, and our tailored recruitment services can help you find your ideal role. Here’s why working with a recruitment agency can be a game-changer for your career.

1. Expert Insights into the Recruitment Process

Recruitment agencies like Advance TRS have a deep understanding of the hiring landscape in various technical industries. Our consultants are experts in their fields and can guide you through every step of the recruitment process. From resume preparation to interview coaching, we offer personalised advice to help you stand out to potential employers. With our expertise, you’ll be better equipped to navigate the complexities of the job search.

2. Access to Exclusive Job Opportunities

One of the most significant benefits of working with a recruitment agency is access to a broader range of job opportunities. Agencies often have established relationships with leading companies and receive job openings that may not be publicly advertised. This gives you an edge in finding unique positions that match your skills and career aspirations. Whether you’re seeking contract work, permanent placements, or executive roles, a recruitment agency can connect you with positions you might not find on your own.

Find out more about our exclusive partnership with Alstom.

3. Tailored Career Guidance

Recruitment agencies offer more than just job placements; they provide ongoing career guidance to help you achieve your professional goals. At Advance TRS, our consultants take the time to understand your career aspirations and work with you to identify suitable opportunities. We offer support in developing your career path, identifying areas for skill enhancement, and providing feedback for continuous improvement. Our goal is to help you build a successful and fulfilling career.

Check out some of our advice articles:

4. Streamlined Job Matching

Recruitment agencies use advanced tools and technology to match candidates with suitable job openings. This means you spend less time searching for roles and more time preparing for interviews and honing your skills. Our streamlined job matching process ensures that you receive relevant job offers that align with your experience, qualifications, and career goals.

5. Reduced Stress and Time Savings

Searching for a job can be time-consuming and stressful. Working with a recruitment agency can alleviate this burden by handling much of the job search process on your behalf. At Advance TRS, we manage job applications, interview scheduling, and offer negotiations, allowing you to focus on preparing for your new role. This level of support can significantly reduce stress and save you valuable time.

Experience the Advance TRS Difference

If you’re a technical professional looking for your next career move, Advance TRS is here to help. Our team of experienced consultants specializes in technical recruitment and is dedicated to helping you find the perfect role.

Contact us today to learn more about our services and how we can support your career journey.

Follow us on LinkedIn for more career advice and opportunities.

In the fast-paced and competitive world of technical job interviews, preparation is key to success. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting your career journey, mastering the art of interviewing can significantly impact your chances of landing that dream role. At Advance TRS, our consultants guide candidates through the hiring process including custom interview preparation to help you put your best foot forward.

We understand the unique challenges that technical job seekers face, which is why we’ve compiled expert advice to help you navigate the interview process with confidence.

1. Do your Research

Before stepping foot into the interview room, it’s crucial to thoroughly research the company, its culture, and the specific role you’re applying for. Understanding the company’s mission, values, and recent projects not only demonstrates your interest but also allows you to tailor your responses to align with the organisation’s objectives.

Our consultants will work with you to ensure you have a strong understanding of the company’s culture, work pipeline, opportunities, and team dynamics so you can be fully prepared and ensure you have all the information you need to help find the best role for you.

2. Showcase Your Technical Skills

In technical job interviews, employers are keen to assess your proficiency in relevant tools, languages, and technologies. Be prepared to discuss your experience in detail, highlighting specific projects or accomplishments that demonstrate your expertise. Consider providing concrete examples of how you’ve overcome technical challenges or implemented innovative solutions in previous roles.

Use the STAR technique to answer competency-based questions. The STAR technique involves 4 main areas to cover – Situation, Task, Approach, and Results. Using these steps together can help you create the perfect response for any competency-based question given.

3. Soft Skills & Culture Fit

In addition to assessing technical competencies, many employers incorporate behavioural questions to evaluate soft skills such as communication, problem-solving, and teamwork. All this helps to build a picture of how you will fit with the team and business culture. Prepare compelling anecdotes that showcase your ability to handle difficult situations, collaborate effectively with colleagues, and adapt to changing circumstances. Again, the STAR technique can be an effective method to structure your responses clearly and concisely.

4. Practice, Practice, Practice

Practice makes perfect, especially when it comes to technical job interviews. Take advantage of mock interviews, either with a trusted friend or with one of our consultants, to simulate real-life scenarios and receive constructive feedback. Focus on refining your communication style, body language, and ability to articulate your thoughts clearly under pressure.

5. Ask Thoughtful Questions

Toward the end of the interview, you’ll likely have the opportunity to ask questions of your own. Seize this moment to demonstrate your genuine interest in the role and the company by posing thoughtful and insightful inquiries. Consider asking about the team dynamics, potential growth opportunities, or upcoming projects to gain a deeper understanding of what it’s like to work for the organisation.

By implementing these success strategies in your technical job interviews, you’ll be well-equipped to impress prospective employers and secure your next technical role. Remember, preparation, confidence, and authenticity are the cornerstones of a successful interview. At Advance TRS, we’re committed to supporting you throughout your job search journey, providing valuable resources, guidance, and opportunities to help you achieve your career goals.

Ready to take the next step in your technical career? Contact Advance TRS today to explore exciting job opportunities and receive personalised support from our experienced recruitment team.

In the dynamic world of technical recruitment within the built environment, industry professionals often encounter unique challenges that require innovative solutions. Navigating the complexities of identifying, attracting, and retaining top-tier technical talent demands a strategic approach. In this blog post, we delve into the common challenges faced in technical recruitment and explore actionable solutions to address these issues.

Talent Shortage in Specialised Areas – Foster Skills Development Initiatives and Look for Transferrable Skills

The shortage of qualified candidates in specialised technical areas can hinder recruitment efforts. To overcome this challenge, companies can invest in skills development initiatives. Collaborate with educational institutions, offer training programs, and support certifications to build a pipeline of skilled professionals.

At Advance TRS, when collaborating with clients on specialised and underrepresented skill sets, our approach involves a consultative partnership with both the hiring community and HR teams. We aim to discern market constraints and challenges, offering tailored solutions that address these issues by delving into the fundamental requirements for each role. Our team engages in discussions to broaden the talent pool by exploring options such as role adjustments, balancing both soft skills and experience, identifying transferable skills, and considering talent from related industries. The goal is to cultivate a community of prospective talent by proactively addressing market dynamics and fostering inclusivity in recruitment practices.

Competing for Top Talent – Strengthen Employer Branding

Attracting the best technical talent often involves fierce competition. Strengthen your employer brand by showcasing the exciting projects your company is involved in, emphasising a positive workplace culture, and highlighting career advancement opportunities. An attractive employer brand can significantly increase the appeal of your organisation.

For our clients seeking elevated service levels, Advance TRS offers bespoke employer branding packages tailored to individual requirements. These comprehensive packages encompass a range of options, from dedicated employer mini-sites to impactful PR campaigns and meticulously planned recruitment events. Functioning as your dedicated talent partner, Advance TRS serves as your representative in the talent market, effectively showcasing your brand as an employer of choice.

Our team goes beyond the surface, investing time to comprehend your business culture, values, employee offerings, project pipeline and career development opportunities. This holistic understanding allows us to authentically represent your business, ensuring we not only meet your skill requirements but also find candidates who seamlessly align with your organisational culture.

Lengthy Recruitment Processes – Streamline and Optimise Recruitment Processes

Lengthy and cumbersome recruitment processes can deter potential candidates. Streamline and optimise your recruitment processes by utilising technology, implementing efficient applicant tracking systems, and minimising unnecessary stages. A swift and well-organised process enhances the candidate experience and increases the likelihood of securing top talent.

At Advance TRS, our commitment extends beyond connecting clients with top-tier talent – we actively support organisations in streamlining and optimising their recruitment processes. We leverage advanced technologies, implement effective applicant tracking systems, and strategically minimise unnecessary stages in the recruitment journey.

By doing so, we enhance the overall candidate experience, making the process more transparent, responsive, and engaging. Our goal is to not only attract top talent but also ensure that the recruitment process itself becomes a positive reflection of our clients’ organisations. Through these efforts, we increase the likelihood of securing the most qualified candidates, fostering a mutually beneficial relationship between our clients and the top-tier talent they seek to attract.

Find out how Advance TRS can help you overcome challenges in technical recruitment

Top of FormReady to revolutionise your technical recruitment strategy and overcome industry challenges? Explore the full spectrum of solutions offered by Advance TRS through our comprehensive client service offerings. From talent acquisition strategies to skills development initiatives, we’re dedicated to helping you navigate the intricacies of technical recruitment in the built environment.

Uncover the power of innovative solutions and strategic insights by delving into our client service offerings. Reach out to our expert team.

Chris Spurdle is our Business Development Manager, get in touch to discuss how Advance TRS can elevate your recruitment process and unlock unparalleled success in securing top-tier technical talent.

Advance TRS is a proud member of the SME Climate Hub, a global initiative that empowers small to medium sized companies to take climate action and build more resilient businesses. Through the SME Climate Hub, we commit to lowering our impact on the environment through authentic action, halving our emissions by 2030. In making the commitment, we have joined the United Nations Race to Zero campaign.

At Advance TRS Ltd., we are dedicated to making a positive impact on the environment and are committed to taking meaningful actions to address climate change. Our commitment is grounded in a set of specific goals and milestones that reflect our dedication to sustainability. By adhering to the following targets, we strive to contribute to a more sustainable future:

SME Climate Hub Membership: We have joined the SME Climate Hub, a global initiative that aligns small and medium-sized enterprises with the goals of the Paris Agreement. By doing so, we commit to actively participate in collaborative efforts to mitigate climate change and foster sustainable practices within our operations.

Signed the Climate Pledge by December 2024: By December 2024, Advance TRS Ltd. commits to signing the Climate Pledge, signaling our commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions and actively working towards a sustainable and resilient future. This pledge reinforces our dedication to environmental stewardship and aligns us with global efforts to combat climate change.

Set Science-Based Targets by December 2024: We recognize the importance of sciencebased targets in driving meaningful change. By December 2024, Advance TRS Ltd. will establish and communicate science-based targets, ensuring that our emissions reduction goals are in line with what is necessary to limit global temperature rise and contribute to a low-carbon economy.

Archived ISO14001 Certification by December 2025: Environmental management is a cornerstone of our sustainability efforts. By December 2025, we commit to achieving and maintaining ISO14001 certification, demonstrating our commitment to systematically managing our environmental impact and continuously improving our environmental performance.

Achieved Carbon Neutral Status by December 2027: We understand the urgency of addressing climate change, and by December 2027, we aspire to achieve Carbon Neutral Status. Through a combination of emissions reduction measures and offsetting initiatives, we aim to balance our carbon footprint, contributing to the global effort to stabilize and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

As members of the Supply Chain Sustainability School, we are working through online learning resources surrounding various sustainability, offsite, BIM, lean and management topics relevant to the built environment to further our company and staff knowledge. Our team are able to gain CPD points by attending training workshops, networking events or completing e-learning modules.

Find out more about our memberships, professional accreditations and certifications or our commitment to delivering our service responsibly.

In the ever-evolving landscape of the built environment, professionals face the imperative to stay ahead of the curve to remain competitive in the job market. Adapting to industry changes, embracing emerging technologies, and meeting the evolving demands of the job market are pivotal for sustained professional success. In this blog post, we’ll share valuable insights on how individuals can proactively navigate these challenges and position themselves as sought-after professionals in the dynamic built environment sector.

Embrace Continuous Learning

Remaining competitive begins with a commitment to continuous learning. In an industry marked by technological advancements and changing regulations, professionals must actively seek opportunities for skill enhancement. Attend workshops, enrol in relevant courses, and stay informed about industry developments to ensure your skill set remains current and valuable.

Stay Informed About Industry Trends

Being aware of current and emerging industry trends is crucial. Subscribe to industry publications, attend conferences, and engage with professional networks to stay informed about the latest developments. This knowledge not only enhances your professional acumen but also positions you as a forward-thinking individual who can contribute effectively to projects. Don’t forget to keep your recruitment consultant in the loop—they’re your go-to for market insights, trends, and potential opportunities. Be sure to follow Advance TRS on LinkedIn as we share the latest market news.

Adapt to Emerging Technologies

The built environment is increasingly shaped by technological innovations. Stay abreast of advancements such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and sustainable construction practices. Acquiring proficiency in these technologies enhances your versatility and makes you an attractive candidate for employers seeking forward-thinking professionals.

Develop Soft Skills for Effective Collaboration

In addition to technical expertise, soft skills play a vital role in professional success. Effective communication, teamwork, and adaptability are highly valued in the built environment. Cultivate these soft skills to facilitate seamless collaboration with multidisciplinary teams, clients, and stakeholders, making you an asset in any project setting.

Diversify Your Experience

To remain competitive, consider diversifying your professional experience. Explore different sectors within the built environment, take on challenging projects, and seek roles that broaden your skill set. Diversification not only enhances your adaptability but also opens doors to diverse opportunities in the job market.

Position Yourself as a Problem Solver

Employers value professionals who can navigate challenges and find innovative solutions. Showcase your problem-solving skills by highlighting instances where you contributed to overcoming obstacles in previous roles. Being recognised as a resourceful problem solver enhances your appeal in a competitive job market, setting you up for professional success.

Create an Online Presence

In the digital age, having a strong online presence is essential. Develop a professional LinkedIn profile, participate in relevant online communities, and share your insights through blogs or articles. An active online presence increases your visibility and can attract opportunities that align with your career goals.

Seek Mentorship and Mentor Others

Mentorship is a valuable resource for career growth. Seek guidance from experienced professionals who can provide insights based on their own experiences. Additionally, consider mentoring others, as it not only contributes to the industry’s growth but also helps you solidify your own understanding of key concepts.

Remaining competitive in the evolving built environment job market requires a proactive and adaptable mindset. By embracing continuous learning, staying informed, cultivating a strong network, and leveraging technological advancements, professionals can position themselves as leaders in this dynamic industry. Stay ahead of the curve, and success in the built environment will follow suit. Advance TRS is here to empower your journey and provide unparalleled opportunities in the industry.

Explore Opportunities: Take the first step in shaping your future by exploring exciting job opportunities on our exclusive job board. Register now to access a myriad of roles that align with your skills and ambitions.

Submit Your CV: Showcase your expertise by submitting your CV. Let your qualifications speak for themselves as we match you with positions that propel your professional success to new heights.

Connect with Our Consultants: Our dedicated consultants are ready to guide you through every step of your career journey. Get in touch with them for personalised insights, industry advice, and tailored opportunities.

Stay Informed: Follow us on social media to stay informed about the latest trends, job openings, and industry insights. Connect with a community of professionals passionate about the built environment.

Katie embarked on her journey at Advance TRS half a decade ago, over the course of these five years, she has ascended the professional ladder with remarkable achievements. Demonstrating exceptional dedication Katie is now Head of Compliance and Administration.

Katie is a highly valued and key team member of our Business Services team, based at our head office in Guildford. Her exceptional skills and unwavering commitment underpin the success of her team. In her role, Katie is responsible for all contractor onboarding, registration packs, starters/finishers, contracts, contract extensions, umbrella companies, and supply chains. 

“Katie’s support and encouragement helps us achieve our goals and targets. Her compassion and drive create a warm and welcoming environment in the team”

Charlotte Tunstall – Compliance Coordinator

Our Employee Engagement Coordinator, Emilie asked Katie about some of her favorite moments from the last 5 years.

What do you enjoy about Advance TRS?

“One thing I really like about Advance TRS is the ability to make your career what you want, you get out of it what you put in. There are multiple opportunities for progression with support from the Directors to help you achieve your goals. Being part of a team with such supportive individuals has not only helped my career development but also contributed to my personal growth”.

What is your favorite memory/time at Advance TRS?

I don’t have one specific memory, but I would say that a lot of the social incentives and summer parties holds such good memories for me. Participating in celebrations for the company’s achievements such as reaching the Millionaires Club, the Advance 10-year anniversary, hitting team targets, incentives, and the lively summer party are always the best. It is always fun getting to spend time with the team and letting your hair down. Being part of a company where my colleagues aren’t just coworkers but also friends make these moments truly special.  

What is the best thing about being a manager?

The best thing about being a manager is being able to help my team with their successes. Having a team that is dedicated and committed to their roles and being able to help them realise and achieve their goals is so rewarding. 

Join us

Over the years we have consistently achieved year-on-year growth. At the core of our success is the creation of a business culture that wholeheartedly embraces and reflects the unique characters and personalities within our team. Central to this is our exceptional training program that ensures individuals at all levels receive the appropriate amount of support.  

We are constantly looking to grow. View our Work for Us page to dive deeper into who we are and what we are about.

At Advance TRS we are excited to kickstart the year with our wellness initiatives, to combat the fallout of ‘Blue January’. This is designed to encourage our employees to prioritise their mental and physical health, fostering a positive and supportive work culture.  

‘Blue January’, also known as the ‘January Blues,’ is a term used to describe the post-holiday period when people may experience a dip in mood and motivation. At Advance TRS, we view this as an opportunity to proactively support and encourage our team to set themselves up for a positive start to the year.  

Our wellness program has always been at the center of our employee experience and is the driving force behind our promoted initiatives in Blue January. These initiatives focus on helping our team to strengthen their efforts to prioritize mental health, stress management, and work-life balance.    

Why wellness matters to us.  

We recognise the significance of a workplace where mental and physical health is not just encouraged but prioritised. A positive culture around wellness empowers individuals, enhances productivity, and provides a positive workplace. 

What we do at Advance TRS 

Mental Health Awareness Week  

Every year, we use Mental Health Awareness Week as a powerful platform to raise awareness and educate. At Advance TRS, we take proactive steps to support our team’s well-being with the presence of two dedicated Mental Health first-aiders. They serve as a go-to resource for anyone within our organisation seeking advice, guidance, or simply a listening ear. Their training ensures that they can provide valuable insights, direct individuals to additional support, and create a safe space for open conversations. This commitment reflects our ongoing efforts to prioritise mental health and create a supportive environment for everyone at Advance TRS.  

Wellness Hour  

Each week, we offer staff the opportunity to embrace their wellness hour – a dedicated time to either conclude their workday an hour earlier or commence it an hour later to encourage activities that contribute positively to their mental health.  

By empowering our team to use this hour for personal well-being activities, we help them to prioritise self-care and recognise the impact it can have on overall mental health. This aligns with our commitment to a healthier work-life balance supporting a culture that values and supports the well-being of each team member.  

Available Support. 

Our Wellbeing Hub offers impartial and confident support via a 24-hour counseling helpline, with access to debt legal and child/dependent care advisors the opportunity to have a “Live Chat” with a counselor as well as a wealth of practical tips, help sheets, and stimulating reading.   

Join us  

Ready to be part of a team that values your wellbeing as much as you? Join Advance TRS where your journey is not just about building a career but nurturing a balanced life. Visit our Work for Us Page to explore the current opportunities open to you.  

As we move into the new year it is a perfect time to hit the reset button and focus on what matters both personally and professionally. Setting goals not only gives us a roadmap for the year ahead but also provides motivation.  

The recruitment industry is forever evolving. Next year provides you with the perfect opportunity to stay ahead of the curve and adapt to the changing dynamics.

Benefits of setting personal and professional goals for well-being

Promotes a healthy work-life balance.

This approach encourages you to prioritize aspects of life beyond professional achievements, striking this balance is crucial for overall wellbeing and helps prevent burnout.

Enhance emotional well-being.

Working towards and achieving personal goals provides a sense of purpose and fulfillment. This contributes to improved emotional well-being, reducing feelings of dissatisfaction. Achieving the set personal goals can lead to a more fulfilled and positive outlook.

Clarity and Focus

Setting personal goals provides clarity about what truly matters to us in life, it helps us identify our values and aspirations. This clarity helps to enhance job satisfaction and reduce stress, whereas having professional goals ensures that your efforts are focused on tasks that align with your career aspirations.

Motivation and drive

Pursuing personal goals creates a sense of motivation. As you make progress and achieve milestones, the sense of accomplishment fuels your drive to continue working towards it. Similarly accomplishing tasks and achieving career milestones enhances job satisfaction and provides a basis for ongoing success.

Personal growth

Goals push you to step outside your comfort zone promoting personal growth. As you strive to achieve new things, you learn, adapt, and develop valuable skills.

Increased happiness

Accomplishing goals, experiencing progress, and living in alignment with your values contribute to a more positive outlook on life, leading to increased happiness.

As the recruitment industry undergoes continuous evolution, the coming year presents a prime opportunity to not only adapt but to lead the change.

Join us.

At Advance TRS we understand the significance of leading the way in the ever-evolving recruitment landscape. As we step into the new year, we invite you to be part of our journey characterised by innovation, growth, and success. Join us at Advance TRS as we embark on a year of possibilities and opportunities. Your journey to success starts here.

Visit our Work For Us page here

In a night filled with anticipation and excitement. Advance TRS proudly accepted the silver award for Business of the Year (Less than 50 Employees). This achievement is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and innovation that defines our company. It was an exceptional evening celebrating the achievements alongside fellow nominees. 

In 12 years, Advance TRS has grown from a vision to a successful story of continued growth and commitment to excellence. Our path is defined by fostering a workplace culture centered on values such as quality, integrity, loyalty, honesty, and commitment. We have achieved our growth and success by having a consultative approach with our clients and building relationships based on trust and respect.  

Picture of Advance TRS with our award

At Advance TRS, we are always on the lookout for individuals who align with our values to join our dynamic team. Our consultants undergo comprehensive training, and bring extensive expertise to the table, excelling in the management of both contract workers and permanent recruitment solutions.

We offer enticing companywide incentives to attract and retain top-tier talent. Our staff benefits and rewards package includes uncapped commission, pension scheme, and life assurance. Our sales team enjoys numerous opportunities to earn additional bonuses. Whereas our Business Services department offers various avenues for rewarding the consistent hard work of its members.  

Additionally, we provide access to perks and discounts through Perk Box, offering an array of advantages such as free coffee and discounts at both high street and online shops and restaurants. Celebrating success is the foundation of our culture. We host company-wide activities and celebratory drinks to mark the achievements of targets and milestones. Check out our Work For Us page.

The Results

Congratulations to everyone involved, you can view the full list of winners here 

Join Us

Do you aspire to be part of a team that highly values its employees, placing them at the core of everything we do? Check out what job opportunities are open to you here.  

Check out our 2023 Charity Recap blog here

As 2023 draws a close, it provides us with an invaluable opportunity to reflect on the outstanding charitable events undertaken by our employees, aimed at raising funds for noble causes for organizations like Railway Children, Cancer Research, and MacMillan

At Advance TRS, our Founder and Managing Director, Andy Ridout has consistently provided support and motivation to the team, urging them to embrace personal challenges, step out of their comfort zones, and contribute to charitable causes by raising funds. This year saw our team participate in 6 charity events.

Three Peaks by Rail

In 2023 the first charity event our employees participated in was the Three Peaks by Rail. On the 15th June, the Advance team of Louise, Tom, Jake, and Sam embarked on an enduring 3-day mountain challenge. This tested various physical and mental; attributes including endurance, mental resilience, and physical fitness.

Our commitment to supporting Railway Children has been longstanding. This organization is dedicated to aiding vulnerable children living on the streets. Through our efforts, we were able to raise an impressive £4,000 for this cause.  

Pretty Muddy Challenge

In June, the women of the Guildford office participated in the “Pretty Muddy Challenge” to demonstrate their unwavering support for Cancer Research.

This event served as a significant platform to showcase their dedication and determination to effect positive change in the lives of cancer patients and their families. Upon the finish line, they not only commemorated their individual achievements but also acknowledged the collective impact of their efforts.  Our collective fundraising efforts resulted in an impressive donation of £600 to support Cancer Research.

Advance TRS Golf Day for Rail Aid

In September we had the return of our annual Golf Day for Rail Aid. This year’s golf day was at Celtic Manor. The event boosted participation from a total of 18 fourballs.

With outstanding prizes to win, complemented by a wide selection of amazing experiences in our auction. We raised a magnificent £14,000 for a great cause. Added to the previous year’s totals, we are immensely proud to announce that Advance TRS Golf Day for Rail Aid has now raised a total of £57,395 benefiting underprivileged children in the UK, Africa, and India.

Pictures of our charity events

Macmillan Coffee Morning

In October we held a coffee morning in support of Macmillan Cancer Support. This event saw a bake-off competition come to the Guildford office, with Lily taking home star baker for her exceptional blondies. This was a great opportunity to have some run and raise some money for Macmillan.

Business Fives

This November the Advance TRS team represented by the boys, has joined the 5-a-side football competition organized by Business Fives. The participation is not just about scoring goals, it is about making a meaningful impact.

They are proud to be supporting the Little Roo Neonatal Fund, a charity that holds a special place in our managing director Andy’s heart and is dedicated to providing crucial support to the Neonatal care unit at St Peter’s Hospital in Chertsey, Surrey.

Their dedication has been shown through having raised an incredible £220 for this noble cause.

Still to come this year…

Christmas Jumper Day

To conclude an extraordinary year of charity events, we are wrapping it up with a festive touch. Christmas Jumper Day. On December 14th, our entire team across all offices will be wearing their most cheerful Christmas jumpers, all in support of the wonderful cause of Save the Children.

This year we take immense pride in our remarkable contribution to numerous charitable causes, making a significant impact by raising a staggering sum of £18,855 Our dedication has left an indelible mark on the lives of those in need.

Join the team

Are you eager to be part of a business that not only thrives on success but also believes in giving back it its community? Then check out our Work for Us page now.

We are delighted to announce 3 new members to our team this month. As our business continues to expand, we recognize the crucial importance of parallel workforce development to uphold the highest standard of service delivery.

Please Welcome:

Olivia Close – Marketing Executive

Shontal Cohen – Senior Recruitment Consultant

Emilia Perrin – Compliance Coordinator

Olivia joined our Guildford team at the start of the month as our Marketing Executive. Olivia will be focused on the candidate journey, driving marketing strategy to attract, convert, and retain candidate leads. Part of Olivia’s remit will include job board management, quality control best practices, and content creation aimed at the candidate audience. Olivia has 5 years of experience working in a variety of marketing roles.

When asked what excites her about joining Advance TRS,

“From when I came in for my interview, I immediately noticed the amazing work culture they have here, from being someone that worked from home in my previous job this really excited me”.

The wonderful Shontal has joined our London office as a Senior Recruitment Consultant. Shontal mostly recruits in the Admin, Document control, office secretary/office manager type roles specifically in the Rail Infrastructure market to start. With over 10 years of experience in the recruitment industry, Shontal is a great addition to the team.

When asking her what excites her about the job

“The variety in the work that I do, this means that not one day is the same”.

Lastly, Emilia is the latest member to join our Guildford team as a Compliance Coordinator. Emilia is responsible for booking training, D&A, and medicals, sending out PPE, and chasing compliant documents for all our rail workers. Emilia has just completed her A-levels in Economics, Business, and Geography.

When asked what made her choose Advance TRS,

“As someone who has just finished my A-levels, I saw the development of growth this company offers, and the job allows me to explore different potential career paths and gain new knowledge on an area I am unsure about”.

“Straight away meeting Millie I knew she would be a great fit for Advance, she is such an engaging person and is keen to get involved. I am excited to have Millie on the team”.

Katie Walker – Compliance & Administration Manager

Join Advance TRS

Are you seeking a new opportunity to advance your career with an established growing business? We provide quality recruitment solutions in the built environment and engineering markets; we are always looking for new talent to join our team.

The annual Advance TRS Golf Day for Rail Aid returned to Celtic Manor in Wales on Tuesday 5th September.

Unlike the weather we have experienced all summer, the golfers enjoyed a delightful 30-degree sunny weather while competing for the charity. There were 18 fourballs in total, all sent out in buggies for a shotgun start at 11:00 Prizes to be won involved competitions such as Longest Drive, Beat the Pro, nearest to the pin, Driving range competition individual Stableford, and the winning Four-Ball.

The course

The Montgomerie course – A dramatic par 69 challenge designed by Ryder Cup legend Colin Montgomerie. Offering a spectacular par 69 challenge, the legendary Colin Montgomerie has called on all his Ryder Cup experience to create a course with many exciting tests of strategy.

The Evening – Speakers & Rewards

After a fantastic day of golf, everyone enjoyed a 3-course dinner, a talk from Jack from Railway Children. Jack enlightened the room with a talk about how the money helps the charity, whilst sharing some emotional stories, emphasising the need to donate and support this cause. Finally joined by guest speaker Billy Foster. Billy is one of the most recognised caddies in the world, having been on the bag for the likes of Westwood, Steve Ballesteros, Sergio Garcia, Thomas Bjorn, Darren Clarke, and even Tiger Woods.  The Yorkshireman has seen many of the players he’s caddied win titles but, up until this point, he has never experienced major glory.

Results

Longest Drive – Martin Headly

Nearest to the pin – Frank Cardona

Driving Range – Martin Headly

Individual Stableford – William Gates (41 points)

Winning Four-Ball – Atkins (Adrian Charlton, Nick Ansell, Steve Owens and Trian Bootle)

With outstanding prizes to win, complemented by a wide selection of amazing experiences in our auction. We raised a magnificent £14,000 for a great cause in Rail Aid. Added to the previous year’s totals, we are delighted that the Advance TRS Golf Day for Rail Aid has now raised a total of £57,395 for Children In need across the UK, Africa, and India.

Thank you

We would like to thank our sponsors who have made this feat possible not only this year but for the last 3 years. Thank you to MACE Dragados for joining us as a partner sponsor for all three years and to our competition sponsors, Gleeds, Atkins, and Turner & Townsend.

Thank you to our hole sponsors; Clipfine, Clemtech, Amey, Protech, BAM Nuttall, and to our prize and merchandise sponsors; Mick Schruyers, Neil Webber, Liquid Friday, Willie Mitchell, Kingsbridge, Brookson, Warren Jones, Coombes, Global Rail, Sam & Ella Gilbody, Chris Spurdle, Sean Clarke, Rob Love and Chix Shah.

Finally, thank you to Mark Thurston and Dave Ellis, without your support and energy to get this event up and running, we could never have achieved what we have.

Railway Children

Railway Children has been fighting for children alone and at risk on the street for over 25 years. During this time, they have reached more than 275,000 children in India, the UK, and East Africa.

Children run away or are forced to leave home, where they suffer poverty, violence, and neglect. They find themselves living on the streets because there is nowhere else to, and no one left to turn to. The problems they face on the streets are often even worse than those they endured at home. Every day they fight to change their story.

Rail Aid is a major fundraising initiative in support of Railway Children, the Rail industry’s charity. It was launched in direct response to the Covid-19 outbreak, which has made our work with vulnerable young people even more vital.

Advance TRS founder, Andy Ridout and a few other members of our team have completed numerous challenges such as climbing Mt Everest and Kilimanjaro, Ride Vietnam Challenge, Three Peaks By Rail 2023. These are just some of the amazing challenges we have done to raise funds for Railway Children.

Supporting charities is a core element of life at Advance TRS, Since its establishment, our staff has raised over £85,000 for charities including Railway Children and Action for Children. Taking on personal challenges and fundraising activities to advance others has been a core founding principle and staff ­­­are encouraged to support charitable causes.

Advance TRS are always looking for more people to join the team, Find out more about our latest vacancies.

With the built environment incorporating so many disciplines, skilled technical professionals are always in demand. While that makes for a fast-paced, competitive job market, it means that when the time comes to move on there is an abundance of richly diverse, rewarding and high earning opportunities ready to pursue.

But how do you know when it’s time to start job-hunting?

If you resonate with any of the points below, it’s time to revise your CV.

01 | You are no longer fulfilled

With the average person spending one third of their life at work, job satisfaction is no longer a benefit, it’s a necessity. Finding a job that fills your cup more than drains it is imperative for a healthy work-life balance.

If you lack passion, are burnt out, feel overcome with anxiety at the prospect of going to work, or have noticed yourself adopting negative thought patterns in both your professional and personal life, start looking for something new.

02 | Your values don’t align with the company’s

As businesses evolve, so do cultures. Feeling as though you no longer fit in can be an isolating experience, particularly if you have worked for a company for a long time and enjoy your job.

Look for opportunities in environments where you are more likely to thrive, for example companies which prioritise environmental sustainability if you are passionate about climate change, or can offer face-to-face working if you prefer social interaction.

03 | There is limited scope for career progression

The most successful businesses are those that recognise, value and retain talent. Ask yourself: does the company I’m working for support my professional development? Do I have regular one-to-one reviews with my line manager? Am I offered opportunities for promotion?

Demonstrating loyalty to a company carries benefits, but staying in the same position for an extended period can suggest to prospective employers that you lack ambition. If you have been in your current role for more than three years and you’ve answered no to any of the questions above, it is time to take your talent elsewhere.

04 | You are under unreasonable pressure

Stress is affecting an increasingly high proportion of UK construction workers. If you’re finding that your boundaries are being overstepped regularly or that work is taking a toll on your well-being, you need to re-evaluate.

First, make sure to prioritise healthy eating, exercise and sleep so that you are in the best frame of mind to approach the job market. Then, begin to actively search for an employer that prioritises its people and promotes a healthy work-life balance.

05 | The company isn’t operating safely or effectively

In the built environment, health and safety should be a number one priority. Colleagues taking shortcuts and leaders turning a blind eye to potentially serious hazards are indicative of a poor safety culture. Remember that your health is worth more than any job.

Watch out for signs that the company is allowing standards to slip. This could include not investing in proper equipment, not paying staff or subcontractors on time or a sharp rise in staff turnover.

Take the next step in your career with Advance TRS

At Advance TRS, we know that no two people or companies are the same. We pride ourselves on securing meaningful placements using a tailored approach to perfectly match talent with major organisations. If you’re ready to discover new opportunities within the built environment, contact us today.

A huge congratulations to Louise, Tom, Jake, and Sam, who have successfully completed the Three Peaks by Rail challenge, and what a journey it has been!

The Three Peaks by Rail challenge is an exhilarating adventure that combines the physical feat of climbing three mountains: Snowdon (1085 meters), Scarfell Pike (978 meters), and Ben Nevis (1345 meters). Their goal was not only to conquer the peaks but also to raise funds and awareness for a deserving charity. Railway Children, dedicated to supporting vulnerable children.

Louise, Tom, Jake, and Sam overcame a challenging 48 hours, demonstrating incredible determination and teamwork. The team dedicated several weeks to preparing themselves from walking up Pen y Fan, to making sure they had all the equipment needed (however last minute, Tom) and of course, getting the extra steps in on the golf course! All this preparation helped them get ready to take on their challenge.

The Challenge

On the 15th of June, the team arrived at Crewe, joining the train to travel to the first mountain, the highest peak in Wales, Snowdon. The team successfully completed the challenging task of climbing the 1,085 meters in complete darkness, with adrenaline flowing.

“This was the most enjoyable mountain,” said Louise, “as you could see a trail of head torches when you looked down the mountain as well as the enjoyment of scrambling their way back in the dark!”

Once Snowdon was completed the team re-joined the train to travel back into England to face Scarfell Pike.

On the journey, the team took the opportunity to attempt to sleep with little success. Scarfell Pike posed a unique additional challenge of a 4-mile walk from the station to the mountain before the 8-hour window to climb and descend the 978-meter mountain began.

“It was by far the hardest challenge, nothing but steep steps all the way up and, in 30 degrees heat it was hard graft – especially as they make us walk 2 hours to the bottom of the mountain from the train!”

Once the first 2 mountains were successfully completed. The team then moved on to their final challenge of Ben Nevis. The last mountain presented them with their ultimate test of climbing 1,345 meters.

Once completed they were greeted with the sound of the bagpipes as they reached the bottom of the mountain which proved an overall overwhelming experience for the whole team! Even with tired and aching bodies the team pulled through and completed the challenge, well done everyone!

We would like to thank anyone who donated to reach our end goal of £4,000. However, the challenge continues with another remaining £467 to raise for Railway Children. The team has already raised an incredible £3,553 for the children’s charity.

Show your support for their incredible effort and help them complete their final hurdle of reaching their ultimate fundraising goal.

The Team’s Final Statistics

Snowdon

Total time: 4hrs 15 mins

Scafell Pike

Total Time: 4hrs 38 mins

Ben Nevis

Total Time: 7hrs 10 mins

Railway Children

Advance TRS has been a long supporter and partner of Railway Children and the Rail Aid campaign. Railway children work to support vulnerable children who live on the streets. The organisation aims to provide protection, support, and opportunities for these children. Our staff has taken part in multiple challenges to support this charity already such as a Vietnam ride, A trek up Kilimanjaro, an Everest base camp as well as a previous Three Peaks by Rail challenge.

Find out more about how Railway Children help children in need.

Advance TRS and Alstom are delighted to announce a huge milestone achieved in our recruitment partnership as our 300th permanent starter joins the business this week, following 3 years of tremendous growth across the business!

Advance TRS are the recruitment partner for Alstom UK & Ireland’s rail recruitment programme, sourcing rail signalling management, engineering, and installation professionals. The Advance TRS and Alstom UK & Ireland partnership has placed over 300 new professionals in permanent roles across the business.

Working in a truly collaborative manner has been a vital factor in the success to date which has seen both businesses work tirelessly to attract and engage with some of the brightest and most committed individuals across the country. Whilst in the company, the opportunities have not stopped with new starters building development career paths, taking on additional responsibilities, and achieving promotions as the benefits of working for a leading global engineering firm become a reality.

Having taken a proactive approach to appoint a diverse workforce, we have seen numerous key roles being filled by candidates outside of the sector, with management driving a recruitment focus on individual skills & behaviours rather than time spent in the railways. This has led to fresh ideas, new approaches, and opportunities for people to join and excel in the industry.

But the hard work doesn’t stop here! Thanks to an enviable work bank and constantly expanding product offering, Alstom is growing further and can offer outstanding opportunities across engineering, operations, and management as we gear up for the years ahead.

Find out more about the Advance TRS recruitment partnership with Alstom.

ALSTOM IN IRELAND

Advance TRS & Alstom are recruiting Commercial, Planning, Engineering, Management, Health & Safety professionals for the Cork Area Commuter Rail (CACR) upgrade, a transformative rail improvement programme for the Cork Rail Network.

The Cork Area Commuter Rail programme is the heavy rail element of CMATS and is a transformative rail improvement programme for the Cork Rail Network. Delivering increased train capacity and frequency, providing for more connected communities and a more sustainable transport network, the project represents the largest-ever investment in the Cork Rail Network.

The programme involves developments and enhancements to the rail network from Mallow through Cork to Cobh and Midleton and will include the delivery of new rail infrastructure and electrification and re-signalling across the 3 main lines of Mallow, Cobh and Glounthaune to Midleton.

The Cork Area Commuter Rail Programme is being progressed through a number of separate but interrelated projects which will be delivered in specific work packages.

This is a fantastic opportunity to work on the Signalling and Communications Upgrade to facilitate the proposed capacity and service frequency increases across the Cork Area Commuter Rail network. The preliminary design of the project is well-advanced, and the implementation stage is starting now.

View the latest Alstom jobs in Ireland.

BUILDING A DIVERSE WORKFORCE WITH ALSTOM

A key focus for Alstom is to build a diverse and entrepreneurial workforce with inclusivity at its core. Alstom knows that employee empowerment is crucial to its success and continues to strengthen its culture by promoting diversity and entrepreneurial spirit with a fundamental commitment to integrity and high ethical business standards and practices.

This key commitment has been embraced and mirrored by Advance TRS, working together to establish a non-discriminative recruitment process to ensure a diverse candidate pool is available, and promoting opportunities for under-represented communities. At Advance TRS, we believe everyone deserves the same opportunities, and that the diversity of the workforce is an essential part of success. We are committed to supporting clients to build work environments that are free from discrimination and promote equal opportunities for all.

View the latest Alstom Jobs.

QUALITY CANDIDATE CARE

At Advance TRS providing a premium quality service to candidates and clients alike is a core founding principle and forms the backbone of how we approach our work.

We pride ourselves on our exceptional level of customer service and seek to create long-lasting and dependable relationships. Advance TRS support candidates throughout the entire process from initial contact and interview, through to remuneration negotiations and onboarding.

ALSTOM PRIORITIZING CAREER DEVELOPMENT

Professional development is part of Alstom’s recruitment strategy, with the organisation firmly believing that employee motivation and performance are intrinsically linked and that the nurturing of employee potential and competencies are key to ensuring the ongoing success of the international brand.

All employees are offered development opportunities via the ‘People Management Cycle’, which helps line managers and HR to design a bespoke training plan for each employee. This offers high-quality learning and development opportunities and supports employees through professional mentoring or coaching.

For those hesitant to take the next step in their career and explore opportunities, such a solid investment into personal development has proven to temper nerves and ease the transition when joining the business.

“My favourite part of my role is enhancing and developing new skills and expertise in the development of people. I have fully embraced Alstom’s People Management Cycle and encourage the development of my team members.”

Lead Commercial Manager, Alstom.

“Alstom has committed to training the right candidates to be the perfect fit for the business. They understand that not everyone will be the finished article straight away, but their development opportunities are really encouraging and quick to materialise.”

Principal Project Engineer, Alstom.

Find out more about life at Alstom.

FIND YOUR IDEAL ROLE

Across the UK, Alstom is winning new projects and securing exciting packages of work, opening up huge opportunities for professionals across the UK.

Are you looking for your next role and does Alstom sound like the right fit for you? View our live jobs or speak to one of our Alstom delivery teams today.

2022 was an action-packed year for Advance TRS Ltd, marked by new office openings, new recruits to the business, and mammoth charity fundraising efforts.

New London Office

Advance TRS announced a new office location in central London, based in the Northern & Shell Building, near Monument was launched in September 2022. This new base is the third office for the recruitment business and marks an exciting chapter in the business’s growth. 

The new London office will be a permanent office for some of our Rail and Infrastructure recruitment business and provide a base for other members of the team who have meetings in London. 

The new office is led by Specialist Consultant in the Rail & Civil Engineering Industry, Craig Outhwaite. Craig focuses on the recruitment of freelance Quantity Surveyors and Commercial professionals across the UK. 

“I’m really proud and excited to open and grow a London branch for the company. London excites me, you can’t help but feel invigorated heading into the city each morning. The market is really busy and we are now expertly positioned to meet all our clients and candidates as needed”

Shares Craig. 

 

 

New Guildford Office

Over the Christmas period, we were delighted to relocate our Guildford office to a newly refurbished offices in Artington, just outside of the center of town. These new offices have been customised to our exact specifications.

This new office creates an energising atmosphere for our team to work and thrive in a new space, enabling people to work collaboratively in an open space.

NEW STARTERS 2022

Throughout the year the business has welcomed 11 new starters. In our business services team we have welcomed Harry Payne, Marketing Executive and Farina Dahiya, Payroll Supervisor.

To our Guildford-based sales teams, we have welcomed Emily Peek, Chris Spurdle, Sam Riley, Mike Butler and Eira Burnett to our rail and client services teams. Adding to our London office, Victoria Bartram joined in September and Sissy Todd joined in January 2023.

Our Port Solent office also welcomed Calum French, Charlie Knight and Hannah Coton into their buildings, infrastructure and water teams.

“We are so pleased to have attracted such diverse talent this year, expanding our teams throughout the business. This will really support our business growth plans for the next few years and give lots of opportunities for personal and team development.”

Andy Ridout, Group Managing Director, Advance TRS

Charity Fundraising

Longest Day Golf Challenge

Charity fundraising and golf really shaped the summer of 2022, firstly seven of our avid golfers took on the Longest Day Golf Challenge to raise vital funds for Macmillan Cancer Support. They raised a total of £1,175! The team made up of our Rail consultants included Jake Rodger, Andy Ridout, Craig Outhwaite, Josh Hill, Sam Blair, Mick Schruyers and Chris Spurdle.

They completed 4 rounds of golf, 72 holes, in 31-degree heat, taking a total of 16 hours and walking over21 miles!

Business Development Director Mick shared some thoughts from the day:

“The day was great, it was a real team effort. It was certainly a hard day but hearing a number of people at the club cheering us on during the day helped get us through. We even had a lady who thought we were crazy and was leaving the course after 9 holes as it was too hot. We told her what we were doing, and she waited for us to return and donated £20 towards the day. It was a real good, spirited team event and still managed to recognise good shots even on the last 18 holes.”

Advance TRS Rail Aid Golf Day

The annual Advance TRS Golf Day for Rail Aid returned to The Belfry in Birmingham for the second year running on Thursday the 29th of September.

After a great day of golf, we enjoyed a 3-course dinner, a presentation from Dave Ellis at Railway Children, and then were joined by guest speaker Kriss Akabusi. Kriss rose to fame on the athletics track. His greatest individual triumph was winning the gold medal in the 1990 European Championships, and he is now a motivational speaker and TV personality.

We then completed the evening with a much-anticipated finale involving Golf Awards, Prize Giving, and a Charity Auction.

Last year, Advance TRS raised a staggering £20,000 for Rail Aid, which they were very keen to beat and overcome for their return in 2022. With outstanding prizes to win, complimented by a wide selection of amazing experiences in a charity auction, we overcame expectations and raised a magnificent £23,395 for a great cause in Rail Aid.

Railway Children Ride to Vietnam Challenge

Capping off the years fundraising, our Director of Client Services & Rail Signalling, Sam Jennings joined the Railway Children team to complete the Ride Vietnam Challenge.

Since returning, Sam and his teammates concluded their journey as “Truly an unforgettable experience and an amazing opportunity to see a new country and keep fit! It was a fantastic way to achieve a once-in-a-lifetime achievement whilst raising awareness for a great cause. It was also truly admiring to hear about the amazing work that Railway Children do.”

We would like to thank anyone who donated to reach our end goal of raising £3,500 for charity! Sam couldn’t have done it without you!

Subsequently our Rail & Client Director Sam Jennings has been nominated for the RailStaff charity award! Due to his brilliant work throughout the year, he went that extra mile to raise awareness and has been a vital part of raising over an amazing £85,000 for Charity at Advance TRS.

 

 

Join the Team

If you are looking for an opportunity to further a career in sales or learn new skills, we are looking for talented people at all levels to join our business.

Are you driven, hardworking, ambitious, self-motivated and caring? If so, we may be just the fit for you! These personal qualities together with our core values and company charter form the basis of the Advance TRS DNA we look for in every new recruit.

For a confidential chat, the opportunity to discuss your potential and the possibility of making a career move, or simply exploring the countless options available to you, get in touch with Jess our Talent Acquisition Manager today.

Our team are taking on this latest challenge in support of Railway Children to complete the special 20th Anniversary Porterbrook 3 Peaks by Rail!

On 15th June, the team will arrive in Crewe to start their journey climbing Mount Snowdon throughout the night. Then they will be getting the train to the next mountain, Scafell Pike, the highest mountain in England at an elevation of 978 metres (3,209 ft) above sea level. Once they’ve climbed this, they will be getting the train again to the third and final peak, Ben Nevis. This is the highest peak in the British Isles which is in Scotland.

The three mountains total over 30km of walking and over 3,000m of ascent. This challenge isn’t being taken lightly! The team have been training for weeks and is now gearing up for this two-day event.

We are aiming to raise £4,000 for taking part in this challenge! Please do support our team to reach their fundraising goal!

Our team of intrepid mountaineers includes;

Louise Oldham

Louise Oldham is our Client Services Delivery Manager and has been with Advance TRS since April 2016. Louise is responsible for the continued growth, success and effective service delivery of the Client Services team and supporting the Client Services Director. Outside of work she is a keen netball player for a local team and enjoys travelling whenever she can, last year Louise went on a boot camp holiday to Marbella with a rigorous programme of yoga and hiking. Louise is excited to take on this physical and mental challenge to test her strength as part of a team for such a great cause and has started to break in her new hiking boots and pushing her incline training in the gym.

Jake Rodger is a Recruitment Consultant specialising in Rail signalling. Jake has risen through the ranks in his time with Advance TRS to be a knowledgeable consultant with a wide-reaching network in the sector. Jake was one of the key drivers to bring together a team to complete the 3 Peaks Challenge and is using this as a great focus to his workout schedule and training. As a new member of David Lloyd gyms, Jake loves a relaxing spa session and is enduring beastings from his personal trainer in his weekly sessions. No pain no gain! As a keen golfer, Jake is also planning to clock up a chunk of practice miles on the golf course!

Jake Rodger
Sam Riley

Sam Riley is one of our Delivery Specialists working with our Client Services team. Since joining the business Sam has settled in well as part of the team and has shown his hard work and dedicated mentality to providing the best service possible and learning his craft. Sam enjoys working out and keeping fit as a semi-professional Goalkeeper and was previously a member of the Fulham academy. On top of his physical fitness, as the only Duke of Edinburgh Award participant in the group, he is an excellent addition to the team.

Tom Gibson is our Recruitment Consultant specialising in the delivery process for the recruitment of Engineering, Design, M&E, Process, Commissioning, Site Agent/Managers and Project managers for the Construction sector. Tom is looking forward to the challenge and is excited to work towards such a big challenge as part of a strong team. Tom is an avid Chelsea FC fan and is planning a practice walk by completing the Surrey Three Peaks (Box Hill, Holmbury Hill and Leith Hill) a challenging 33.5km walk across the local countryside will prove great training!

Tom Gibson

Advance TRS’s founder, Andy Ridout, and a few other members of our team have completed numerous challenges like climbing some of the world’s highest mountains including Mt Everest and Kilimanjaro, completed Iron Man triathlons, marathons and cycling challenges to raise money and awareness for the charity. Most recently our Director of Client Services & Rail Signalling, Sam Jennings joined the Railway Children team to complete the Ride Vietnam Challenge, raising over £3,500 for Railway Children. Some staff have even been out to Africa and Vietnam to visit the projects and witness what money raised can do to help vulnerable children in person.

We wish our Three Peaks team the best of luck and thank the rest of the business for their fundraising efforts to help raise as much money as we can for this great charity.

If you are looking to join a dynamic business with exciting growth projections and career progression opportunities in London, Guildford or Port Solent, find out more about our live opportunities.

Advance TRS are delighted to welcome experienced rail industry recruiter, Chris Spurdle to join the business as Business Development Manager – Rail. Chris has over 14 years experience in the rail industry predominantly working in the rail civils and permanent way specialism and joins Advance TRS to focus on white collar recruitment in rail civils and permanent way.

Chris is looking forward to progressing his industry knowledge and network from the blue-collar and labour side of the rail sector into white-collar recruitment.

“This is an exciting new opportunity to build on the established reputation I have built in the blue collar and labour market, and a natural continuation of my work in the sector.”

Explains Chris.

Chris will be focused on business development, supporting the current team building on established relationships and also bid development. Chris Spurdle will also be the main point of contact for a new client partnership Advance TRS have recently secured providing construction managers, project managers, civils, permanent way, signalling, planning and commercial engineering professionals into key rail projects across the UK rail network. These projects range across the UK & Ireland from a couple of million budgets to major infrastructure projects with budgets up to 200 million.

“We are delighted to welcome Chris into the Advance TRS team, and more personally, I am so pleased to work with him in the business development team. His experience and industry knowledge will prove to be a great asset to our business.”

Shares Business Development Director, Michael Schruyers.

When asked why Chris chose to join Advance TRS, Chris explained:

“I wanted to work for a specialist company, a niche recruiter. It was important for me to join a flexible and agile business where the team are skilled, well networked and have the ability to support clients throughout the process rather than a large corporate business. Advance TRS offer all this and have a really good team, both in sales and business services, and provide a positive work environment.”

Chris Spurdle will be supporting the business development team across the full spectrum of permanent and contract supply, both in rail and also reaching across the wider infrastructure piece.

Chris goes on to say:

“I love the ambition and trajectory Advance TRS offer as a growing SME. It gives me an exciting opportunity to play a key role in the business growth trajectory and adding value. Everyone has been so helpful and welcoming – particularly Jake and Josh who I have been working with a lot, and have helped me settle in. The business services support and payroll teams are brilliant too – shout out to everybody!”

Join Advance TRS

If you are looking for a new opportunity to further your career with an established and growing business providing quality recruitment solutions in the built environment and engineering markets, we are always looking for new talented staff to join our team. Find out what it is like to work for us and see our live opportunities.

Expert Rail Recruiters

Advance TRS know the rail industry like no one else. We work with some of the world’s biggest engineering organisations, creating bespoke recruitment solutions for some of the UK’s biggest rail projects.

Our team of experts are well established in the sector and expertly networked to ensure the best results for clients every time with specialisms focused on signalling, telecoms, E&P, OLE, Civils, M&E, Pway and Project Services. With over 400 contractors working across the UK rail network we are proud to be committed to high safety standards.

Advance TRS is accredited by the Rail Industry Supplier Qualification Scheme (RISQS), enabling us to supply rail recruitment solutions to clients across the UK. Find out how we can support your business hire the best talent in the market. Or get in touch to speak to a member of our team, call 01483 361061.

Advance TRS are proud to announce the new office opening in central London. The new office, based in the Northern & Shell Building, near Monument was launched in September 2022. This new base is the third office for the recruitment business and marks an exciting chapter in the business’s growth. 

The new London office will be a permanent office for some of our Rail recruitment business and provide a base for other members of the team who have meetings in London. 

The new office is led by Specialist Consultant in the Rail & Civil Engineering Industry, Craig Outhwaite. Craig joined Advance TRS in autumn 2021 and after one year is stepping up into this new role. Craig focuses on the recruitment of freelance Quantity Surveyors and Commercial professionals across the UK. 

“I’m really proud and excited to open and grow a London Branch for the company. London excites me, you can’t help but feel invigorated heading into the city each morning. The market is really busy and we are now expertly positioned to meet all our clients and candidates as needed”

Shares Craig. 

Craig is joined by Victoria Bartram (nee. Satterley), who joined Advance TRS earlier this month after a few years out to grow her family, Victoria is a brilliant addition to the team and back with a bang! 

“I’m very excited to of joined Advance TRS and to be involved in the opening of our new London office with Craig Outhwaite. Extremely busy and exciting times ahead!”

Explains Victoria. 

If you are a QS, at any level, with Civil Engineering experience, and you are feeling unhappy, unfulfilled, and just a bit meh about your role, then please get in contact with the team who has various roles with contractors, subcontractors and consultancies that may be your perfect job. Even if you are not ready to make the move just yet, they would love to meet you for a coffee and chat about the market, and what your perfect role would look like, so can contact you in the future about suitable opportunities.

Check out our latest roles and opportunities.

The new London office will specialise in the recruitment of Commercial (Quantity Surveyors’) Rail and Civil staff for “blue chip” clients across the UK. The team are currently recruiting Commercial Managers/Directors, Estimating Managers, Managing Quantity Surveyors and all other levels of Quantity Surveyors, Estimators as well as Risk Managers and procurement staff for major rail projects and frameworks including HS2. 

Join the Team

Are you working in London and looking for a new opportunity in engineering recruitment? We are looking to expand our team from our London office. Find out more about working life at Advance TRS or contact our Head of Talent Acquisition, Jessica Wells, to find out about our opportunities across all three offices and all built environment teams. 

This October our Director of Client Services & Rail Signalling, Sam Jennings will be taking part in Railway Children’s Ride Vietnam Challenge. As a novice cyclist, Sam will be confronting a challenging 450km cycle across 7 days in 30 degrees, on a (barely used) bike!

Please support Sam to raise money for this excellent cause and donate via his JustGiving page.

“Having never previously ridden a bike without balancing a child on the back, it seemed like a great opportunity to take on a huge personal challenge and raise money that will go to support some of the most vulnerable children in the world”

shares Sam Jennings.

So far Sam has completed over 500 miles training in the saddle, with 340 miles travelled through a very hot July! Lots of water, sun cream and only the one puncture so far to date to report as Sam hits the halfway mark on his donations target and only 2 months to go! In the next few weeks, Sam faces a step up in training with 100 miles a week to complete.

The trip itself will see Sam spend between six and eight hours in the saddle each day, travelling across waterways and plantations on unpaved and dusty roads, slightly different surfaces to the hills he will be training on but all part of the challenge for a true bike novice!

Sam Challenge Charity
Sam Jennings continues training for the Ride Cambodia Challenge this October

Sam has previously completed the London Marathon raising over £2,500 for Action for Children but is a complete newbie to the world of cycling and hoping to make the challenge worth whilst by beating his previous total.

Giving Back

Since Advance TRS was established in 2011, advancing less fortunate people has always been a central motivator for founder Andy Ridout and the Advance TRS team. To date, our staff have raised over £65,000 for charities completing an incredible array of personal challenges to raise money and awareness for those less fortunate. Find out more.

Railway Children

Advance TRS has been a long term supporter and partner of Railway Children and the Rail Aid campaign. Railway Children is an international children’s charity that funds rescue workers and street teams that seek out vulnerable children living on the streets before potential abusers get to them first. Our staff have completed a number of challenges to raise money and awareness for the charity including Three Peaks By Rail, Three Ironman’s, a trek up Kilimanjaro and to Everest Base Camp. Find out more about how Railway Children support children in need.

Last week, seven of our avid golfers took on the Longest Day Golf Challenge to raise vital funds for Macmillan Cancer Support. They raised a total of £1,175!

The team made up of our Rail consultants included Jake Rodger, Andy Ridout, Craig Outhwaite, Josh Hill, Sam Blair, Mick Schruyers and Chris Spurdle.

They completed 4 rounds of golf, 72 holes, in 31-degree heat, taking a total of 16 hours and walking over21 miles!

Rail Business Development Manager Chris shared:

“It was a really good day. As someone who has recently joined the business, taking on the Longest Day Golf Challenge was a great way for me to get to know some of my team.”

The team teed off at 5:30am, long before some of us were even out of bed and finished the last round at approximately 8:30pm! Each round of golf took roughly 3 hours and 30 minutes to complete, but the team admit they lost track after the first couple of rounds.

Speaking to them about the distance they said:

“The last we checked it was about 46,000 steps, however, the watch we were using ran out of charge, so we don’t know the exact count. This happened on the second hole of the last round so you can guess the next 16 holes…”

We would like to again extend our thanks to Blacknest Golf and Country Club who supported us on the day and allowed us to use their course.

“We started very strong and played some good golf, but with the heat and exhaustion, it did go a bit downhill each round we played. Despite struggling to walk the next day, it was very good fun and something I would do again.”
Explained our consultant, Sam.

Fundraising can make a huge difference, so we are pleased to have contributed to an important cause. Taking on this challenge will help Macmillan make a real difference to people living with cancer. They will be able to give people going through a cancer experience practical, emotional and personal support.

Business Development Director Mick shared some final thoughts from the day:

“The day was great, it was a real team effort. It was certainly a hard day but hearing a number of people at the club cheering us on during the day helped get us through. We even had a lady who thought we were crazy and was leaving the course after 9 holes as it was too hot. We told her what we were doing, and she waited for us to return and donated £20 towards the day. It was a real good, spirited team event and still managed to recognise good shots even on the last 18 holes.

The funniest part of the day was watching Jake try and save Andy’s ball going in the pond, however, while doing so he fell down the bank…luckily, he only got his feet wet but was so close to going all the way in…”

Advance TRS have a strong history of taking on personal challenges to raise money for causes important to the team. This is the latest challenge in a line of activities that has seen the team raise over £65,000 for charities in 10 years.

It has been an exciting six months for the Advance TRS team! Although it’s hard to believe we are over halfway through 2022 already, we have been reflecting on the company’s achievements and highlights from what has been a successful start to the year so far.

Getting back out and meeting face to face

At the end of 2021, we spoke to Managing Director Andy about where he wanted the company to be in the immediate future. He spoke about wanting to re-engage with clients face to face, rather than remotely via zoom or teams. Whilst these tools were an important part of business over the past two years, nothing beats working together face to face.

In addition to getting out and about visiting clients on-site, our team have been delighted to attend a number of industry events including:

Celebrating staff achievements

We understand that talented and motivated staff is the key to any successful business. Therefore, we support staff to grow and succeed as the company does the same.

Already this year we have celebrated as 15 staff members mark an anniversary with Advance TRS. Plus, three of our team have earned hard-won promotions. These team members have demonstrated their hard work, skill and fully embody the core values that the business was founded on. Our company values run at the heart of our approach, we believe in them and recognise each of them in the way we act, both with each other and those we support.

Notably, our Operations Director Paul Merton marked 10 years at Advance TRS in April. As our resident expert of legislation, Paul oversees the continual development of Advance TRS’s compliance and operational systems.

Coming together as a team

At Advance TRS, we work hard to deliver the best possible service for our clients and candidates, so enjoy taking the time to celebrate together as one united team. This unified approach is a core part of our success and ongoing practices towards those we work with.

With COVID-19 restrictions finally lifted we’ve taken the time to come together as a team and celebrate our achievements. At the start of our financial year, we brought the team together for our annual Kick-Off Conference. We shared our upcoming business plans for the year and celebrated achievements from 2021-22. Since then, our teams have enjoyed trips to Brighton, clay pigeon shooting, go-karting, driving experience days, and lunches out. More recently our whole team enjoyed a day out at Sandown races for our Summer Social.

Growing our team

Due to a period of rapid growth, we have welcomed nine new starters across our Guildford and Port Solent offices. The new additions are proving to be great assets to the sectors they have joined and excelling in their roles. We’re excited to witness the positive impact this has on the services we deliver to our clients and candidates. A warm welcome to Advance TRS’ new team members of 2022.

Managing Director Andy said:

“These new appointments have come at an exciting phase of our development and growth strategy. These new starters join us to build out teams across the business. Whilst some bring years of industry experience, and others are showing incredible promise at the start of their recruitment career, they are all showing to be brilliant additions to the team and share our core values and commitment to being the best.”

For a confidential chat about our current vacancies, the opportunity to discuss your potential and the possibility of making a career move, contact our Talent Acquisition Manager Jess.

Launching our new website

Our marketing team and developers worked behind the scenes to launch our new website, with a key focus on improving user experience and creating a seamless job search.

Not only have we given it a brand-new look, but we have made extensive adjustments to our job boards and candidate zone. By registering an account with us, you can:

  • Set up detailed job alerts relevant to your skills and disciplines
  • Upload and manage multiple CVs
  • Shortlist your favourite jobs and easily apply at a time suitable to you
  • Access additional resources and advice to support your job search

With new vacancies added regularly, you can search our job boards and quickly apply to various opportunities across our sectors, with some roles exclusively available to us.

Company video production

This year we are delighted to have partnered with a video production company for the first time. Arranging a number of filming days with our team helps support our internal recruitment drive and provides a fresh, dynamic insight into life at Advance TRS. Look out for these new videos coming soon.

Giving back to charities

Advance TRS have a strong history of taking on personal challenges to raise money for causes important to the team. This year has seen us continue to raise money for good causes, with preparations for more activities later in the year.

Most recently we assembled 7 of our rail consultants to take on the Longest Golf Day Challenge. The challenge saw the team complete 72 holes and 4 rounds of golf, in 16 hours. This is the latest challenge in a line of activities that has seen the team raise over £65,000 for charities in 10 years.

Looking forward

The next 6 months look to be as exciting as the first!

Following the success of last year’s event, Railway Children and Advance TRS have again teamed up for the annual Advance TRS Golf Day for Rail Aid, at the prestigious Belfry Hotel & Resort. The day brings together industry leaders for some healthy competition, networking and most importantly to raise money for the Rail Aid campaign.

This October our Director of Client Services & Rail Signalling, Sam Jennings will be taking part in Railway Children’s Ride Vietnam Challenge. The trip will see Sam spend between six and eight hours in the saddle each day, travelling across waterways and plantations on unpaved and dusty roads, slightly different surfaces to the hills he will be training on but all part of the challenge for a true bike novice! Sam is well on his way with his training journey. You can keep up to date with his progress or donate to his fundraising total on his JustGiving page. https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sam-jennings4

As well as continued growth and driving our internal recruitment, we are also looking forward to opening new offices later in 2022/2023.

Advance TRS

Advance TRS offers a supportive environment to help you to be the best you can be and reach your career goals as part of our team, whether you are an established recruiter or just starting out on your journey. View our latest vacancies here.

On Tuesday 12th July, Advance TRS are taking on the Longest Day Golf Challenge to raise important funds for Macmillan Cancer Support. We have assembled 8 of our best golf players to take part in what will be a hard but fun day. Our team will be walking 24 miles (the equivalent of a marathon!).

A team of our Rail consultants are taking on the challenge including; Jake Rodger, Andy Ridout, Joe Moss, Craig Outhwaite, Josh Hill, Sam Blair, Mick Schruyers and Chris Spurdle.

72 holes. Four rounds. One fantastic cause.

Thank you to Blacknest Golf and Country Club for supporting us on the day and letting us use their course.

Fundraising can make a huge difference so we would appreciate any donations. Taking on this challenge will help Macmillan make a real difference to people living with cancer. Please support our team by donating here.

Fundraising can make a huge difference so please donate what you can. Taking on this challenge will help Macmillan make a real difference to people living with cancer. They’ll be able to give people going through a cancer experience practical, emotional and personal support

Advance TRS have a strong history of taking on personal challenges to raise money for causes important to the team. This is the latest challenge in a line of activities that has seen the team raise over £65,000 for charities in 10 years.

We are delighted to celebrate Sam Jennings, Director of Client Services and Rail Signalling for his eight years of service at Advance TRS. In his time at Advance TRS, Sam has managed the delivery of a series of Managed Service Programmes and Recruitment Process Outsourcing partnerships with key client accounts for the rail sector and was promoted to Client Services and Rail Signalling last year.

“Sam is a key member of the Senior Leadership Team and an influential figure within the business. He is always the first to get involved in company activities and is an active fundraiser, often putting his body (and facial hair!) on the line to raise money for a good cause.”

Explains Group Managing Director, Andy Ridout.

Sam has previously completed the London Marathon raising over £2,500 for Action for Children, Movember, Surrey Half Marathon and #WalkAllOverCancer challenge for Cancer Research UK.

Ride Vietnam Challenge

This year he is taking on a new challenge, Railway Children’s Ride Vietnam Challenge. As a novice cyclist, Sam will be confronting a challenging 450km cycle across 7 days in 30 degrees. He is now well into his training before the October trip. Please support his efforts and donate via his JustGiving page.

Client Services

As Director of Client Services, Sam is responsible for delivering service level agreements and key performance indicators for our key client partnerships, recruitment process outsourcing and managed service contracts. He works closely with clients to create and deliver custom recruitment solutions to support business needs. From contingent recruitment to managed services and recruitment process outsourcing. For key clients Sam acts as a delivery director, offering a single point of contact for line managers. He works closely with the Advance TRS recruitment delivery team to fulfil technical recruitment SLAs and KPIs.

Alstom Partnership

Notably, Sam is the Key Account Director for our recruitment partnership with Alstom. Sam leads our client services team to deliver a planned programme of recruitment to an exciting portfolio of projects across the UK. Advance TRS was appointed as RPO partners for Alstom’s permanent staff recruitment drive. We supply rail signalling management, engineering and installation professionals in York, Derby, Birmingham, London and Bristol, as part of CP6 in early 2020.

Railway Signalling

Outside of his work with key clients in Client Services, Sam is incredibly well networked within the Railway Signalling sector. He has led the Advance TRS rail signalling department, following in company founder, Andy Ridout’s footsteps.

Join the team

Sam is expanding his team! Check out our live vacancies to find out how you can join the Advance TRS client services team, delivering an internal recruitment function for our key clients.

Brand new website, same quality recruitment solution!

We are pleased to announce the launch of our new website. Our marketing team and developers have been tirelessly working behind the scenes to improve user experience and make your job search seamless.

Not only have we given it a brand-new look, but we have also made extensive adjustments to our job boards and candidate zone.

By registering an account with us, you can:

  • Set up detailed job alerts relevant to your skills and disciplines
  • Upload and manage multiple CVs
  • Shortlist your favourite jobs and easily apply at a time suitable to you
  • Access additional resources and advice to support your job search

Having your CVs uploaded to your account speeds up the application process by up to 5 minutes!

With new vacancies added regularly, you can search our job board and quickly apply to various opportunities across our sectors. Some roles are exclusively available to us. We have also added additional filters so you can find the jobs most suitable for you.

We could go on and on about the features and information available on the site, but don’t just take our word for it, look for yourself.

So what’s next?

We will continue developing and improving our website, providing you with information about the industry and our business.

Stay up to date with our regular blog posts and news updates!

We’re hiring

Due to a period of rapid growth, Advance TRS are seeking Recruitment Consultants of all levels.

We are always looking for talented and ambitious people to join our team. We have opportunities available across our offices and in sales, management, or business services.

For a confidential chat, the opportunity to discuss your potential and the possibility of making a career move, or simply exploring the countless options available to you, get in touch with our Talent Acquisition Manager Jess.

Advance TRS are excited to celebrate the six-year anniversary and promotion of Ella Gardiner. Having joined back in May 2016, she demonstrated a drive and passion for marketing and quickly increased her responsibilities. To recognise all her hard work and achievements over the years, Ella has now been promoted to our Marketing and Development Director.

Speaking to Group Managing Director Andy, he says:

“Ella offers a “can do” approach and isn’t afraid to think outside the box, offering Advance TRS innovative and inspiring ideas to promote our services to clients and candidates alike. Professional, passionate, hardworking, and committed are all words that I and many will associate with Ella. She truly embodies our company values.”

Always looking to learn, develop and increase her skills, with an open mind to new ways of working, she has been part of an incredible journey with the company. In 2021, Ella was recognised for her exceptional performance in organising Advance TRS’ first executive Golf Day. The event saw C-suites of the rail industry come together for a day of healthy competition, networking and raise money for the charity Railway Children. It was a huge success and raised an incredible £18,000, as well as becoming a key event for the Rail Industry.

Ella now joins the Advance TRS Senior Leadership Team as Marketing and Development Director at a very exciting period for the company. She will not only increase her responsibility for directing the marketing of the business but will be instrumental in helping to lead the next exciting growth period for Advance TRS. With the opening of our London office, expansion of our South Coast and Guildford HQ and role out of our latest Managed Service framework, she will be a welcome addition to the Senior Leadership Team.

Please join us in congratulating her on a fantastic promotion and anniversary!

We’re Hiring!

Due to unprecedented demand, Advance TRS have job vacancies across all levels. From entry-level resources to senior recruitment consultants, we’re looking for new talent to further strengthen and expand our teams.

Contact our Talent Acquisition Manager for a confidential conversation, or find out about our current opportunities.

As part of Mental Health Awareness Week, Advance TRS are exploring male mental health and raising awareness of the importance of talking about your mental wellbeing.

In England, around one in eight men has a common mental health problem such as depression, anxiety, panic disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). It’s hard to ignore the statistics, with suicide being a leading cause of death for men up to the age of forty. Three times as many men as women die by suicide.

So why do men struggle to open up about their mental health? Society’s expectations and gender roles may play a part in the difficulty to discuss or seek help for their troubles. Men were often encouraged to appear “manly” or not show their emotions, in control and a provider for the home. This stigma can cause men to suppress their emotions for fear of how they will be received.

It is also thought that men may be less able to recognise symptoms of mental health problems in themselves and unable to process the way they are feeling. Many might find themselves engaging in risky activities, picking fights and substance misuse to cope.

It is clear that more needs to be done to improve the reality that men are facing. So what can we do to support and encourage change? Several campaigns have recently emerged, encouraging men to talk about their mental health. To help break the stigma, be sure to check in on your colleagues, employees, friends, and family. Regularly ask how they are to show they have your support. As a result, this will open up the conversation for you to both discuss worries if necessary.

What is the industry doing to support mental health?

More than 25,000 railway staff have now been trained to identify and help vulnerable people, inside and outside of the rail network, thanks to a Samaritans’ partnership with Network Rail and the wider rail industry.

The charity also runs a Small Talk Saves Lives campaign in partnership with Network Rail and British Transport Police. The campaign aims to encourage the public to use the skills they already have by simply starting a conversation if they see someone who needs help. A little small talk and simple question can be all it takes to interrupt someone’s suicidal thoughts and help start them on the journey to recovery.

More and more construction businesses are also starting to see their staff’s mental health as a priority. Mates in Mind is a leading UK charity raising awareness and addressing poor mental health across industries, focusing on construction, as well as related sectors. They work in partnership with industry-leading organisations with the aim to break the silence surrounding mental ill-health.

Helpful resources

Charity Movember has a variety of great tools on how to have a conversation with someone you believe is struggling.

If you need someone to talk to then Samaritans are available on 116 123 (UK) for free, 24/7. They are there to talk to, listen and they won’t judge or tell you what to do.

C.A.L.M is a National helpline for men to talk about any troubles they are feeling. Call 0800 58 58 58 (UK). They are available from 5pm-midnight 365 days a year.

When you’re experiencing a mental health problem, supportive and reliable information can change your life. Mind mental health charity believes no one should have to face this alone. Infoline: 0300 123 3393.

For support when you’re struggling to cope, Text Shout to 85258. If you’re experiencing a personal crisis, are unable to cope and need support.

The Construction Industry Helpline provides a 24/7 safety net for all construction workers and their families in the UK and Ireland. Call their helpline on 0345 605 1956 (UK) or text HARDHAT to 85258 (UK). They also offer a free Helpline App, offering advice on a variety of conditions or issues, self- assessment tools, coping strategies and referral pathways to access expert advice and support.

Advance TRS

Advance TRS is a niche recruitment consultancy specialising in the provision of highly-skilled technical professionals for the built environment. 

We have appointed qualified Mental Health First Aiders to provide a first point of contact for our staff if needed. We also offer our a Wellbeing Hub, where confidential support via an EAP helpline can be accessed at any time.

From the very beginning our Group Managing Director Andy has nurtured a close family feel office culture, where colleagues work together, socialise and look out for each other.

We are always looking for new talented and ambitious people to join our team, across our offices and in sales, management or business services.

This year for the first time, Advance TRS are delighted to launch a summer internship for someone looking to develop their skills in social media representing a brand. As a Social Media Intern, you’ll work alongside our Marketing Executive and Marketing & Development Director on all social media content & creative strategy; making sure our business’s content is on-brand, reaching the right people, and converting them into candidates or new recruits for our growing team.

View the full job description or apply.

You’ll be working on core channels across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and supporting our LinkedIn strategy. So if you’re passionate about social media and content creation – then this is the role for you!

Ella Gardiner, our Marketing and Development Director began her career in marketing by completing a summer internship that lead to a permanent role and has never looked back. 

“After graduating from university I was unsure as to what steps to take to start my career in the professional world. I was fortunate enough to land an opportunity as a summer intern for a non-profit group and got stuck right in. It was a great way to get my first taste of office life after full-time education without too much pressure. After a number of weeks in the position, a permanent role became available and I was over the moon when my application was accepted.” 

Ella explains. 

“Although I had had part-time jobs in retail, child care and hospitality throughout my teens and university career, working in an office environment was a big adjustment and the internship was a great way for me to get adjusted, meet people and learn how I could best apply my skill set and experience to supporting a brands marketing strategy”. 

Ella has progressed her career since beginning in marketing and was recently promoted to Marketing and Development Director at the award-winning £30 million turnover company based in central Guildford. Since joining the business 6 years ago as Events and PR Coordinator, Ella has grown with the business and developed skills across the marketing, training, and development fields. 

“As our business continues to grow and the opportunity for our brand to be represented in new ways on new channels increases, this is a great time to extend this opportunity to someone looking to apply their skills to an established brand and have some creative fun too”. 

This year signifies a high growth period for the business, with a new office planned for central London and large intakes of new staff at both existing offices in Guildford and Port Solent, this is a great time to join the business with a number of significant marketing campaigns and events planned for the new Intern to get stuck into.

The Opportunity

The successful candidate will be;

  • Building & developing your own, and the company’s, approach to social media content. 
  • Applying original thought to create beautiful content for our channels.
  • Working on social media strategy and constantly optimising campaigns to achieve the absolute best results for the team, taking into account performance across different channels.
  • Assisting in the growth of our Influencer Marketing service. 
  • Planning & booking influencers to drive revenue for our clients.
  • Supporting the Marketing Executive to report on and analyse performance and engagement.

The ideal candidate will:

  • want to build a career in Social Media Marketing, and see yourself growing within a fast-growth agency.
  • be an enthusiastic & passionate person, who genuinely cares about your work and wants to do the absolute best you can.
  • be creative and have experience with creating content, and have the desire to continue growing those skills.
  • have strong organisational skills.
  • need to be curious and adaptable: it’s a fast-moving company and social advertising even more so, products change and adapt weekly and you must be happy with keeping up to date with changes and learning about how they may impact our output.

View the full job description or apply for our Summer Social Media Internship.

If this sounds like the perfect opportunity for you or someone you know, please have a look at what it’s like to work for Advance TRS, check out our company Instagram or contact Ella for more information. 

Our Group Operations Director Paul Merton has been with Advance TRS since its humble beginnings, joining just 6 months after it was founded. He is now celebrating 10 years with the company, and what a decade it has been.

Group MD and Founder Andy Ridout explains:

“Paul was such a welcome addition to the team. Aside from being a good friend, he brought a wealth of experience and industry knowledge. In his time with the company, he has worked tirelessly to ensure we have solid systems, policies and procedures that provide the foundations to support the success and growth of Advance TRS.”

As our resident expert of legislation, Paul oversees the continual development of Advance TRS’s compliance and operational systems.

Our compliance procedures, regulations, accreditations, and client processes are essential. This gives clients and candidates the confidence that our systems are robust enough to support any service they require.

Today, our Marketing Consultant sits down with Paul to understand more about his time with Advance TRS and the last 10 years of working with a growing company.

How did you secure your role with Advance TRS?

I’ve actually known Andy for over 30 years and worked closely with him in rail recruitment for 12 years prior to Advance TRS. During my career I built up extensive knowledge within the Rail Telecommunications and Mechanical & Electrical sectors. I developed strong relationships and grew an excellent network of respected clients and candidates.

Once Andy started the business, he approached me and asked if I’d come on board. We share the same beliefs and values and had the same visions for what makes a successful business. We used our experiences to learn from what we had done previously, and implement this in what we would do going forward.

What made you pursue this career?

Well, I decided to join the business to support its growth. With my experience in rail, I knew what we needed to do to offer the best service, especially when it came to being compliant and legal. The role offered a great balance of my skills. Andy and I also had complementary skills that worked well together.

How has the business changed in the past decade?

It’s been fantastic. The business has seen incredible growth and continues to provide honest, reliable, and top-quality recruitment solutions. I think that’s part of the success of the business, that the values we implemented at the start, have been bought into by staff and maintained. They really believe in the service that we’ve always wanted to provide. Genuinely, the key part of the business is the people.

To be honest the job has also become more of a passion. I want to make sure that whatever we’re doing, we are doing to the best of our ability. I’m always looking for ways in which I can improve what we do.

Have you seen changes in the sector in the past 10 years?

Whilst there have been a lot of changes in legislation, compliance, policies etc, the service we provide and the sector we work in have all stayed fairly constant. Legislation, equality & diversity, environment & sustainability, modern slavery etc – none of that was as prolific 10-15 years ago when I was a recruiter as it is now. It is fantastic that we are now so focused on these factors in both our own employment activities as well as our service provision, however change takes time and have to be administered carefully to ensure everyone understands the need and buys into it.

The business continues to evolve, as do our sectors. We’re providing services to more and more sectors, headed up by fantastic sector experts like Rob Kelly and Matt Bray. However, at the heart of it all are the same beliefs and values Andy and I have from 10 years ago.

What would you say is your greatest professional achievement so far?

I’d have to say it doesn’t necessarily come down to one project or one moment, but where the business is today is such an achievement. The fact we have a team of people that are so dedicated and committed to the business and their role within their team as a whole, is very rewarding. I feel so fortunate to be part of it. All that dedication plays a huge part in our qualifications, certifications etc, I can’t take responsibility for that on a personal level. The whole team contributes to our successes. 10 years ago, I could never have imagined we’d be where we are today!

What challenges have you faced in the last 10 years?

The challenges have changed over the years. A decade ago, it was the challenge of being a new company, trying to go out into the market and present yourself as a new brand. We had to get clients to buy into the company, not just myself or Andy and our experience. Luckily, we made sure a lot of our systems, IT infrastructure etc was scalable so that helped us a lot as we grew. COVID-19 was one of the biggest challenges we’ve faced, but our IT systems all being online meant we could switch from office to home working within 24 hours.

As the years go by everything becomes easier, but the challenges of growth then develop in other ways.

The other challenge is always staying one step ahead. As Group Operations Director, it’s my job to make sure the company runs smoothly and try to anticipate anything that might throw that.

What has been the key to a successful career with Advance?

I think it comes down to my belief in the business and the service we provide. I’ve always worked in a customer-facing role, so I know that if the business is stable from a legal/compliance/systems aspect, it can support our teams to deliver the best service to clients and candidates.

It always comes down to offering the best services, so I know I need to do whatever I can to make sure that happens.

Do you have any advice/words of wisdom for new starters or people entering the recruitment industry?

There is no part of this business that can operate as a sole entity, we’re all part of the chain and each person, department etc plays a vital role in that. We want each person to come on board and be part of the journey. I would advise new starters to take responsibility for their job role. As the company continues to grow, everybody has an opportunity to grow in their role, to flourish and be the best version of themselves. If you take pride in your own role, it helps you to develop. We reward success so we’re really looking for people who are determined, driven, and wanting to succeed.

Any final words?

It’s a never-ending job! It doesn’t matter what I do, there will always be something new, something different or something we can do better. Even now I’m constantly learning new things, it’s a very varied role. I feel so privileged to be where I am today, bring on the next 10 years!

Why Advance TRS?

As a rapidly growing recruitment business, 2022 is an exciting time to kick-start your career with Advance TRS. We have fantastic opportunities available across all levels, from entry-level resourcers to senior recruitment consultants. As recruiters we understand that talented and motivated staff is the key to a successful business.

For a confidential chat, contact our Talent Acquisition Manager Jessica Wells on 07432 356 750, email or connect on LinkedIn. Alternatively, head to our job search page to view all our latest vacancies.

This October our Director of Client Services & Rail Signalling, Sam Jennings will be taking part in Railway Children’s Ride Vietnam Challenge. 

Please support Sam to raise money for this excellent cause and donate via his JustGiving page. 

As a novice cyclist, Sam will be confronting a challenging 450km cycle across 7 days in 30 degrees, on a (barely used) bike! 

“Having never previously ridden a bike without balancing a child on the back, it seemed like a great opportunity to take on a huge personal challenge and raise money that will go to support some of the most vulnerable children in the world” shares Sam. 

The trip itself will see Sam spend between six and eight hours in the saddle each day, travelling across waterways and plantations on unpaved and dusty roads, slightly different surfaces to the hills he will be training on but all part of the challenge for a true bike novice!

Throughout the summer Sam will be up early and home late, trying to fit the training in and around family and working life, with 1,250 miles of training to be done before he even flies out. 

Sam will be keeping us up to date with regular updates from his training and welcomes offers for anyone to join him on a training ride! Get in touch if you would like to join Sam on a ride.

Sam has previously completed the London Marathon raising over £2,500 for Action for Children but is a complete newbie to the world of cycling and hoping to make the challenge worth whilst by beating his previous total. Donate via his JustGiving page. 

Giving Back 

Since Advance TRS was established in 2011, advancing less fortunate people has always been a central motivator for founder Andy Ridout and the Advance TRS team. To date, our staff have raised over £65,000 for charities completing an incredible array of personal challenges to raise money and awareness for those less fortunate. Find out more. 

Railway Children 

Advance TRS has been a long term supporter and partner of Railway Children and the Rail Aid campaign. Railway Children is an international children’s charity that funds rescue workers and street teams that seek out vulnerable children living on the streets before potential abusers get to them first. Our staff have completed a number of challenges to raise money and awareness for the charity including Three Peaks By Rail, Three Ironman’s, a trek up Kilimanjaro and to Everest Base Camp.  

Looking for a new challenge? 

We are always looking for talented new staff to join the Advance TRS team. Advance TRS offers a supportive environment to help you to be the best you can be and reach your career goals as part of our team, whether you are an established recruiter or just starting out on your journey. With access to the biggest clients in each market sector, a strongly networked and experienced Senior Leadership Team and great compensation, at Advance TRS we can help people grow and succeed as the company does the same. Find out about our current opportunities or contact Jess Wells, our Talent Acquisition Manager for a more detailed and confidential conversation. 

Follow Sam’s journey on our Instagram. 

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” 

Benjamin Franklin

Never has the old adage been more appropriate than when thinking about interviewing. Many things about the interview process have changed or evolved in response to the global pandemic, including the inclusion and often used virtual interview. However, the importance of preparation remains a vital step. 

Whilst the interview is an opportunity to learn more about the role and your potential new employer, it is important to make a strong first impression.

Take a look at our helpful tips on how you can prepare for an interview and ensure that you stand out from the other applicants.

Understand The Job

Read through the job specification again and ensure you thoroughly understand any qualifications, qualities and background the employer is looking for. This will help you determine your previous experience and exactly what you wish to demonstrate in the interview.

Make notes on key points or where you have any questions about the role or company. 

Research

Look at their company website, key personnel, social media platforms and note down any relevant information to have with you for the interview. Find out about:

  • Vision / Mission / Values / Purpose 
  • Key selling points and differentiators 
  • Key specialism and area of expertise
  • Service offerings
  • Geographical coverage 
  • Key milestones achieved 
  • Key messaging on social media / current campaigns

Your CV 

To help you prepare for an interview, it’s good practice to read through your CV. Do this prior to the interview and make sure you are aware of the information you have included. The interviewer will likely ask you to talk them through your CV. Decide which areas you wish to focus on and which parts can be skimmed over if less relevant to the role.

Questions 

Come to the interview with some well prepared questions that demonstrate your interest and intent for the company and role. An employer will often ask if you have any questions, so make sure you have a list of about 3-5 questions (possibly more depending on the situation).

Pre-Preparation

Face to Face: Plan your journey beforehand and leave plenty of time to get there early. If you are unable to demonstrate good timekeeping, you will be on the back foot for the rest of the interview. It is better to arrive early, be able to grab a coffee and mentally prepare yourself for the interview ahead.    

Depending on your mode of transport, there are some great journey planner and travel apps to assist your preparation.

Telephone: Make sure you are somewhere quiet with good phone reception. Set up a space where you can focus and have a surface where you can keep any documents to hand or write notes. Make sure any other devices are on silent/do not disturb and make sure you pick up the first call.   

Video: Test your camera and microphone set up before your meeting. Do a couple of test runs with the specific software being used to become familiar with the software. Often you can open the interview link early to test your camera and mic. Make sure you are in a quiet location with strong wifi signal and good lighting so you can be clearly seen. Make sure your background is suitable and you are well presented. Click the link in good time to make sure you do not miss the meeting. 

First Impression 

First impressions are key in all walks of life, especially interviews. Ask the employer or recruiter (if you’re speaking with one) what the dress code is so you can dress appropriately. If it is face to face, be early for the meeting and enter with a firm handshake whilst maintaining eye contact throughout the interview. Non-verbal communication can be just as important as anything you say, so use confident, accessible body language. Smile frequently, maintain a good posture and stay relaxed.

If the meeting is virtual, even though you may not be able to be seen, your posture dictates a lot about how your voice is perceived. Make sure if seated, you are comfortable, and sitting upright (not slumped).

Consider your answers

Though it’s hard to know exactly what questions you’ll be asked, you can prepare for your interview by considering how you will answer. Ensure you respond truthfully, tying your answers back to any key skills and accomplishments. Keep your answers short and focused on the question you’ve been asked, to avoid rambling and going off topic.

As much as possible, avoid speaking negatively about your current or former employers/colleagues. Your new employer will be looking for a positive approach and ability to overcome challenges. Even if you’re feeling discouraged, try to explore the good things, what you’ve learned and what you’ve gained from your experience.

Closing 

The final part of the interview is a great opportunity for you to close the client/sell yourself so don’t be afraid to ask how they felt the interview went. Did they have any reservations? What are the next stages? These will give you clarity and further opportunity to shut down any of their reservations.


Advance TRS

For more helpful interview tips, and job search advice check out our other Advance Advice articles.

We have a variety of opportunities available on our job boards and a team of talented consultants to speak to on 01483 361 061.

We’ve rounded up some top news stories from across the Built Environment

National Rail Christmas and New Year engineering works complete

Network Rail have completed hundreds of Christmas and New Year projects across Britain’s railway. Giving you better and more reliable journeys for the long term. Read more…

Leaves on the line: a thing of the past?

Poor adhesion is now in the news following the collision between two trains at Salisbury Tunnel Junction, on the evening of 31 October. Read more…

Construction project starts dip but contract awards soar in mixed picture for sector

The number of construction projects started at the back end of the year has dropped sharply. However, a spike in contract awards indicates that the sector remains on track as it recovers from the Covid-19 hit. Read more…

Kier wins 142 rental home job at BBC TV centre site

Joint venture developer Stanhope, Mitsui Fudosan has picked Kier to build 142 affordable homes at its wider former BBC Television Centre development in West London. Read more…

Anglian Water CEO Peter Simpson says cross-sectoral collaboration crucial to tackle challenges and find solutions

It was a huge breakthrough to see water play a central role for the first time at any COP, with the first ever dedicated Water Pavilion and widespread acknowledgement that water is critical to the climate debate. Read more…

Water UK launches campaign to get the UK winter ready

Industry body Water UK is encouraging customers to take some immediate steps, such as lagging pipes and checking central heating, to ensure they stay safe and warm over the winter months. Read more…

Browse our latest jobs.
Register for job alerts here.

As 2021 draws to a close, the Advance TRS team have been reflecting on what has been another memorable year. Whilst Covid-19 has still created challenges, the markets have continued to flourish, and the team remained motivated in providing an excellent service to clients and candidates.

Celebrating our 10 year anniversary has allowed the team to look back on our incredible growth and look forward to exciting times ahead. In the final part of our 3-part blog series, we discuss this with Founder and Managing Director Andy Ridout.

Where do you want the company to be in the next few months/years?

Andy: In the immediate future we just want to re-engage with clients face to face, rather than via zoom or teams. Whilst these tools have been a saving grace in the last 2 years, there’s nothing better than sitting down together and sharing thoughts, ambitions etc. Personal interaction has always been a key driver for the business, so we can’t wait to get back out there.

In the next 12-18 months we’re hoping to see things improve even further with the pandemic. We’ll remain understanding of our clients wants and needs to help them stabilise in a post-pandemic world. Understandably our clients are catching up on project that had been delayed during Covid. However, we’re on hand to help deliver suitable candidates and provide support.

Longer term, we want to expand on what we’re already doing. We’ve got a great team, with expertise and knowledge in their sectors, and an established client base. We plan on improving the communication we have with our clients and keeping them up to date with what we’re doing, the services we’re providing etc. It would also be nice to see us expanding into other markets such as renewables, power and nuclear.

What are the plans for South Coast (& other locations)?

Andy: The south coast have been smashing their targets, outperforming in every area. They are doing such a fantastic job, that we can speed up our plans of growth for the office. We hope to enter the new year with additional staff there, and in the rest of the business. Bringing with them a host of knowledge and experience to expand and strengthen the teams.

We’re also looking to open a new office in London and aiming for a greater presence in the area. The opportunity to attract a different portfolio of recruitment consultants and clients will help take the company to new heights!

So, why join Advance TRS?

Since establishing, our team have managed to deliver year-on-year growth and organic expansion of services, sectors, staff and offices. This is a track record we are very proud of and are keen to continue.

Looking forward to 2022 it’s looking to be an exciting and challenging year. Our team are motivated and driven to support the growth of the business. All whilst maintaining our values and delivering exceptional service to our clients and candidates.

To join our team, just click the link below and apply today!

https://www.advance-trs.com/about/careers-at-advance/

Despite the challenges of 2021, the Advance TRS team have had some big celebrations as the company reached an incredible 10-year milestone. From its humble beginnings in 2011, Advance TRS has shown remarkable growth. It has gone from a £0 to a £25m turnover business, delivering MSPs and RPOs for some of the biggest businesses in the built environment. To this day the team work closely with clients and candidates to provide honest, reliable, and top-quality recruitment solutions.

In the second part of our blog series, we sit down with Andy, Founder and Group Managing Director, to discuss the company today and what makes Advance TRS different.

Where is the business currently?

Andy: Right now, we are very established. Each sector has developed a strong client base and recognised recruiters that have a deep understanding of their sectors, from both the client and candidates. They have learnt what the clients expectations and requirements are, plus what a candidate wants, and needs. We offer a professional service and expert advice to our clients. With this critical client base, we can operate fantastic recruitment solutions.

The pandemic, the general election and Brexit have all had a knock-on effect to the recruitment market. This has been challenging at times, however, we have not let this slow us down. We stayed motivated and worked hard, no matter what the circumstances. The markets are recovering well and now picking up pace on projects or programmes that had been delayed during the challenging period. This creates a greater need for us to deliver suitable candidates and help catch up on any delays.

The future is looking very exciting for Advance TRS! We’re expanding geographically and aiming for a greater presence in London. This would give us the opportunity to attract a different portfolio of recruitment consultants. We can offer a greater service, with even more experience and knowledgeable people.

What makes Advance TRS different?

Andy: Despite being a SME business we are running two successful offices and looking to open a third. We are committed to delivering our service in a responsible, safe, and sustainable way. From our environmental footprint to site-based health and safety, and from legal compliance to giving back to local communities, our attention to detail and dedication to delivering a quality service rings true throughout everything we do.

From the beginning, staff wellbeing and company values have been highly important to me. I’ve tried to nurture a close office culture, where colleagues work together and look out for each other. It is a culture we work hard to protect and continue, so finding the right people for the company is just as important as finding the right people for the job. By collaborating in a friendly, open office, we work together to deliver the best possible service for our customers.

Advancing those less fortunate has also been a central motivator for me and the Advance TRS team. To date, our staff have raised over £65,000 for charities, completing an incredible array of personal challenges to raise money and awareness for those less fortunate.

So, why join Advance?

As a rapidly growing recruitment business, we have fantastic opportunities for career development. We pride ourselves on rewarding success and promoting from within. However, we are always looking for new talent to further strengthen and expand our teams.

Working with our experienced training and development team, you’ll develop your skills and abilities even further to ensure you reach your maximum potential in your role. We also have a company intranet, with online training courses available for your own progress.

As recruiters, we really understand that talented and motivated staff is the key to any successful business. Check out our website to find out more and contact us today!

https://www.advance-trs.com/about/careers-at-advance/

This weeks news from across the Built Environment

How storms and flooding affect the railway

Floods, high winds and landslips can destroy railway infrastructure and block lines. Network Rail teams repair damage and clear debris to ensure trains can continue to run. Read more…

Rail operator unveils first co-operative energy project on UK rail network

The new initiative is expected to save up to 50 tonnes of carbon a year, generating over 200,000 kW hours of electricity. Read more…

Government ‘collusion’ with construction sector allowed combustibles loophole

The Grenfell Tower Inquiry has told that hundreds of high-rise buildings in the UK were clad with combustible materials because the government failed to crack down on a loophole after colluding with the construction industry. Read more…

Glow-in-the-dark concrete used on first commercial scheme

A glow in the dark paving system that absorbs ultraviolet rays during the day and radiates light at night has been used for the first time on a major commercial development in Derbyshire. Read more…

Initiatives boost opportunities for women in water

British Water’s unique Women on Water campaign continues to build momentum, with the renewal of a successful mentoring programme and the announcement of an in-person networking reception. Read more…

Water retailers opt for new United Utilities in-house meter reading service

United Utilities has seen a growing uptake by water retailers of its non-household meter reading service – more than 90 per cent of non-household meters in the North West are now being read by the water company. Read more…

Browse our latest jobs.
Register for job alerts here.

Latest news across the Rail Industry

How storms and flooding affect the railway

Floods, high winds and landslips can destroy railway infrastructure and block lines, so Network Rail teams repair damage and clear debris to ensure trains can continue to run. Read more…

Rail operator unveils first co-operative energy project on UK rail network

The new initiative is expected to save up to 50 tonnes of carbon a year, generating over 200,000 kW hours of electricity. Read more…

Transport for Wales introduce more services to timetable

Transport for Wales (TfW) have announced there will be an increase in the number of services running on its network from December this year. Read more…

A sustainable new vision for the future of Scottish railways is on track

Scotland has huge ambition when it comes to greening rail travel. It has set a target date of 2035 for eliminating diesel across its 2820 kilometres of track. Read more…

Browse our latest Rail sector jobs here.
Register for job alerts here.

Recent news from the construction industry

Pandemic detonates workforce age timebomb

The pandemic has triggered an exodus of more than 100,000 skilled workers as they vanish from the industry’s core 45-55 years old age group. Read more…

Construction output shows the fastest rise in four months

HIS Markit and CIPS UK report that UK construction companies have indicated a sharp increase in business activity, and the fastest upturn in commercial work. Read more…

Government ‘collusion’ with construction sector allowed combustibles loophole

The Grenfell Tower Inquiry has told that hundreds of high-rise buildings in the UK were clad with combustible materials because the government failed to crack down on a loophole after colluding with the construction industry. Read more…

Glow-in-the-dark concrete used on first commercial scheme

A glow in the dark paving system that absorbs ultraviolet rays during the day and radiates light at night has been used for the first time on a major commercial development in Derbyshire. Read more…

Regulator vows to increase scrutiny of National Highways investment plans

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has vowed to increase its scrutiny of future road funding for the strategic road network as plans are drawn up for the third road investment strategy (RIS3). Read more…

Browse our latest Construction jobs here.
Register for job alerts here.

The latest news across the water industry

Initiatives boost opportunities for women in water

British Water’s unique Women on Water campaign continues to build momentum, with the renewal of a successful mentoring programme and the announcement of an in-person networking reception. Read more…

Water retailers opt for new United Utilities in-house meter reading service

United Utilities has seen a growing uptake by water retailers of its non-household meter reading service – more than 90 per cent of non-household meters in the North West are now being read by the water company. Read more…

Sewage discharges cost Severn Trent Water £1.5 million+ in court

Severn Trent Water was yesterday fined £1.5 million and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £58, 365 for sewage discharges from 4 sewage treatment works in Worcestershire between February and August 2018.. Read more…

Browse our latest Water jobs here.
Register for job alerts here.

This September the Advance TRS team celebrates the recruitment agency’s remarkable 10-year milestone, as they gear up for some well-deserved anniversary celebrations in London at the end of the month.

In the past decade, the business has shown incredible growth, starting as a one-man band and turning into a £25m business. Founder and Group Managing Director Andy Ridout employs some of the industry’s most knowledgeable recruitment experts who provide a 5-star service to both clients and candidates. 

In this 3-part blog series, Andy tells us what sparked the idea of setting up the business, where he sees the company going in the coming months and years and reveals some exciting plans. 

Andy, what motivated you to start your own recruitment business 10 years ago and what was your vision?

Andy: I come from a recruitment background. Prior to setting up Advance TRS, I had already spent 25 years being a leading recruitment expert in the built environment. I saw a lot of poor quality service that barely scratched the surface, so I wanted to offer a service that really focused on quality over quantity, building close relationships with clients, getting a deep technical understanding of their needs to be able to find the top-quality talent they’re looking for.

I also knew I wanted it to be a multi-sector business within the built environment to enable us to cross-sell skill sets and opportunities that would complement each other.

How has the business changed in the past decade? 

Andy: In the beginning, I knew we needed to build a good reputation, establish our presence on the market and deliver what we said we would, to the high-quality standards we had set ourselves. Being such a small team at the beginning, it wasn’t always easy but we worked hard and it paid off. 

In no time at all Advance TRS started attracting top sector experts into the business, seasoned recruiters who know their industries and who live by the same values we had set for ourselves. And there’s no end in sight! We continue to grow and recruit new team members who bring the right ethos and drive. 

These fantastic individuals have been integral in driving the business forward. Our grown Guildford and South Coast teams are stronger than ever and we’re ready to take the business to the next level.

Why Advance TRS?

As a rapidly growing recruitment business, we have fantastic opportunities for career development. We pride ourselves on rewarding success and promoting from within. However, we are always looking for new talent to further strengthen and expand our teams.

As recruiters, we really understand that talented and motivated staff is the key to any successful business. To help us develop our team into the best they can be, all staff receive invaluable mentorship from our experienced senior leaders and are able to shape a clear career path bespoke to them, mapping out potential routes of progression within the company.

Our dedication to creating a fantastic working environment was recognised at the 2018 Toast of Surrey Business Awards when we were announced as Employer of the Year and Leadership Team of the Year.

As well as a competitive salary, you’ll also be able to take advantage of our fantastic benefits package including; Discounts and Perks, Private Pension Plan, Team Building & Incentives (Climb the O2, powerboat down the Thames or enjoy a night out on the company. We ensure hard work and dedication is rightly rewarded), Break Out Room, Private Health Insurance, Uncapped Commission, Life Assurance, and Workplace Wellbeing program. 

Check out our website to find out more and contact us today!

“Do you have any questions?” It’s asked at the end of every job interview, and your answer should always be yes. if you haven’t prepared for this interview question, it can catch you off-guard.

When preparing for an interview, you should always come up with a list of questions to ask the interviewer. They help to make you come across as interested in the business and the role, enthusiastic and engaged. Come up with about 5-7 questions to ask, just in case they have already been answered during the interview.

When preparing your list try to avoid asking questions that only require a yes or no answer, and steer clear of questions around salary and holiday allowance, at least for the time being – those points can be discussed once you receive a job offer. 

If you need some inspiration, we have listed some good questions to ask at an interview below.

Where do you see the company heading in the next five years?

Asking this should give you an insight into the company’s progression plans and its place in the market, and possibly give you an idea about any major upcoming projects. Asking this question shows a real interest in the organisation.

What are the day-to-day responsibilities of the role?

Asking these questions provides you with an opportunity to gain an insight into what skills and experience are needed. It will also give you an idea of what the employer’s expectations are, and ultimately help you decide if the role is right for you. 

Are there opportunities for further training? 

This shows that you want to expand on your knowledge and demonstrates that you’re serious about your career.

What are the opportunities for progression within the company?

If you are looking for a long-term career within the company, asking this question will help you find out whether this is the business for you. 

Can you tell me more about the culture of the organisation?

A good working environment is important and asking this question will give you the opportunity to find out whether you’ll fit in.

How could I impress you in the first three months?

This is a great one to ask at the end of a job interview. It shows potential employers that you’re eager to make a positive contribution to the organisation.

Join us! 

As a rapidly growing recruitment business, we have fantastic opportunities for career development. We pride ourselves on rewarding success and promoting from within. However, we are always looking for new talent to further strengthen and expand our teams.

As recruiters, we really understand that talented and motivated staff is the key to any successful business. To help us develop our team into the best they can be, all staff receive invaluable mentorship from our experienced senior leaders and are able to shape a clear career path bespoke to them, mapping out potential routes of progression within the company.

Our dedication to creating a fantastic working environment was recognised at the 2018 Toast of Surrey Business Awards when we were announced as Employer of the Year and Leadership Team of the Year.

During the Covid pandemic, a large proportion of the UK public lost their jobs due to businesses having to cut costs and save wherever they could. In addition to that, many young people graduate from university each year and it can be challenging to find a job.

We are a rapidly growing recruitment business always looking for motivated individuals to join our team! In this two-part blog series, we have spoken to some of our colleagues about how they got into recruitment and whether they felt that their experience of having gone to university helped them in their job.

In this week’s post, we find out more from Water & Infrastructure Director Rob and his colleague Alex, Principal Consultant on the Advance TRS water team.

If you haven’t read part 1, you can find it here.

What is your degree? 

Rob: I studied Environmental Science at the University of Southampton.

Alex: I went to the University of Portsmouth and have got a BA (Hons) in Architecture.

How did you get into recruitment? 

Rob: At the time, I went to a careers fair where I met a graduate recruiter. He was working at the business I later joined, so it all went from there. 

Alex: My first child was born the day before I started my third year at University. Whilst this focused my mind to complete the third year I decided that I needed to start earning good money to provide for my family. Staying in architecture would have meant a further one to two years in a work placement, followed by another year to complete a Masters Degree which would have meant struggling financially. My best friend’s mum was the HR Director at a big recruitment firm at the time and I had heard that there was good money to be made in recruitment. Whilst having a fairly quiet disposition and not being a typical ‘salesperson’, I did have bucket loads of drive and determination so I thought I’d give it a shot.

How has your degree and going to uni helped you in your career?

Rob: My degree included units on key water and environmental management and engineering sectors so I have a good understanding of lots of the key components which I recruit for. Having a broad understanding of the technical aspects allowed me to focus on learning the nuts and bolts of recruitment and was definitely an advantage.

Alex: The experience of university helped in my overall maturity and built my confidence in communicating with a variety of people. It also helped to instil and build various characteristics including drive, commitment, persistence, determination, work ethic, listening skills, initiative and innovation. Having good knowledge of architecture and the built environment helped me to adapt to recruiting within the civil engineering design sector as I already had an understanding of various aspects of the design & build process.

Why Advance TRS?

As a rapidly growing recruitment business, we have fantastic opportunities for career development. We pride ourselves on rewarding success and promoting from within. However, we are always looking for new talent to further strengthen and expand our teams.

As recruiters, we really understand that talented and motivated staff is the key to any successful business. To help us develop our team into the best they can be, all staff receive invaluable mentorship from our experienced senior leaders and are able to shape a clear career path bespoke to them, mapping out potential routes of progression within the company.

Our dedication to creating a fantastic working environment was recognised at the 2018 Toast of Surrey Business Awards when we were announced as Employer of the Year and Leadership Team of the Year.

As well as a competitive salary, you’ll also be able to take advantage of our fantastic benefits package including; Discounts and Perks, Private Pension Plan, Team Building & Incentives (Climb the O2, powerboat down the Thames or enjoy a night out on the company. We ensure hard work and dedication is rightly rewarded), Break Out Room, Private Health Insurance, Uncapped Commission, Life Assurance, and Workplace Wellbeing program. 

Check out our website to find out more and contact us today!

During the Covid pandemic, a large proportion of the UK public lost their jobs due to businesses having to cut costs and save wherever they could. In addition to that, many young people graduate from university each year and it can be challenging to find a job.

We are a rapidly growing recruitment business always looking for motivated individuals to join our team! In this two-part blog series, we have spoken to some of our colleagues about how they got into recruitment and whether they felt that their experience of having gone to university helped them in their job.

In this week’s article, we spoke to Client Services and Rail Signalling Director Sam and his colleague Josh, Principal Consultant on the Advance TRS rail team.

What did you study? 

Sam: I went to the University of Winchester where I studied Sports Management combined with Business Administration.

Josh: I studied BA in Law and Business Management at Keele University.

How did you get into recruitment? 

Sam: A friend of a friend knew of some recruitment vacancies at a business in Twyford, the same company Advance TRS Founder and Group MD Andy Ridout and Operations Director Paul Merton worked for at the time. I didn’t hesitate and applied; there was high earnings potential and great opportunities for career progression. I also enjoy working with people which, as a recruiter, you do on a daily basis.

Josh: A friend of mine ran a recruitment company and I did some work for him while I was at uni. I liked the work and the fast-paced, competitive environment that comes with recruitment and it all went from there.

How has the experience of going to uni helped you in your career? 

Sam: It has certainly taught me discipline and what it means to work hard, which have been really valuable traits working in recruitment. 

Josh: Yes, to the extent it helps with being thorough in what you do and not take things at face value, which in recruitment can lead to issues down the line. It helps with discipline in terms of covering things off and not letting issues stay live.

Why Advance TRS?

As a rapidly growing recruitment business, we have fantastic opportunities for career development. We pride ourselves on rewarding success and promoting from within. However, we are always looking for new talent to further strengthen and expand our teams.

As recruiters, we really understand that talented and motivated staff is the key to any successful business. To help us develop our team into the best they can be, all staff receive invaluable mentorship from our experienced senior leaders and are able to shape a clear career path bespoke to them, mapping out potential routes of progression within the company.

Our dedication to creating a fantastic working environment was recognised at the 2018 Toast of Surrey Business Awards when we were announced as Employer of the Year and Leadership Team of the Year.

As well as a competitive salary, you’ll also be able to take advantage of our fantastic benefits package including; Discounts and Perks, Private Pension Plan, Team Building & Incentives (Climb the O2, powerboat down the Thames or enjoy a night out on the company. We ensure hard work and dedication is rightly rewarded), Break Out Room, Private Health Insurance, Uncapped Commission, Life Assurance, and Workplace Wellbeing program. 

Check out our website to find out more or contact us!

Created by The Women’s Engineering Society (WES), 23rd June 2021 marks International Women in Engineering Day (INWED), the only day in the calendar that celebrates women in engineering and similar professions.

According to WES, latest figures show that just under 13% of the engineering workforce is female. INWED gives women engineers around the world a profile when they are still hugely under-represented in their professions. It plays a vital role in encouraging more girls and young women to take up engineering careers.

In 2020 the International Women in Engineering Day Twitter campaign recorded a potential impact of 103 million, with the official #INWED hashtag trending at number one in the UK on the day. The website was viewed 56,000 times during the month of June, with hundreds of events registered and taking place in countries all across the world.

In a blog we published recently, we spoke about a BBC article on the topic of youth unemployment and women between 15 to 24 being most affected in the UK. After reading the article, Advance TRS Group Managing Director Andy Ridout decided to offer three fast-track positions to young women wanting to start a career in recruitment.

We’re hiring

At Advance TRS, we believe everyone deserves the same opportunities, regardless of age, race, gender, religion or sexual orientation. The diversity of our workforce is an essential part of our success. As such, we are committed to supporting contractors and staff to work in an environment that is free from discrimination and promotes equal opportunities for all.

We are currently recruiting for a number of positions across our Guildford and South Coast teams in recruitment, payroll and sales administration. Check out our latest opportunities.

Why Advance TRS?

As a rapidly growing recruitment business, we have fantastic opportunities for career development. We pride ourselves on rewarding success and promoting from within. However, we are always looking for new talent to further strengthen and expand our teams.

As recruiters we really understand that talented and motivated staff is the key to any successful business. To help us develop our team into the best they can be, all staff receive invaluable mentorship from our experienced senior leaders and are able to shape a clear career path bespoke to them, mapping out potential routes of progression within the company.

Our dedication to creating a fantastic working environment was recognised at the 2018 Toast of Surrey Business Awards when we were announced as Employer of the Year and Leadership Team of the Year.

As well as a competitive salary, you’ll also be able to take advantage of our fantastic benefits package including; Discounts and Perks, Private Pension Plan, Team Building & Incentives

(Climb the O2, powerboat down the Thames or enjoy a night out on the company. We ensure hard work and dedication is rightly rewarded), Break Out Room, Private Health Insurance, Uncapped Commission, Life Assurance, and Workplace Wellbeing program. 

Check out our website to find out more!

Read our blog on what support different organisations in the built environment offer women already working in or looking to pursue a career in engineering.

The BBC recently reported that during the Covid pandemic, a large proportion of the UK public lost their jobs due to businesses having to cut costs and save wherever they could. Young people were more affected by this, with young women aged 15 to 24 being hit the hardest. 

That is partly because women are more likely than men to work in some of the hardest-hit industries such as hospitality. The International Labour Office (ILO) estimated that around the world, about 55% of workers in hotel, catering and tourism were women.

Some have been looking for a new role for almost two years with no luck. Businesses are still struggling, and while recruitment in some areas is on the rise, other industries are still very cautious or simply can’t afford to employ again yet.

Advance TRS creating opportunities for young people

“I was really moved by this, no young person should have to struggle so much to find a job or start a career.” explained Andy Ridout, Founder and Group MD of Advance TRS. As a father of teenagers who will soon be job hunting themselves, he understands why being rejected for roles time and time again can knock applicants’ confidence.

We are hiring

In order to help combat the issue, especially when it comes to young women being unable to find employment, Andy came up with the idea of opening three fast-track recruitment trainee jobs in the company’s Guildford head office. This will provide ambitious young women with an opportunity to start a career in recruitment and, depending on their drive and motivation, quickly move up the career ladder with nearly unlimited earning potential.

If you are under the age of 30 and currently looking for a new job, contact us to find out more about the programme! 

We also have several other exciting opportunities available across the business. Take a look at those here and apply today! 

We look forward to hearing from you! 

About Advance TRS

As a rapidly growing recruitment business, we have fantastic opportunities for career development. We pride ourselves on rewarding success and promoting from within. However, we are always looking for new talent to further strengthen and expand our teams.

As recruiters, we really understand that talented and motivated staff is the key to any successful business. To help us develop our team into the best they can be, all staff receive invaluable mentorship from our experienced senior leaders and are able to shape a clear career path bespoke to them, mapping out potential routes of progression within the company.

Our dedication to creating a fantastic working environment was recognised at the 2018 Toast of Surrey Business Awards when we were announced as Employer of the Year and Leadership Team of the Year.

Find out more about what it’s like to work at Advance TRS

World Environment Day has become a platform to raise awareness on the dangers to our environment such as air and plastic pollution, illegal wildlife trade, sea-level increase and food security to name just a few. 

The theme this year is Ecosystem Restoration, which means assisting the recovery of destroyed ecosystems and conserving those that are still intact. It can take many forms, from growing trees, to rewilding gardens, changing diets, making cities greener or cleaning up rivers and coasts. Healthier ecosystems with richer biodiversity yield greater benefits such as more fertile soils, bigger yields of timber and fish, and larger stores of greenhouse gases.

The official World Environment Day website holds a wealth of information on how this awareness day came about, what we can all do to help the environment and much more. Take a look to see what you might be able to do, as even the smallest changes can have a big impact. 

There are many things businesses can do to become more environmentally friendly too, from cutting down on paper to turning off computers when not in use and switching off the lights when leaving the office in the evening. We previously published a blog with some suggestions.

At Advance TRS, we care about the environment and we are making more and more changes to make sure that we minimise our impact on it. If you want to work for a business that places the environment as a priority, send your CV to info@advance-trs.com or take a look at our latest vacancies.

As a rapidly growing recruitment business, continuing to improve equality, diversity and inclusion is vital to us at Advance TRS. We always strive to create a working environment that is free from discrimination and promotes equal opportunities for all, and we work with our clients to help them do the same. 

In a series of interviews we have spoken to some of the talented women working at Advance TRS and asked them what challenges they might have faced in their careers so far and what advice they would give other women wanting to start working in their sectors.

In this part of the blog series we spoke to Senior Resourcer Emily and Client Services Delivery Manager Louise.

What made you want to start a career in your sector? 

Louise: I have always worked in a sales environment ever since finishing college, and I thrive on working towards a target and being driven by earning commission. The last 10 years have been in the recruitment sector and I would never look back. It can be a rollercoaster ride, the highs are high but the lows can be really low. However for me, I wouldn’t change it as being rewarded for working hard is what motivates me every day. I have always been competitive whether that be in sports or work and enjoy the challenge of constantly pushing myself to be better.

Emily: I’ve always been interested in a career in recruitment, it’s always seemed like a job I wanted to do. The role itself is rewarding in so many ways; you’re given great career development opportunities, you get to help people reach their career goals, you have the incentive of earning additional income by working hard. Working in rail wasn’t something I initially ever saw myself being capable of doing, but it’s been great learning about an interesting sector that was brand new to me. I think the best and honest way to describe being in recruitment is that it’s a feast and famine environment but the good massively outweighs the bad because there is so much reward in doing well. 

Is there anyone that inspires you in your career? 

Louise: You always look up to the “top billers” within the company and strive to get closer to them. Obviously our MD Andy is a huge inspiration as he has taken Advance TRS from nothing to where we are today. I also admire our Finance Director Carolyn, as she has made her way to a Board Director position through her hard work and commitment to the company and as the only female Director she of course is also inspiring to me!

Emily: Everyone at Advance TRS inspires me. Everyone has achieved something and it’s great to see others doing well as it’s a great insight into the potential your career has.

If you could have dinner with three inspirational women, dead or alive, who would they be and why? 

Louise: My nan, Marilyn Monroe, Beyonce

Emily: Princess Diana, Kim Kardashian, my Auntie 

Based on your own experience, what advice would you give to women considering a career in your sector? 

Louise: You have to be thick skinned to work in recruitment, strong willed and persistent. Never give up and even if you get knocked back pick yourself up and try again

Emily: Stay positive, trust in yourself and be confident in your work, always be willing to pick yourself back up after a setback and not let it affect you and don’t be afraid to stand out from the crowd.

How important is it for women to lift each other up and what does that mean to you? 

Louise: I think it’s very important for women to support other women, we should embrace each other’s strengths and not feel threatened or jealous but be proud of each other.

Emily: It is extremely important for women to feel empowered and to empower other women in return, It’s the greatest gift we can give each other and it doesn’t cost a penny.

How do you find being a woman working in your sector? 

Louise: Being in recruitment, it is quite a male-driven environment, particularly with the sectors we work in, so it can be tough as you do find you are the minority but the key is to stand strong and don’t be a pushover. Also it’s nice giving the boys a run for their money too!! (Nothing like a bit of healthy competition)

At Advance TRS we are always looking for talented and driven new team members. If this is you and you would like to work for a business that values its employees’ contribution to its success then we would love to hear from you!

To find out more about our current opportunities, visit our careers page, or for a discrete conversation, contact Paul Metcalfe, Advance TRS CEO on 07793 554 413 or email pme@advance-trs.com.

Mental Health Awareness Week 2021 was all about nature and the positive effect it has on our mental wellbeing. In a previous blog, we spoke about a great article Mentalhealth.org.uk published, talking about their top tips on connecting with nature to improve your mental health.

Growing food or flowers, exercising outdoors or being around animals can have lots of physical and psychological benefits and in this post, we wanted to share some of our favourite ideas with you.

Growing space

Not everyone has access to a garden, so instead, you could plant salad leaves or herbs in a window box or plant pot and watch them grow.

Bring nature to your home

Buy yourself some potted plants or flowers, or arrange a comfortable space to sit by a window where you can look out over a view of trees or the sky.

Connect with animals

The positive effect animals have on our mental health are well-known, so maybe you could benefit from visiting a local farm, hanging a bird feeder outside your window or even borrowing your friend’s dog to take for a walk.

Help the environment

There are countless things you can do to help protect the environment, for example going on a litter picking walk – you will be surprised how much rubbish you will find! Or, if you have some outdoor space of your own, you could plant seeds, such as bushes and flowers to help bees and other wildlife. 

It’s the simple things

If the above don’t really work for you, you could simply enjoy your morning cup of coffee or tea outside or sit in the local park during your lunch break. 

There are many more things you can do to help you (re)connect with nature. Mental health charities like mind.org.uk, as well as the MentalHealth.org.uk website offer great resources to help you.

At Advance TRS, we prioritise our staff’s wellbeing. We offer a Wellbeing Hub and have appointed qualified Mental Health First Aiders, who will act as the first point of contact for anyone feeling stressed or overwhelmed.

We are currently recruiting, so if you want to work for a company that places mental wellbeing and dealing with the causes of stress as a priority, send us your CV or take a look at our latest vacancies.

Today, Monday 10th May, marks the start of Mental Health Awareness Week 2021, and this year, the theme is nature. 

Nature is vital to our psychological and emotional health. In fact, it is almost impossible to achieve mental wellbeing without a connection to the natural world. You might even have noticed before how much better you feel after a walk or simply spending some time outside. This is because for a big chunk of human history, we lived as part of nature and this only drastically changed with the last five generations, when many of us lived and worked much more separated from it. 

The good news is, you don’t have to go for a 10k run or 2-hour long walk everyday to reap the benefits of being outdoors. Even short amounts of time reduce feelings of social isolation and protect our mental health efficiently while also preventing stress.

There are many ways you can reconnect with nature and even bring it to you! Mentalhealth.org.uk have published a great article and an accompanying document listing some of their top tips on the topic. You can find the blog here.

At Advance TRS, we prioritise our staff’s wellbeing. We offer a Wellbeing Hub and have appointed qualified Mental Health First Aiders, who will act as the first point of contact for anyone feeling stressed or overwhelmed.

We are currently recruiting, so if you want to work for a company that places mental wellbeing and dealing with the causes of stress as a priority, send us your CV or take a look at our latest vacancies.

As a rapidly growing recruitment business, continuing to improve equality, diversity and inclusion is vital to us at Advance TRS. We always strive to create a working environment that is free from discrimination and promotes equal opportunities for all, and we work with our clients to help them do the same. 

In a series of interviews we have spoken to some of the talented women working at Advance TRS and asked them what challenges they might have faced in their careers so far and what advice they would give other women wanting to start working in their sectors.

We are starting this short blog series with our Accounts Manager Michelle, and Katie, who is our Compliance & Administration Manager.

What made you want to start a career in your sector?

Michelle: I always wanted to start a career in accounting as it has been my lifelong goal. It wasn’t until my school friend passed away that gave me the push to start up a course in accounting at college and then apply to be a junior accounts assistant at Advance TRS. I haven’t looked back since.

Katie: To be honest I fell into my career at Advance TRS. I was going away travelling around Asia when a now-colleague found my CV online and persuaded me to come for a coffee before I left. When I returned from my adventure I started my new job! 

Is there anyone that inspires you in your career? 

Michelle: I don’t have anyone in particular who has inspired me but I always look up to people who do their best every day.

Katie: I find seeing the success of my colleagues inspires me daily, especially the strong successful women at Advance TRS. 

If you could have dinner with three inspirational women, dead or alive, who would they be and why? 

Michelle: Tina Turner – after years of domestic abuse, physical and mental, she rose above to become one of the most powerful female black artists in the world. 

Caitlyn Jenner – the strength she has to publicly become the woman she wants to be.

Katie Piper – the confidence to tell her story and reclaim her life after such a horrific ordeal. She’s done a lot of campaigning and documentaries getting people talking about mental health, domestic abuse etc.

Katie: Michelle Obama (who wouldn’t want dinner with Michelle!), Rhianna because I think her success is inspiring, and my mum.

Based on your own experience, what advice would you give to women considering a career in your sector?

Michelle: I don’t believe there is any specific advice depending on gender. If you work to your best potential everyday that’s all that matters.

How important is it for women to lift each other up and what does that mean to you? 

Katie: Support, empowerment and positivity amongst women is so important, there is no end to what can be achieved when you look out for one another and lift each other up.

What is the most important piece of advice you have been given?

Michelle: If you believe you can do something, you can. It does not matter who you are or where you are from, you just need to believe.

How do you find being a woman working in your sector? 

Katie: It is a very male dominated environment, but I think that only makes you stand up more, be confident and strive to succeed. 

Why do you think diversity in the workplace is so important?

Michelle: I think that having diversity in the workplace is very important. Having a diverse team means we have a variety of ideas and perspectives. Everyone is being valued and accepted regardless of age, gender, religious beliefs, etc.

At Advance TRS we are always looking for talented and driven new team members. If this is you and you would like to work for a business that values its employees’ contribution to its success then we would love to hear from you!

To find out more about our current opportunities, visit our careers page, or for a discrete conversation, contact Paul Metcalfe, Advance TRS CEO on 07793 554 413 or email pme@advance-trs.com.

Once again, the team at Advance TRS got involved in fundraising activities, this time to help the amazing children’s charity Railway Children, which we have been involved with numerous times in the past. 

At Advance TRS, helping charities by fundraising regularly is at the heart of what we do. We care about others and we want to help make a difference.

The charity

Railway Children has been fighting for children alone and at risk on the streets for over 22 years. During that time, they’ve reached more than 275,000 children in India, the UK and East Africa.

Children run away or are forced to leave home where they suffer poverty, violence, abuse and neglect. They find themselves living on the streets because there is nowhere else to go and no one left to turn to. The problems they face on the streets are often even worse than those they endured at home. 

Railway Children’s pioneering work enables them to get to street children before the streets get to them. You can read more about this brilliant charity on their website.

Last year, the charity’s ‘Sleepout’ was very popular, however, for obvious reasons it wasn’t possible to repeat the event this year, and therefore, the equally successful ‘Sleep In’ was launched. 

Help us make a difference

Changing the format of the event meant the whole family was able to join in and give up the comfort of their usual beds for one night, by sleeping in whatever temporary camp they set up at home. Many of our colleagues built dens in their living rooms which you can see on our Instagram page.  

We set ourselves an ambitious target of £500 to raise for Railway Children. We recognise the impact the past year has had on everyone, including charities, and we would love to be able to help them make a difference! 

We haven’t reached our target yet and are grateful for every single donation, no matter how big or small! Our JustGiving page is still live and if you would like to donate, you can do so here.

Thank you to everyone for your generosity!

Advance TRS recently celebrated Emily Hajek’s promotion to Senior Resourcer within the Rail team. Having first joined the business in August 2019, Emily quickly proved to be a driven and dedicated member of the team and has earned the promotion through her hard work.

Emily swiftly settled into her role at Advance TRS has built a strong network of contacts. She is always keen to gain an in-depth understanding of what her clients and candidates are looking for, to ensure that she finds the perfect solution to suit all requirements. 

“It is a real pleasure having Emily on the Rail Recruitment team. Despite the changes in working conditions during the pandemic, he has proven her value by putting in the effort and going above and beyond.” explains Advance TRS Managing Director and Founder, Andy Ridout.

Emily assumed her new role of Senior Resourcer in March 2021 and is responsible for dealing with permanent, contract and temporary placements, sourcing suitable candidates and dealing with everyday queries. 

Rail recruitment at our core

We have more than 100 combined years’ experience recruiting within the rail sector at Advance TRS, with each of our expert recruitment consultants specialising in a particular discipline within the industry. This ensures we have the capability to meet the precise needs of our clients and candidates. 

We work with some of the world’s biggest engineering organisations, creating bespoke recruitment solutions for some of the UK’s biggest rail projects. If you’re currently looking for an exciting new opportunity, take a look at our jobs page and apply today! (insert link to rail jobs page)

We’re hiring

At Advance TRS we really understand that talented and motivated staff is the key to any successful business. To help us develop our team into the best they can be, all staff receive invaluable mentorship from our experienced senior leaders and are able to shape a clear career path bespoke to them.

We are always looking for driven and ambitious individuals to join the team. As a rapidly growing recruitment agency, we have fantastic opportunities available across the business. Head over to our careers page to find out more about our culture, vision and mission and to find the latest internal vacancies.

For a discrete conversation contact Advance TRS CEO Paul Metcalfe on 07793 554 413 or email pme@advance-trs.com.

We would love to hear from you!

Josh Hill first joined the Advance TRS Rail team as a Recruitment Consultant in January 2016 and has been progressing within his career and the company ever since.

Now a Principal Consultant, Josh specialises in Civils & Permanent Way. He provides effective and efficient delivery and support to candidates and clients alike, using his knowledge of the rail sector and project delivery to lead our Civils & PWay team.

Prior to this, Josh built his experience running the business’ 4 Lines Modernisation (4LM) project delivery, placing white and blue collar signalling professionals in both permanent and contract roles across the London Underground upgrades.

“Josh was instrumental in placing over 200 candidates on the 4LM project, the largest signalling works of its kind in the world.”

explains Advance TRS Managing Director and Founder, Andy Ridout.

“He builds strong relationships with his clients to make sure he understands their requirements, which means he manages to quickly source the right candidates for the roles. I am excited to see what the future holds for Josh’s career here at Advance TRS.” 

Josh specialises in civil and permanent way engineering for the UK rail & metro network and has developed a strong understanding of the industry and key client businesses. 

Rail recruitment at our core

We have more than 100 combined years’ experience recruiting within the rail sector at Advance TRS, with each of our expert recruitment consultants specialising in a particular discipline within the industry. This ensures we have the capability to meet the precise needs of our clients and candidates. 

We work with some of the world’s biggest engineering organisations, creating bespoke recruitment solutions for some of the UK’s biggest rail projects. If you’re currently looking for an exciting new opportunity, take a look at our jobs page and apply today! (insert link to rail jobs page)

We’re hiring

At Advance TRS we really understand that talented and motivated staff is the key to any successful business. To help us develop our team into the best they can be, all staff receive invaluable mentorship from our experienced senior leaders and are able to shape a clear career path bespoke to them.

We are always looking for driven and ambitious individuals to join the team. As a rapidly growing recruitment agency, we have fantastic opportunities available across the business. Head over to our careers page to find out more about our culture, vision and mission and to find the latest internal vacancies.

For a discrete conversation contact Advance TRS CEO Paul Metcalfe on 07793 554 413 or email pme@advance-trs.com.

We would love to hear from you!

During the week of International Women’s Day, some of our team members attended a webinar hosted by APSCo and Women in Recruitment, who had invited inspirational guest speaker Yetunde Hofmann to talk about the importance of recognising who you are and how to really value what you bring to an organisation.

Yetunde, who has a professional background in HR, is a thought leader on culture and behaviour. She is the author of the book Beyond Engagement and founder of a pioneering new leadership development programme for black women called Solaris.

While this thought-provoking webinar was geared towards women, it provided us with great food for thought that we believe everyone can benefit from and we wanted to share this with you in this blog.

Take time for yourself

Do you take any time out of your busy schedule to do something for yourself? And by that we don’t mean exercising, but taking some time for selfcare. That could be reading a book, having a relaxing bath or listening to a podcast. 

This is really important as it will help you to recharge your batteries and feel more energised again. After all you can’t drink from an empty cup!

Value yourself

Who hasn’t been in a situation when you doubted yourself and feel that you need others’ approval or confirmation. Start acknowledging and believing in yourself. Think about what your strengths truly are and remember that everyone is unique and has their own skills and talents. 

When you are content with who you are you will notice the way you work with and support others shift and see extraordinary results. 

To help you become more content within yourself, try to give the following questions some thought: 

  • What gets you motivated?
  • When are you at your best?
  • When are you at your worst?

These are just some of the questions that will help you find out more about yourself. 

Find your joy

This can be and mean so many different things. For some it might mean finding a hobby they love, others find joy in simply being outside in nature and practicing mindfulness. 

Ultimately, finding your joy will help you build your resilience from within. Take some time to dig deep and find out what really makes you feel that joy.

These are only some of the core takeaways from Yetunde’s webinar. If you would like to find out more about Yetunde and read some more of her thought-provoking blogs on a variety of topics you can find her website here.

At Advance TRS, we believe everyone deserves the same opportunities, regardless of age, race, gender, religion or sexual orientation. The diversity of our workforce is an essential part of our success. As such, we are committed to supporting contractors and staff to work in an environment that is free from discrimination and promotes equal opportunities for all.

If you would like to find out more about us and view current opportunities, please view our careers page. Or contact Advance TRS CEO Paul Metcalfe on 07793 554 413 or email pme@advance-trs.com for a discrete conversation.

The latest news across the built environment

Arcadis, Colas and Costain teams to battle for £500M HS2 power contract

HS2 Ltd has revealed the shortlist of bidders for its £523M high voltage power supply systems contract. Read more…

Crossrail | Another West London station transformed ahead of Elizabeth line opening

The transformation of West Ealing station in West London has been completed ahead of the Elizabeth line opening. Read more…

Common prequal system launches to save £1bn in paperwork

Two of the country’s largest contractor trade bodies have launched a nationally recognised single prequalification system for construction with the promise of saving £1bn in industry paperwork. Read more…

Brownfield housing funding for 500 Manchester new-builds

Manchester has secured nearly £8m from the Brownfield Housing Fund to help deliver around 522 new homes. Read more…

New measures to cut water companies’ reliance on storm overflows to discharge sewage into rivers to become law

The government has confirmed that measures to reduce sewage discharges from storm overflows will be put into law. Read more…

Browse our latest jobs here.
Register for job alerts here.

Advance TRS celebrated a number of promotions in the past few months. Amongst those was Jake Rodger’s promotion to Recruitment Consultant. Jake has been with the business since May 2019, when he joined the Rail team as a Resource Specialist and he has since become a valued member of the team.

Within his role of Recruitment Consultant at Advance TRS, Jake has built a strong network of contacts and is always focused on sourcing talented candidates for his clients’ roles. While working mostly remotely, Jake didn’t let any of the events during the past year slow him down. 

“Jake’s drive and dedication to the business and his work are admirable. He takes time to understand his clients’ requirements and continuously manages to swiftly source the right talent to fill the roles. I am excited to see Jake continue to grow in his role and excel in his career.” explains Advance TRS Managing Director and Founder, Andy Ridout.

Jake took on his new role of Recruitment Consultant within the Rail Team in October 2020. His responsibilities now include using his extensive and established candidate network to work closely with client companies to find the best talent matches. 

Jake specialises in the railway signalling sector and uses his strong understanding of the industry and key client businesses to source the best candidates for each requirement, in addition to offering advice to clients and candidates on rates, training and career progression, and supporting salary negotiations between candidates and clients.

Rail recruitment at our core

We have more than 100 combined years’ experience recruiting within the rail sector at Advance TRS, with each of our expert recruitment consultants specialising in a particular discipline within the industry. This ensures we have the capability to meet the precise needs of our clients and candidates. 

We work with some of the world’s biggest engineering organisations, creating bespoke recruitment solutions for some of the UK’s biggest rail projects. If you’re currently looking for an exciting new opportunity, take a look at our jobs page and apply today!

We’re hiring

At Advance TRS we really understand that talented and motivated staff is the key to any successful business. To help us develop our team into the best they can be, all staff receive invaluable mentorship from our experienced senior leaders and are able to shape a clear career path bespoke to them.

We are always looking for driven and ambitious individuals to join the team. As a rapidly growing recruitment agency, we have fantastic opportunities available across the business. Head over to our careers page to find out more about our culture, vision and mission and to find the latest internal vacancies.

For a discrete conversation contact Advance TRS CEO Paul Metcalfe on 07793 554 413 or email pme@advance-trs.com.

We would love to hear from you!

When it comes to IR35 legislation ignorance is certainly not bliss, but this hasn’t stopped larger corporations from burying their heads in the sand and incorrectly leading with a blanket determination approach when it comes to implementing the amendments to the IR35 legislation.

Andy Ridout, Group Managing Director of Advance TRS, specialist recruiters for the built environment, speaks out to highlight the increasingly commonplace blanket approach being taken by many businesses in the lead up to the IR35 deadline.

The Scale of the Problem 

Many businesses are failing to adhere to the off-payroll legislation ‘reasonable care’ requirement and instead, are making blanket determinations. In the context of a contractor facing an IR35 enquiry, taking reasonable care constitutes acquiring independent legal advice or making a full assessment on an individual basis.

Role-based ‘blanket’ assessments fail to take into account the full factual detail required to assess each individual contractor’s status accurately.

“There will always be a requirement for a correctly assessed and determined contract workforce within the project-based built environment sector. Flexible, skilled and specialist contractors are particularly necessary to deliver project-specific works, where these skills are required for a certain project phase.

Opting to move this workforce to permanent staff or incorrectly inside IR35 will lose the flexibility that has required the use of contractors to date, and will see less qualified staff cost businesses more through incorrect contracts. Genuine contractors will leave companies who incorrectly push roles inside of IR35 to the detriment of project delivery. Is this a mistake you can afford to make?” Andy Ridout explains. 

These blanket determinations are an inappropriate response to the legislation, breaching the reasonable care requirement of the legislation section 61T(6)(c), insurance underwriters will not cover the tax risk unless an individual assessment has been conducted, and if investigated by HMRC, an inadequate role-based blanket assessment could trigger an extension of the enquiry window to six years due to ‘carelessness’ under Section S36(1) TMA 1970.

A Simple Solution 

Advance TRS thoroughly investigated the market and what options are out there to support contractors and clients throughout the changes, and have partnered with Kingsbridge to offer free and unlimited use of the Status Determination Tool for Advance TRS clients and contractors, conducting as many assessments as required.

“Perhaps the greatest frustration,” Ridout states “is that conducting accurate assessments and determinations is both simple and achievable, with agencies like Advance TSR offering detailed support for both clients and contractors. There are excellent insured solutions for candidates correctly determined outside of IR35 mitigating the risk to all parties throughout the supply chain. We have been working with Kingsbridge Insurance to bring their exclusive, award-winning IR35 Status Tool to our clients and contractors to support them through the determination process.” 

The Kingsbridge Status Tool asks between 29-34 carefully worded yes/no questions to ascertain an IR35 employment status. These questions – developed by Andy Vessey ATT, Head of Tax at Kingsbridge, qualified accountant, and a leading IR35 specialist who has defended over 500 tax investigations, most of which he has won – take a 360 view of both contract wording and working practices for as accurate a result as possible.

If it’s a clear-cut case, the tool then generates an instant determination, as well as a comprehensive report that pulls through the notable positives or negatives of your engagement. If it’s a borderline result, the answers given are passed over to one of Kingsbridge’s in-house IR35 specialists for further manual review.

Once an assessment has been completed using the Status Tool and determination has been confirmed, Kingsbridge Insurance offers an insurance policy, IR35 Protect, designed to help the full supply chain from contractor to client prepare for the 2021 private sector off-payroll reform.

The IR35 Protect policy:

  • Covers the potentially crippling costs that can arise from an IR35 investigation, including defence costs, unpaid tax, interest and penalties from HMRC.
  • Flexes come the reform deadline to indemnify whoever is held liable by HMRC.
  • Includes exclusive access to the award-winning Kingsbridge IR35 Status Tool (Premium Protect only), making it a one-stop-shop to get ready for the reform.
  • Costs just £199.50 plus Insurance Premium Tax at 12%.

“We’re currently the only IR35 solution provider on the market to offer this hybrid solution, and we firmly believe that it’s the best way to give you a quick, conclusive status result with all the support needed to guide you through the reform.” Andy Vessey ATT, Head of Tax at Kingsbridge

IR35 Protect and Legal Expenses add-ons are charged on a pro-rata basis to align with your existing policy term, although a minimum cost may apply. Find out more about Kingsbridge’s Legal Expenses and IR35 Protect policies on their website.

Just the beginning

Ridout explains that corporates looking to take an ‘easy route’ through the IR35 reform with blanket determinations are failing to see the longer-term impact of these decisions.

Aside from the obvious legal concerns surrounding blanket determinations, large corporations stand to lose out on industry talent to more agile SMEs that have correctly administered the legislation on a case-by-case basis. 

“SMEs correctly assessing individual determinations and using insured solutions will gain the advantage over corporate giants, as large corporate making blanket determinations leach talent and are unable to fill roles in the coming months and years. Contract flexible workforces have evolved through necessity and project-based works still require specialist contractors to deliver specific works. There is still ample time for businesses to re-assess their determination procedure and seek advice,” Ridout explains.

Advance TRS urge clients to reach out and speak to our team of experts to access support in delivering correct status determinations before the 6th April deadline and mitigate the risk of losing critical personnel unnecessarily.

Get in touch today 

If you would like a free consultation to discuss any of the content of this article, or simply wish to discuss how IR35 will impact your business, get in touch with our team.

Ensure you’re ready for April 2021. Contact our IR35 Lead Paul Merton on 01483 361061, email ir35@advance-trs.com or visit https://www.advance-trs.com/ir35/ for more information.

As the importance of closing the skill and pay gaps and bringing more equality to workplaces is being recognised more and more, many businesses adapt the way they recruit in order to attract higher numbers of female staff. Some also offer incentives or make pledges. 

According to a recent article by STEM Women, the number of women working in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) has increased by 216,552 since 2016. This has taken the total number over the 1 million mark for the first time ever and means that in 2019 women made up 24% of the STEM workforce in the UK.

Looking at the data trends between 2009 to 2019 it is estimated that by 2030 there could be more than 29% of women in the STEM workforce. You can read the full article here. 

At Advance TRS, we believe everyone deserves the same opportunities, regardless of age, race, gender, religion or sexual orientation. The diversity of our workforce is an essential part of our success. As such, we are committed to supporting contractors and staff to work in an environment that is free from discrimination and promotes equal opportunities for all. 

We work closely with our clients across the rail, water, property and construction sectors to support them to achieve a more diverse workforce. Search our latest opportunities or contact our consultants for a confidential conversation about your next step on 01483 361061.

Check out our latest opportunities across the built environment.

We have looked into what support different organisations in the built environment offer women already working in or looking to pursue a career in engineering and here is what we have found.

The Women’s Engineering Society

This is a great starting point for anyone. The Women’s Engineering Society (WES) was founded in June 1919 by a small committee drawn from the National Council of Women, which was created during the 1914-18 war to get women into work to release men for the armed forces.

There are numerous resources on the website, from monthly newsletters, a Climate Emergency Group to different (online) events. You can also look for a new role on their job board. 

They cover a wide range of topics and if you can’t find what you are looking for on their website, you can get in touch with them via phone or email.

Women in Rail

As the name suggests, this is more specific to women working in or looking to work in the rail sector. The organisation runs several events throughout the year, including awards ceremonies, and even offers a mentoring programme. The purpose of it is to provide a support platform for women and men in UK rail, champion diverse thinking, exchange ideas and promote diversity in the sector, starting with gender diversity as the core focus.

The programme is also designed to help participants progress in their careers and has received endorsements from several key rail companies. 

To find out more, simply head over to their website.

Women into Construction

A brilliant, not-for-profit organisation, providing bespoke support to women looking to work in construction. By assisting contractors to recruit trained, driven women, they help to reduce skills gaps and create a more gender-equal workforce.

Some of the key businesses in construction are members of Women into Construction, working actively to increase gender diversity within their organisations. You can find their latest advertised roles there or take a look at WiC’s upcoming events. 

Definitely a website worth visiting if you work in the sector or are thinking about joining it.

British Water

British Water has committed to improving gender equality in the water sector with its Women on Water Pledge. This includes increasing the number of women on its non-executive board. British Water has urged the rest of the industry to follow its lead.

As an industry leader, British Water remains committed to supporting businesses and Women on Water will help drive growth through focusing on the productivity, well-being and advancement of those working within organisations’ teams. Read more about Women on Water here.

Women in Recruitment

As a recruitment business, Women in Recruitment is close to our hearts, as it offers firms like our own practical support in attracting, developing and retaining female talent, which helps not only us but also our clients and candidates. 

The organisation gives individuals access to development tools, mentoring and networking opportunities designed to support successful and sustainable careers in recruitment.

We have certainly benefited from being members and feel that it is enabling us to help our clients achieve their goals when it comes to recruiting more female talent across their businesses.

You can find out more about Women in Rail here.

At Advance TRS we are always looking for driven and ambitious individuals to join the team. If this is you and you would like to work for a business that values its employees’ contribution to its success then we would love to hear from you!

To find out more about our current opportunities, visit our careers page, or for a discrete conversation, contact Paul Metcalfe, Advance TRS CEO on 07793 554 413 or email pme@advance-trs.com.

Advance TRS are delighted to celebrate the promotion of Louise Oldham to Client Services Delivery Manager. Louise has been with the business for over 4 years and this promotion recognises her dedication, drive and hard work. 

Within her role of Client Services Delivery Manager at Advance TRS, Louise now manages team members and will develop the Client Services division to deliver service level agreements for select MSP and RPO clients. 

Louise’s main focus is developing a good understanding of client companies, their industry and work culture in order to build and nurture strong relationships, best understand clients’ assignments and swiftly source the best candidates for those requirements. With over 9 years’ recruitment experience, Louise has a proven track record in the sector and understands the importance of building a strong candidate and client network.

During the successive lockdowns, Louise has been an essential team member, driving the adaption of processes to ensure safety for all throughout the hiring and candidate onboarding process. Louise has successfully ensured new starters have been successfully onboarded in their new roles with clients and supported whilst starting their new jobs remotely. 

“Louise is a bubbly, friendly and very driven individual. She listens carefully to client specification and has an incredible talent for sourcing excellent, hard to find candidates for niche roles across a wide range of skillsets.”

explains Advance TRS Managing Director and Founder, Andy Ridout.

“Louise uses her talent for understanding client requirements, to lead her team in delivering high quality and effective recruitment solutions. Her promotion to Client Services Delivery Manager is well-deserved and I am excited to see her continue excel in her career.”

Louise moved into her new role of Client Services Delivery Manager within the Rail Recruitment Team in January 2021. She is now responsible for the continued growth, success and effective service delivery of the Client Services team, and will be supporting the Client Services Director. 

Having progressed to a managerial role, Louise will oversee internal training of staff members and will be in charge of setting and reviewing her team’s KPI driven objectives. She will be mentoring staff to further develop a learning culture within the Managed Accounts and Client Services divisions in addition to delivering against her own recruitment targets. 

Advance TRS are delighted to celebrate the promotion of Sam Jennings to Director, Client Services and Rail Signalling. Sam has been with the business for over 6 and a half years and this promotion recognises years of dedication, success and hard work. 

In his time at Advance TRS, Sam has managed the delivery of a series of Managed Service Programmes and Recruitment Process Outsourcing partnerships with key client accounts for the rail sector. 

Most recently, Sam has been the fundamental project lead, working closely with a major client in the railway signalling sector to deliver a Recruitment Process Outsourcing partnership that has to date placed over 100 professionals in permanent contracts throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Sam and his team have worked tirelessly through lockdowns and adapted processes to ensure safety for all throughout the hiring and onboarding process and he has worked with the client to ensure new starters have been successfully onboarded and supported whilst initiating work remotely. All this has been achieved, whilst maintaining the service level agreement, KPIs, sourcing over 100 professionals and maintaining all compliance standards. 

Previously, over a period of 3 years, Sam oversaw and managed a team to deliver a contingent labour contract for the 4 Lines Modernisation project. This project to upgrade the signalling systems of four of London Underground’s most important railway lines: Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan, when complete, will boost the number of trains to 32 every hour. Sam managed a team of consultants internally in addition to an in-house delivery manager at the client, to deliver an ever-flexing workforce, from 80 up to over 200 workers at peak times that was always fully compliant to London Underground regulations. The team delivered impressive 100% fill rates for each possession and positively managed flexing demands in the workforce for a safe, compliant and successful programme of works. 

Outside of his work with key clients in Client Services, Sam is incredibly well networked within the Railway Signalling sector and has led the Advance TRS rail signalling department, following in company founder, Andy Ridout’s footsteps. Railway signalling has been the founding core business of Advance TRS since establishing in 2011, and Sam has successfully developed the department in his time with the company. 

“In his time at Advance TRS, Sam has been a key consultant to the business, leading teams to success. I am delighted to recognise his efforts with this significant promotion to Director,” 

explains Advance TRS Managing Director and Founder, Andy Ridout. 

“It has been a privilege to watch his evolution in the business and to work so closely with him over the last 6 and a half years. I am excited to see what is to come for Sam and the team as he continues to grow from strength to strength.” 

New Role

His new role as Director of Client Services and Railway Signalling is divided into two key areas of responsibility; overseeing and driving the success of the client services team and managing the railway signalling recruitment team. 

As Director of Client Services, Sam is responsible for delivering service level agreements and key performance indicators for our key client partnerships, recruitment process outsourcing and managed service contracts. He works closely with clients to create and deliver custom recruitment solutions to support business needs, from contingent recruitment to managed services and recruitment process outsourcing. For key clients Sam acts as a delivery director, offering a single point of contact for line managers, working closely with the Advance TRS recruitment delivery team to fulfil technical recruitment SLAs and KPIs. 

In addition, Sam will continue to use his extensive experience and wide network within Signalling Engineering on the mainline railway and London Underground to lead the Rail Signalling division at Advance TRS. He will continue his work to build a growing team of recruitment consultants to further build the division, recruiting for key clients across the UK and across all levels of seniority from Graduate to C-Suite hires.

Charity / Fundraising 

Sam has always played an active role in the company’s fundraising initiatives and most recently Sam led Advance TRS’s Movember efforts, raising money and awareness of health issues men face, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention. 

Sam has also previously completed the London Marathon and Surrey Half Marathon in aid of Action for Children, raising over £2,500 for the charity. Of the 3 representatives from Advance TRS who completed the London Marathon, Sam completed the marathon with the fastest time, clocking in at just under 4 hours. His incredible journey started the previous year when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in a game of Sunday football. After months of tireless recovery, Sam began training again and achieved his target he set to enter and complete the London Marathon.

Happy New Year! Many of us have had a Christmas break and you may have had time to think about your career. Maybe you decided that a job change is on the cards for you?

Or maybe you worked over the festive period and this has given you the drive to look for a new job.

Whatever your reason for wanting a new job, you need to know what to do next. So where do you start?

  1. Engage a specialist recruiter

Good recruiters will have a comprehensive understanding of your market and current opportunities. Engaging recruiters is a quick way of tapping into this knowledge to help you in your search. They can proactively represent you! Even better, they already have a relationship with the hiring managers. They will be able to guide you through the entire job searching process. From interviews and salary negotiation to job offer and onboarding they should be there throughout.

  1. Update your CV

It is very important to get your CV right. It is often the first impression potential employers have of you. Make sure you have a clean and clear layout and TRIPLE check your spelling and grammar. Get someone else to check it over for you as well. Highlight your key relevant experiences, education and certifications. Include all the details in your last 3 jobs, as this is likely to be how far your potential employer or a recruiter looks. Make sure your CV doesn’t exceed 2 pages if possible!

You can find our free CV template here.

  1. Update your online CV

Your social media profile can act as a virtual CV, it’s there 24/7 as your own personal advert to the job market. The sites you need to create or update are your LinkedIn Profile and chosen Joboard accounts.

Create a LinkedIn profile or update your existing profile. Detail your relevant skills and experience to maximise your online presence. The more experience you list, the more searches you will appear in. Share your profile edits to draw attention to your refreshed profile among your followers.

The number 1 reason people change jobs is career opportunity. A common way people discover a new job is through a referral. Social professional networks are the number 1 source of quality hires, followed by internet job boards and employee referrals. Now that LinkedIn has over 5 million members, businesses and recruiters are utilising this to look for new talent!

You can choose to show recruiters and hiring managers, who are searching for potential candidates, that you are ‘open to opportunities’ on LinkedIn. This will not be visible to your current company but will alert hiring managers and recruiters that you are open to approaches!

What is Advance TRS doing?

For more guidance as you consider your job change, take a look at our advance advice page. We have a variety of job searching articles available, from CV writing tips to interview techniques.

If you are looking for a new job in Rail, Water or Construction, contact us today on 01483 361 061 or head to our contact us page. We have plenty of permanent and contract roles across all of our sectors and our recruiters are here to help!

The year is coming to an end and it’s usually around this time that many of us commit to resolutions we want to achieve over the next twelve months. If a new job or career is on your list then read our recommendations on what you can do now to set yourself up for success in the new year.

Update your CV

A great starting point – having an updated CV listing your most recent experience and relevant roles is very important. Make sure you keep it short and sweet and don’t include unnecessary detail.

If you’re spending Christmas with your family or friends take advantage of having them around and ask them to check your CV. Some of them might have some great advice on what you can improve.

Don’t forget your LinkedIn profile

Make sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date too. That way, any recruiters or potential employers coming across your page can get a good overview of your experience.

Time for new goals

Use the time you have off over the Christmas period to set some new goals. Make a plan of how you want to achieve them and in what timeframe. This can really help keep you motivated and on track. Remember to stay SMART – specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timebound for the best results!

Find a specialist recruiter

A great way to find a job you really like is to work with a specialist recruiter in your area. Good recruiters will have a comprehensive understanding of your market and current opportunities. Engaging recruiters is a quick way of tapping into this knowledge to help you in your search. 

Advance TRS

If you’re looking for roles in the rail, water or construction sectors, our specialist teams might have the right one for you.

You can contact our Recruitment Consultants for a conversation about your new career, our latest vacancies and to discuss any potential opportunities with them.

While maintaining our strong reputation as dependable, effective and honest, Advance TRS continue to grow. Therefore, we are always looking for driven and ambitious individuals to join the team. If this sounds like you and you’d like to work for a business that values its employees’ contribution, we would love to hear from you!

To find out more about our current opportunities, visit our careers page, or for a discrete conversation, contact our Talent Acquisition Manager, Jess.

This year has seen some major ups and downs for every business. One thing we believe at Advance TRS is that it is so important to celebrate the highs when they happen to help make the lows more manageable.

As we take some time to reflect on the year we cannot do so without celebrating the amazing new talent that has joined our business in 2020. They have dug in deep and worked hard, in many cases starting their new roles remotely.

Starting new staff from home is not desirable but has been a reality many businesses have had to face and adapt to. All new members have been amazingly flexible and professional, proving to be real assets in their short time with the business so far.

February

Harry joined our business services team to support admin and compliance back in February, just before lockdown #1. He quickly settled into the team, ensuring our systems are up-to-date with candidate and other vital information and he is usually the first person you speak to when you call our main office line.

Chloe joined our finance team a week after Harry and one month before lockdown. To say she had a baptism of fire is an understatement! Chloe had a crash course in our systems but was able to successfully draw on her own knowledge and experience to quickly get up to speed and add value to the team. Working throughout the year, often from home over webcam with the rest of the finance team, Chloe has mastered our payroll process and quickly progressed to Payroll Manager.

Growing our South Coast team

Our South Coast team was joined by Stuart and Sean in May and September respectively, while Tam was added to the team in November. All three of them have been adding value from day one, working hard whether they are based from home or in the office. Moving forward, they’ll benefit from the bigger office space secured in Port Solent, to enable working while adhering to social distancing rules with ease.

Our rail team is joined by three new recruits

More recently, Sam, Joe and Tom joined our rail team in Guildford during November and December. They quickly embedded themselves in the team and even joined in on our fundraising efforts in November, which you can read more about here.

It is safe to say that everyone who has joined us this year has been a huge asset to the team and we would like to extend a big thank you to our new team members for adapting so well to our revised onboarding process and to the whole Advance TRS team for working hard this year, keeping the business going and growing. There is a long way to go yet to weather the storm that is COVID-19, however, we feel positive about the future and we’re ready to take on whatever 2021 has in store!

At Advance TRS we are always looking for driven and ambitious individuals to join the team. If this is you and you would like to work for a business that values its employees’ contribution to its success then we would love to hear from you!

To find out more about our current opportunities, visit our careers page, or for a discrete conversation, contact Paul Metcalfe, Advance TRS CEO on 07793 554 413 or email pme@advance-trs.com.

The UK has now officially left the EU and rules will be changing as of next year. If you are an EU citizen, you will need to apply for settled status in order to continue living and working here. It is free of charge and if you find the idea of starting the process daunting, we’re here to help and we know from experience, it’s quicker and easier than you might think! 

The deadline for completing your application is 30 June 2021.

What you will need

First of all, you will need to download the app “EU Exit: ID Document Check” which is available for Android phones or iPhone7 and above. If you do not have either of these, you can use a friend’s or family member’s phone. You will also need to have the following to hand:

  • Valid proof of identity which can be your passport or national identity card

Note: you can only apply using the app if you have a biometric passport or ID document. You can find out by checking for this symbol:

You will also need to ensure that NFC (near field communications) is enabled on your phone. You can find this in settings – connections, or if you drag down the screen on your Android phone.

If you cannot complete the process via the app, you can either find a list on the Home Office website of places including registry offices you can visit to scan in your documents, or you will need to post your documents to the Home Office.

If you are using the app to complete the application, it will give you step-by-step instructions on what you need to do. 

First, you will need to take a photo of your passport or other proof of identity and add the information to your application. 

You will then be asked to scan the biometric chip to confirm that all details are correct. If you are using your passport, you will need to take off any cover, close it, remove any phone cover and slide your phone over it slowly, until it recognises the chip. As mentioned above, you will need to ensure that NFC is switched on for this. This step can take a while, try not to rush. Once the app recognises the chip it will beep.

As the next step, you will need to take a scan of your face to ensure it matches the photo on your proof of identity. And lastly, you will be asked to take a photo of yourself. 

Once you have completed these steps using the app, you will be asked to return to the website to finish your settled status application. 

There, you will need to fill in details including your name and address and set up security questions in case somebody needs to call you with regards to your application.

Once finished, you will need to verify your email address and you will then receive an email confirming submission of your application. 

Depending on the volume of applications the Home Office receives, it should take around one week to hear back. If you can prove that you have lived in the UK for more than five years, you should be granted settled status. If you get pre-settled status despite having lived in the UK for five years or more, you can apply again.

If you can’t use your phone to complete your application and have to send your documents by post, it’s highly recommended that you use recorded delivery. 

To recap, you need to apply for settled status if:

  • You are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen
  • You were born in the UK but are not a British citizen
  • You have a UK permanent residence document
  • You are a family member or carer of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen who does not need to apply
  • You are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen with a British citizen family member.

You need to apply if you do not have indefinite leave to remain in the UK. If you do have indefinite leave to remain, you’ll usually have a stamp in your passport or a letter from the Home Office saying this.

Visit the Government website for more information on who needs to apply and the application process.

This time around, Advance TRS adapted to the changing times and went virtual for their Half Year Company Conference. 

The team has been working remotely during most of the pandemic, however, we didn’t want to let that stop us from having a catch-up and an update on how everything is going. So we asked everyone to join a Zoom session on Friday afternoon, drinks in hand.

We had lots of speakers, with members of each of our departments giving updates on what the last few months have been like, what their goals are going forward and what they have been up to during lockdown. We laughed and we cheered for our colleagues who, despite restrictions and unprecedented circumstances, really outdid themselves.

Since the start of the year we also welcomed seven new team members, who have all settled in incredibly well and have quickly become an integral part of the Advance TRS family.

We looked back on weekly challenges set by our Founder and Group MD Andy Ridout during the first lockdown. From writing the best poem, to the best portrait of a colleague and best fancy dress. He made sure he kept us entertained and occupied. 

Looking at teams’ achievements and how hard everyone has worked showed that the Advance TRS brand is as strong as ever and is already recovering from the impacts of the COVID pandemic.

The conference was rounded up by celebrating our amazing colleagues who managed to break records during a time that has been so uncertain. It really showed us what we can achieve with hard work and dedication and has given us the motivation to keep pushing on, whatever the next few months may bring. 

While maintaining our strong reputation as dependable, effective and honest, Advance TRS continues to grow and therefore we are always looking for driven and ambitious individuals to join the team. If this is you and you would like to work for a business that values its employees’ contribution to its success then we would love to hear from you!

To find out more about our current opportunities, visit our careers page, or for a discrete conversation, contact Paul Metcalfe, Advance TRS CEO on 07793 554 413 or email pme@advance-trs.com.

The charity Railway Children is incredibly important to the Advance TRS team, especially to our founder and Group MD Andy Ridout, who has seen first-hand the work the charity does on the streets in Africa and Nepal. 

Rail Aid

This year Railway Children have launched the Rail Aid mission, bringing the best of the UK rail community together to raise money and to support children around the world who have been struggling with the impacts of COVID. 

The UK lockdown has forced children to stay in homes where they didn’t feel safe, without the escape and protection of school. The extra stress placed on families already at breaking point has in many cases left young people even more vulnerable to grooming, exploitation by drugs gangs and mental health trauma. 

In India, millions of families have lost jobs, income and homes due to the pandemic, often leaving people to fear starvation more than the virus itself. Desperation has forced millions of children into child labour and marriage while others are simply being abandoned, left to traffickers and exploitation.

In Tanzania, children living in abject poverty relied on the one meal a day they got at school. When schools closed many headed to the streets to beg and scrounge for food, only to be subjected to brutal police round-ups and violence without access to food, water, sanitation or safety.

Rail Aid will send money directly to the communities most in need, using the established Railway Children network to support the most vulnerable children across the world to access help, food and support. 

Advance TRS Fundraising

Since establishing in 2011, giving back to those less fortunate and advancing others has been a central motivator for Andy and the growing Advance TRS team. Having personally championed Railway Children at different industry events for several years, he doesn’t want to miss the opportunity to help the charity make a difference, especially during these difficult times.

This year, more than ever physical activity has been essential to keep mind and body strong and healthy so the team is combining physical activity with fundraising to support Railway Children’s Rail Aid Campaign. 

Andy is leading the Advance TRS team in completing a virtual ‘triathlon’ of sorts to raise money for this fantastic charity. The team aims to cover as much ground as possible by walking, running, cycling or even doing HIIT workouts, all whilst staying safe and adhering to social distancing guidelines. 

Each team member is recording themselves in their activity which will be collated for what should make for a very entertaining video at the end of the month. (Watch this space!)

Donate

Please support the team to keep on moving this November by donating to our JustGiving fundraising page which you can access here. All donations for this amazing cause are greatly appreciated.

You are probably familiar with the annual event, Movember which involves the growing of moustaches during November to raise awareness of health issues men face, such as prostate cancer and testicular cancer. Another focus of the movement is on mental health and suicide prevention.

Whilst working more remotely this year our team members have taken up the challenge and been growing tashes themselves – more or less successfully to raise money for the Movember Foundation. 

To support the Advance TRS Mo Bros, we have set up our Movember fundraising page which you can access here. We think this is a brilliant cause and all donations are greatly appreciated. 

Money raised during Movember is put towards increasing early cancer detection, diagnosis and effective treatments, and ultimately reducing the number of preventable deaths. The Movember Foundation highlights the need for men to be aware of family history of cancer, adopt a healthier lifestyle and it encourages annual check-ups.

Follow our fundraising activities on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter for the latest news and take a look at our Advance Advice on Mental Health for further information.

The job market is constantly changing now more than ever, we have discussed the soft skills required to succeed in a post COVID world, but what about the hard skills that are in demand right now? In this monthly update we review the job roles in high demand right now. 

Principal Civil Engineers 

What does a Principal Civil Engineer do? The Principal Civil Engineer will lead the project team throughout the design and construction process, adapting civil plans according to budget constraints, design factors or client needs. Leadership skills and communication skills are crucial in their work. They also need to be creative to come up with innovative approaches to their projects and any issues that arise. 

What are the benefits of working in civil engineering? Being a civil engineer is an exciting career choice. Civil engineering is about shaping the world and civil engineers work on some of the biggest and most high profile projects in society. From building new roads, railways, airports, sports stadiums, ports or off-shore oil platforms, a civil engineer will be involved from start to finish on these large scale projects. These projects can usually be multi-million or even multi-billion pound programmes so the pressure is on to make sure they are delivered on time and within budget. From early on in the career civil engineers are provided responsibility for certain aspects of a project. Furthermore, no two days in this job are the same. One day you could be in the office working on CAD designs then the following day you could be dealing with contractors, physically constructing work or undertaking site surveys.

What are the current opportunities for Principal Civil Engineers? As specialist recruiters for the built environment we recruit civil engineers at all levels of experience across a wide range of sectors. Currently, our water and environment team are urgently seeking Intermediate to Principal Civil Engineers with experience in river and/or coastal engineering and flood risk management projects for a client working on the Environment Agency framework. Particularly candidates with a design consultancy background (optioneering, outline and detailed design) of flood defences, fish passes, weirs, river and coastal embankments, ports and maritime in the Haywards Heath, Peterborough and Leeds areas. 

If you are looking to take your next step in your civil engineering career, browse our latest Principal Civil Engineer jobs which offer excellent career opportunities and competitive salaries in the market. Here are a couple of our hottest jobs this month:

Property Managers 

What does a Property Manager do? A property manager oversees and performs the daily operations of a real estate property. As a liaison between the property owner and the tenants of the property, a property manager ensures that both parties are satisfied with the property and its daily operations.

What are the benefits of working in property management? Property Managers have a diverse role with exposure to a huge range of tasks, which can quickly strengthen your skill base and value as an employee. It also provides an incredible opportunity to establish a wide and varied knowledge of the real estate sector.  This job will give you insight and experience within the real estate world that will benefit you in future property management jobs or allow you to invest in real estate for yourself.

What are the current opportunities for Property Managers? At Advance TRS our Property teamwork with some of the leading hirers of property managers in the country. A key focus for our clients at the moment is finding Property Managers that have dealt with EWS1 forms (evaluating the fire risk of the external wall system and assessing whether remedial works are required) and have experience of dealing with High Net Worth Individuals.

If you are looking to take your next step in your property management career, browse our latest Property Manager jobs which offer excellent career opportunities and competitive salaries in the market. Here are a couple of our hottest jobs this month: 

Permanent Way Supervisors

What does a Permanent Way Supervisor do? Permanent Way Supervisors lead, direct and motivate staff within the Permanent Way team. They are responsible for maintaining all tools, plant, vehicles and other equipment of the Permanent Way Department, ensuring they are safe for use, returned to storage, and ready for the next job.

What are the benefits of working in Permanent Way? Maintaining the physical system of rail tracks, or permanent way, is more important than ever for the UK’s complex and far-reaching rail network. As the network expands to meet increasing demands for more convenient and faster travel routes, the permanent way division must enlist a workforce that delivers high-level results. With the continued expansion and maintenance requirements of the rail network, nationally and internationally, permanent way engineers are in high demand, with opportunities to transfer skills to international rail networks. 

What are the current opportunities for Permanent Way Supervisors? As specialist recruiters for the built environment, with an expert focus in the rail industry, we recruit permanent way engineers at all levels of experience on leading projects across the UK. If you are looking to take your next step in your permanent way career, browse our latest Permanent Way Engineer jobs which offer excellent career opportunities and competitive salaries in the market. Here are a couple of our hottest jobs this month:

Other roles in high demand this month: 

Technical Engineers 

Depending on their industry, a technical engineer may build or set up equipment, conduct experiments, make models of new equipment, test products, collect data, or help design and develop products. In all areas, they find ways to make things work efficiently.

Contractors Responsible Engineer (CRE)

The Contractor’s Responsible Engineer (CRE) is the person within a design and/or construction organisation with the responsibility for the day-to-day management and coordination of the technical and engineering activities for a specific engineering discipline / project and is responsible for ensuring the Construction and Installation teams follow the project approved Inspection and Test Plan (ITP) Process. 

Are you looking to take the next step in your career?

Advance TRS are growing quickly and we are always looking for ambitious, driven people to join the team. If you are interested to find out more about our current opportunities, visit our website or for a discrete conversation, contact Paul Metcalfe, Advance TRS CEO on 07793 554 413 or email pme@advance-trs.com.

The latest news this week in the Construction Industry:

Galliford Try tops contractors league table in October

Galliford Try took October’s top spot in the contractor league table after being appointed the contractor for eight major projects totalling just under £343m. Read more…

Kier Highways to complete motorway upgrade six months early

Kier Highways is set to finish construction of its Highways England project M6 13-15 motorway upgrade work six months early. Read more…

Browse our latest rail jobs here.
Register for job alerts here.

The COVID pandemic and events of 2020 have required everyone to adapt and change throughout the workplace in just about every industry you can imagine. But change does not have to be a negative, and can be a catalyst creating opportunities to find improvements and drive forward positive transformation. 

Here are some of the key skills to help people succeed in this new time of uncertainty. 

1. Adapting to change

An ability to accept and adapt to change is essential, change has always been inevitable but more than ever before, those who can think quickly and embrace the new normal (at every phase) are those who succeed. Employers are increasingly looking for people who can move out of their comfort zone and see change as an opportunity for growth and innovation.

Through the pandemic, you’ve likely faced and overcome new challenges that you didn’t foresee. So, although this may have felt difficult and uncomfortable at times, you will have been building up your resilience, adaptability and ability to deal with change in the process.

You should take time to acknowledge how your mindset may have shifted in recent weeks and months. If you’ve noticed that you’ve managed to adapt to the changes quickly, it’s likely that you will have done so using a growth mindset, which is a great attribute to highlight in interviews with employers. 

2. Creative problem solving

With a rapidly changing world of work comes the demand for people who are quick to adapt and solve problems efficiently and effectively. As leaders involve their teams in problem-solving discussions, they are looking for professionals who can come up with creative ideas and solutions to ensure deadlines are met and results achieved, despite limited or perhaps strained resources.

Chartered occupational psychologist Dr Maggi Evans explains some ways to help yourself to get your creative problem solving juices flowing;

  • Giving yourself some space; many people come up with their best ideas when they’re doing something unrelated, such as walking their dog
  • Be curious and playful; take fresh perspectives on a problem by asking yourself questions like, ‘What would my superhero do?’, ‘What if I had more time or limitless resources’, or ‘What if I had to find a solution today?’
  • Create a positive environment; if you’re working with a team on a challenging project, spend some time chatting or doing something positive first

3. Enthusiasm

People from all backgrounds and seniority levels will likely be feeling the pressure at the moment, from tough decision making to lingering uncertainty, by embracing the best and being enthusiastic to adapt, compromise, support and even upskill, you can set yourself apart. Your positivity and enthusiasm can be contagious and may just help set the tone for your team or be the positive kickstart someone needs to their day. 

Furthermore, we now live in a world where everything can change almost overnight, and with this change comes demand for different skills. As a result, upskilling should have moved up your priority list. By devoting time now to upskilling and learning, you will be demonstrating to future potential employers your willingness to learn through how you used this time to better yourself and grow your knowledge base.

Regardless of the industry, a willingness to learn and a desire to stay on top of current trends and changes relevant to your profession is valued by employers both large and small. Showing that you are willing to learn is key to learning about and understanding any new developments from a technical point of view, ultimately helping your organisation to progress. 

4. Effective communication

These above-mentioned skills are all well and good but get lost if you’re not able to communicate and demonstrate them successfully to others, such as a potential employer in a job interview.

For example, stating that you are adaptable to change isn’t enough; you need to use your strong communication skills to illustrate just how adaptable you are, perhaps by providing examples. After all, employers favour jobseekers who possess exceptional communication skills and are comfortable speaking with people at all levels of an organisation in a professional manner.

It’s worth acknowledging, too, that communication has now changed substantially and as we transition to a hybrid working world – with team members split between home-working and office-working – strong interpersonal and communication skills are only going to become more important as we learn and adapt to building and maintaining relationships, collaborating and sustaining productivity virtually rather than in person.

Video calls, virtual conferences and online presentations also require new levels of self-confidence you might not currently possess, but will be able to develop in time.

Are you looking to take the next step in your career?

Advance TRS are growing quickly and we are always looking for ambitious, driven people to join the team. If you are interested to find out more about our current opportunities, visit our website or for a discrete conversation, contact Paul Metcalfe, Advance TRS CEO on 07793 554 413 or email pme@advance-trs.com.

Current times can seem daunting, especially if you’re looking for a new job. Despite the pandemic, new roles are being added to job boards on a daily basis and businesses are still looking to recruit new talent. There are steps you can take to help you stand out in the job market.  

Having a step-by-step list of things you can do can give you focus and make the process seem less overwhelming. Check out our guide to help you kick start your search.

Give your CV some attention

Updating your CV should be your very first point of action. Bear in mind that recruiters and hiring managers look at dozens of CVs on a daily basis, so you want yours to really stand out and be interesting for them to read. You can do this by writing everything down, condensing the information to a maximum of two pages and restructuring.

Start with your most relevant experience and achievements and make sure to tailor your personal statement to the role you’re applying for. When it comes to personal statements, there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution. Putting a little effort into getting it right can go a long way.

When it comes to formatting your CV, go with a layout that looks professional and will keep the reader interested. This is your chance to sell yourself and making your CV easy to read and interesting will help you stand out.

You can download our free CV template here. 

Upskill 

Now is a great time to upskill and it doesn’t have to be expensive. There are plenty of courses online that are either free or only require a small fee to be paid and you can enrol and get started right away. New certifications can then be added to your CV. This helps you stand out in the job market, against others who may not have additional qualifications.

This will also show potential employers that you are proactive and take your personal development seriously. 

You might even want to think about reskilling and getting qualified for a new role or sector entirely. Maybe it’s something you have been wanting to do for a while but never found the time to do it. 

Keep it relevant

Once it comes to applying for jobs, try to stick with what is relevant to you and your experience. It can be very disheartening being turned down for a role, even if it wasn’t suitable for you in the first place. 

Take your time to really read job descriptions and decide whether you have the right skillset and experience for the role before you apply. You will be much more likely to stand out and you’ll have a higher chance at hearing back and being invited for an interview. 

Tailor your personal statement to the role

We already mentioned it above, your personal statement will be the first snippet of information recruiters and hiring managers read about you and it needs to be relevant to the job you’re applying for. 

It should be a short summary about you, to help employers see how you view yourself as a person and as an employee. Your personal statement should be one paragraph, aiming for a maximum of 150 words. 

You can find our guide on how to write a personal statement here.

Are you looking to take the next step in your career? 

Advance TRS are growing quickly and we are always looking for ambitious, driven people to join the team. If you are interested to find out more about our current opportunities, visit our website or for a discrete conversation, contact Paul Metcalfe, Advance TRS CEO on 07793 554 413 or email pme@advance-trs.com.

The latest news this week in the Construction Industry:

Construction to carry-on through latest lockdown

Construction sites will continue to operate during the latest lockdown which comes into force from Thursday. Read more…

HS2 launches first virtual ‘Meet the Contractor’ event

HS2 has switched its next major meet the contractor event online as the project gears up to appoint key subcontract packages and do deals with suppliers. Read more…

Browse our latest rail jobs here.
Register for job alerts here.

This week’s latest news in the Rail Industry:

Aecom wins Network Rail Scotland contract

Network Rail has appointed Aecom to undertake civil engineering consultancy services on rail lines in Scotland. Read more…

Network Rail sets out targets to combat global warming

Network Rail has revealed new science-based targets to tackle global warming. Read more…

HS2 Chilterns tunnel vent shaft headhouse designs revealed

HS2 Ltd has revealed the final design for the Little Missenden vent shaft headhouse, which will provide ventilation and emergency access to the railway’s 16km-long Chilterns tunnel. Read more…

Browse our latest rail jobs here.
Register for job alerts here.

With the global pandemic, times have changed and so has the working world. With many of us working remotely we have become very familiar with Zoom, and not just because of the weekly family quiz nights. 

Businesses have had to adapt certain processes to ensure their employees’ health and safety, and one of those processes is the way interviews are conducted. 

Many companies have opted to hold job interviews via video call, which is a great way to ensure social distancing rules are adhered to, however, can bring different challenges for the interviewee. We’ve got some pieces of advice for you if you have a video interview coming up.

Dress for the job you want

Even though your potential new employer might only be able to see your top half, make sure to dress smart head to toe, rather than wearing a blazer and tracksuit bottoms. This will help put you in the right frame of mind, too. 

No matter what job you’re applying for, it is always worth dressing smart, rather than looking too casual. 

Do your research

Whether the interview is held in person or via video call, you should always be well prepared. Make sure to look up the business, find out as much about it as you can and also look up your interviewers. That way you can find out how long they have been with the company for and ask them about what they like about working there.

If you don’t know who is interviewing you, you can ask your recruiter or the person you have been in touch with to confirm the names. 

Switch off notifications

Whatever device you use for the video interview, make sure to switch off any notifications during the call. Having a constant beep of notifications coming up can be distracting for you and the interviewers.

Make use of your screen

You can write some notes about the company and the job on Post-Its and place them around your screen. It can also be useful to have some bullet points on answers to difficult questions you might be asked. We previously published a blog about commonly asked interview questions and how to answer them. You can read the article here. 

Disrupted signal

We’ve all experienced this – occasionally signal might drop and your screen freezes for a short period. If that happens during your interview stay calm, apologise and carry on with the interview.

Find a quiet space

While it is best to find a space without any disruptions for the duration of the interview, that might not always be possible. In case you have children or pets at home who can occasionally be heard in the background, apologise, briefly explain the situation to the interviewers and carry on.

Ask questions

Prepare some questions to ask at the end of the interview to show you are genuinely interested in the business and the role. Again, you can write these on notes and stick them to your screen.

Are you looking to take the next step in your career? 

Advance TRS are growing quickly and we are always looking for ambitious, driven people to join the team. If you are interested to find out more about our current opportunities, visit our website or for a discrete conversation, contact Jess Wells, our Talent Acquisition Manager.

WHAT IS IR35?

IR35 was introduced in 2000 to address concerns relating to individuals who supply their services via an intermediary (such as a Limited Company) instead of as an employee. Therefore, they avoid paying employee income tax and national insurance contributions.

Where an assignment is deemed ‘inside’ IR35, PAYE deductions must be made from the contractor’s pay. Any assignment ‘outside’ IR35 is classed as a genuine B2B service and is not subject to the same tax treatment as employees. Advance TRS are here to support you through these reforms.

We have partnered with IR35 experts Kingsbridge and Liquid Friday to guide our client and contractor communities through the changes in legislation. Browse our latest IR35 news, read our FAQs or get in contact with any questions you might have.

WHAT HAS CHANGED AND HOW DOES IT IMPACT ME?

From 6th April 2021, following changes in the public sector in 2017, the government extended the reform to the legislation to capture large parts of the private sector. The key change is that the responsibility of defining the IR35 status of the assignment switched from the individual’s Ltd company to the client, as the recipient of the services.

The legislation states that all companies must take ‘reasonable care’ when assessing if roles are inside or outside of IR35. Taking a ‘blanket approach’ to assess all roles won’t deliver this. We have spoken about the reasons in a recent blog article.

The potential financial penalties can be significant if incorrect steps are implemented, but there is support available to help.

WHAT DO I NEED TO DO TO ENSURE THE CORRECT DETERMINATION?

We are working with clients and contractors to ensure everyone has taken the necessary steps. We’re also ensuring they have been given the correct IR35 determination for them.

  1. SPEAK TO YOUR CONSULTANT – If you are concerned about whether you have taken the necessary steps and want some guidance, the best place to start is by calling your consultant. They will be able to discuss how the reforms impact you and your method of engagement. 
  1. GET A SELF-ASSESSMENT – Next, you can use the Advance TRS free self-assessment tool to confirm your determination and which method of engagement is suitable for you going forward.
  1. CONFIRM YOUR METHOD OF ENGAGEMENT GOING FORWARD – Once you have completed your self-assessment you will need to confirm any changes with your client and agency to issue any new contracts/rate changes and agree your transition date.
  1. PURCHASE IR35 INSURANCE  – To ensure you and the supply chain are protected, we recommend purchasing IR35 Protection Insurance from our partners Kingsbridge who offer a Zurich underwritten policy

THE ADVANCE TRS APPROACH – Be prepared and proactive

Due to the scale of the impact of this legislation, we were prepared well before the Reform came into effect. This ensures our compliance and working practices facilitate confident determinations.

Listen and Learn – Our ability to gather intelligence from multiple sources allows us to learn at a faster pace and deliver the most informed approach to all parties.

Openly Communicate – Face-to-face meetings and regular bulletins provide clients and contractors with the most up-to-date information on how best to set out our working practices.

Free Self-Assessments – We worked with Kingsbridge to offer free self-assessments for contracts.

An Insured Solution – We understand the importance of peace of mind, so have worked with Kingsbridge to offer a Zurich underwritten insurance product to protect the whole supply chain.

WHY ADVANCE TRS?

  • Offering free self-assessments and IR35 insurance to protect the whole supply chain
  • APSCO accredited engineering recruitment consultancy with sector specialist consultants
  • ISO18001, ISO9001, ISO27001 certificated and 5* RISQS since the inception of the scheme
  • Huge financial investment in contractual documentation reviews from recruitment expert solicitors
  • Robust contracts and terms of business that are compliant with current government legislation
  • Open book policy on working practices with contractors and clients
  • Excellent legal support from expert recruitment and financial specialists
  • IR35 guidance from FCSA accredited supply chain partners
  • Partnered with Kingsbridge Insurance, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of PSC insurance packages
  • Over 100 years collective experience of engineering recruitment
  • Dedicated business services team focused on contractual compliance and payroll excellence
  • A compliance-focused supply chain partner experienced in supporting all levels of project delivery

A LITTLE MORE BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON IR35

HMRC IR35 legislation has been in place since 2000, but non-compliance is widespread.

HMRC estimate that only 10% of those who should be applying the rules do so, which will cost the Exchequer £1.3 billion in 2023/24. This deprives vital public services of important funds and is unfair to taxpayers who are complying with the rules.

Whilst the compliance of PSC workers has been a relatively mute subject for the last 20 years, HMRC have now realised there is a significant need for focus and attention on the management of this area of taxation, more specifically in relation to employers’ national insurance contributions.

With such significant growth in the number of £multi-billion engineering projects across the UK, there will always be a requirement for the engagement of a highly skilled and flexible workforce that is prepared and willing to move from project to project.

It is essential that this workforce becomes more educated on and compliant with the options that are available to them if they wish to remain off-payroll for the duration of their assignments. Advance TRS Ltd. are committed to providing the highest level of service and engagement throughout the recruitment process to ensure that workers and clients can deliver their services and their projects successfully in the knowledge that their status determination truly reflects their employment status.

It is important to learn from the public sector reform and ensure that we keep contractors fully briefed on their options whilst enabling clients to make confident and informed decisions.

It is essential to approach the private sector reform through the utilisation of all information and facilities available to each member of the supply chain. This offers the flexibility to evolve with HMRC decisions whilst retaining a common goal of providing resources to deliver projects.

It is clear that the public sector ‘blanket approach’ determinations should be replaced with the recommendation that contractor IR35 status assessments are dealt with on a case-by-case basis. This approach offers an assurance to valuable workers that their interests are treated fairly, in line with the legislation and not just for the benefit or safety of the end-user.

One of the key aspects of managing the implementation and impact of the IR35 private sector reform is to ensure that each party in the supply chain recognises their responsibility, communication is clear and processes of due diligence and compliance are auditable. Contractors must take responsibility for the management of their accounts and affairs whilst engagers must extend fair treatment or ‘reasonable care’ to their contractors by preparing diligently and not leaving off-payroll working processes and considerations to the 11th hour.

ADVANCE TRS

We have the operational capability to adequately deal with the extra administrative burdens and will work closely with all parties to manage a case-by-case approach.

Many people are finding themselves working from home for the first time, or with more family in the house than usual for a working week.

Maintaining focus when working from home can be challenging at the best of times and with all your family at home, it can test your focus to the limits! Here are some top tips for keeping productive whilst balancing family life during isolation. 

Working from home: with your partner

Set boundaries: Don’t pretend it doesn’t bother you when your partner broadcasts Skype meetings (or watches TV) while you try to answer emails. Also, don’t passive-aggressively work in the bathroom to hint that you’re not happy with the noise in the living room. Turns out a simple “Could you put on headphones?” is an effective way to get someone to, you know, put on headphones.

Designate private areas: Set up clear and separate areas for you each to work in your own way. Work out what works best for you. One of you needs the radio on whilst the other needs peace and quiet? Separation is probably best. If you like similar work environments carve up the dining table so you can work together. Need to take part in web meetings? Set up a meeting space where you can have uninterrupted quiet.

Come up with a schedule together: Sync up your work breaks to enjoy some quality time together in between the work. Share meals, take turns cooking and cleaning up, take a coffee break or agree a time to switch-off and plan a joint activity for the evening. Knowing when your next break is can help keep you focused on completing the task at hand motivated to get the job done before your break. 

Working from home: with toddlers

Get up early: The best way to work when your toddler is around is by getting as much done as possible when they aren’t. This means setting an alarm an hour or two before they are up for the day.

If you do your best thinking in the morning, tackle your largest projects sans distractions during this time. But if you’re not a morning person, getting up early can still be useful. Have a cup of coffee and use this time to organise yourself, respond to quick email requests, and plan out the rest of your workday.

Take Advantage of Nap Time: Enforcing a nap time each day is not only important for your little one’s health and development, but it’s also critical for you. If you can, encourage a long nap of two to three hours in the afternoon.

Encourage Independent Play: Independent play is important for toddler development and should be encouraged. For working parents, independent play can give mum or dad some much needed time to get work done. Busy bags are a great way to entice your toddlers to play by themselves. They’re exactly what they sound like: bags of simple activities designed to keep toddlers busy.

Give Your Toddler Undivided Attention: In these unprecedented times, take advantage of the benefits they offer. Leaving work behind physically is not possible, and it can be tough to let it go mentally as well. But if your toddler is trying to get your attention, chances are, they’re not going to stop until they succeed. Put your to-do list aside, log off the computer, and give your toddler the attention they need and deserve.

Set boundaries and make sure there are plenty of work-free times throughout the day. After all, the biggest perk of working from home is spending time with your toddler – so make sure you take advantage of it.

Working from home: with kids

Start off on the right foot: No matter how many tasks are on your to-do list, its important to create a schedule that includes time for your kids – ideally prior to hunkering down. Give them some undistracted time (no phone in your hand!) before you need to work.

By doing this, you’re giving them the attention they need to feel seen and secure, which should help prepare them to play more independently when you need to focus on work. Eat breakfast together, offer them your undivided attention and then set some clear expectations about the day ahead.

Adjust your schedule: If your job doesn’t require you to be on the clock at specific times, consider adjusting your schedule to work when your children are sleeping or less active. Doing your hardest work first is a good strategy for anyone, it allows you the freedom to be more present and feel like you can step away for an hour or so when the kids wake up and make breakfast.

Set up your workspace and set some boundaries: Even if you don’t have a home office, it’s important to establish a defined work area at home – and to let your kids know that when you’re in work mode, you’re not to be disturbed. Ideally, look for a quiet corner of the house where you can set up everything you need to work through your tasks as efficiently as possible. 

Prevent boredom for your kids by mixing things up: Kids of all ages appreciate having something new and different to occupy them, try a toy rotation to keep them immersed in play. Take a few minutes to sort through their toys, organising them into separate bins, then keeping only a select few out for them to play with.

The idea is that having fewer toys encourages deeper play. Guide your kids toward activities that don’t require your assistance or constant supervision.

Reserve some activities for special occasions: Got an important Skype meeting or rushing toward a deadline? Have some back-pocket activities at the ready that your child loves and can occupy them for 10 to 15 minutes. 

Embrace healthy screen time: No one will send you to parent jail for allowing your kids to hop on a tablet for a while – especially if you’re directing them to fun and educational resources. There are plenty of sites and apps that encourage physical wellness with an array of free activities, such as free games that teach maths, spelling and music skills.

For school-aged kids whose classroom routines have been disrupted, stay on track with learning resources. Many museums offer free virtual tours and zoos have camera feeds to watch the animals. 

Working from home: with pets 

Create A Separate, Pet-Free Work Space: The best way to ensure your pet isn’t going to put a kink in the flow of your workday is to keep them in a separate area. Yes, it’s nice to be able to cuddle your pet while you are listening in on a conference call, but doing this tells them they can get your attention whenever they want. Setting up a separate workspace is great, not just for you and your pet, but also for your work-life balance in general. It helps makes you feel like you aren’t actually living in your office.

Keep pets occupied: If animals are bored or anxious, it can lead to destructive behaviours like chewing, marking or scratching around the house. To avoid an interruption to your workflow – like stopping to scold your pup for chewed up shoes – make sure they have plenty of physical and mental stimulation for when you’re hard at work.

Give your pet some attention time: Be it taking your dog out for a nice walk, having cat cuddles on the sofa or teaching your pet parrot some funny new phrases, make sure to make time for your pet. Give them your full attention in some of your breaks to make sure they are feeling the love and they may be better able to keep themselves distracted whilst you’re on your work conference.

Far more people are working from home during the COVID-19 isolation period. Here are some top tips to help you settle into the new normal and keep productive!

1 Stick to your morning routine 

Get up and have a shower, eat your breakfast, make your coffee and get dressed. Try to stick to your usual routine where possible to keep yourself in a work mindset. Use your time saved from a shortened commute to get ahead with distracting tasks. Do something for yourself, get the kids set up for the day or push your routine back to catch a few extra Zzz’s, but keep to your usual routine where possible. 

2 Set up a work station 

If you do not have space for a home office, find a quiet corner somewhere to make your new office. Somewhere separate from the rest of the house where your isolation companions know not to distract you and you can focus on work. With the increase in web conferencing, you may want to have a think about your backdrop too! 

3 Keep your usual work hours 

Set a schedule, and stick to it…most of the time. Having clear guidelines for when to work and when to call it a day helps maintain a healthy work-life balance. There are lots of apps out there to help you stick to timings and keep your focus so go and explore! 

4 Socialise with colleagues 

Loneliness, disconnect and isolation are common problems with work-from-home life, especially for extroverts. Take advantage of methods your company is offering you to stay in touch with colleagues. For example, they might have chat channels where remote employees can talk about common interests and virtual meetups for people in the same team.

It’s important to figure out how much interaction you need to feel connected and included. Even if you’re highly introverted and don’t like socialising, give a few interactive experiences a try so that you’re familiar with them if you ever decide you want them. Remember, things can get misinterpreted if all communication is via email so pick up the phone or video chat when possible. 

5 Make the most of your breaks

Don’t short-change yourself during breaks, especially your lunch hour. If this is challenging for you there are apps available to lock yourself out of your computer for 60 minutes. Or you can just launch a simple clock or timer on the screen when you take a break. If you return to your desk after only 40 minutes, walk away for another 20. Use this time to socialise with your household, do something creative, get some exercise, take a walk or catch up with some friends/colleagues via video chat.

Taking breaks improves your productivity, mental well-being and overall work performance. 

Your CV is the first thing your potential new employer will see of you and therefore it needs to make a really good impression. Time to update your CV! We previously shared CV writing tips and you can also download our free CV template. 

In this post, we want to take a closer look at the finer details, rather than the layout and what to include.

Filling in the gaps

You could take this quite literally and check whether there might be any gaps in your employment dates that have been going unaccounted for. Update your CV by filling these in and giving reasons for why they are there. 

Other gaps to look out for might be knowledge gaps – anything you could do with having more of a competitive edge on. Maybe there are aspects of your skillset you have been a little hazy on for a while. Now is the time to upskill!

Your LinkedIn profile can act as your CV

Update your CV on LinkedIn. Most recruiters nowadays use LinkedIn when posting jobs and looking for candidates. Therefore, it’s good practice to pay as much attention to your profile on the platform as you do to your actual CV.

Make sure that the information you include on your profile matches up.

References

It might be a good time now to contact people and ask them for character references, ready for when you need them next. 

And taking another look at LinkedIn – there is the option to ask anyone you have worked with; whether it might be colleagues, managers, clients, the list goes on; for recommendations which are then shown at the bottom of your profile. This is another great way of giving recruiters looking at your page an idea of the kind of person you are. 

Less is more

Lastly, try to keep your CV to 2 pages where possible. You could achieve this by giving a little less detail on jobs that are further in the past or might not be relevant to the role you’re applying for.