Published Monday 20 July 2026 · By the JustEng team
Welcome to Monday’s briefing. Insolvency figures dominate the weekend headlines, but there is plenty of momentum elsewhere — new rail bridge replacements in east London, a £1.5bn public-sector framework award and a completed £55m flood scheme in Lancashire — and all of it carries implications for engineering recruitment and vacancies across the UK.
Construction insolvencies pass 3,800 a year as Ardmore fallout continues
Rolling annual construction insolvencies have now exceeded 3,800, with 309 firms failing in June — up 4% on May — and the sector accounting for 17% of all insolvencies in England and Wales, according to figures reported by Construction News on Friday. June’s casualties included CN100 contractor Ardmore Construction Group, which entered administration on 11 June.
Hiring angle: Every collapse releases experienced engineers and commercial staff into the market at short notice, and employers who move quickly can secure talent that is normally hard to headhunt. If your business is picking up distressed projects, a specialist engineering recruitment agency can help you absorb capable teams before competitors do.
BAM to replace four 130-year-old east London rail bridges
Network Rail and BAM are preparing to replace four wrought-iron and masonry bridges on the London Overground Suffragette line at Forest Gate, with work starting at Talbot Road and Stracey Road on 1 September, New Civil Engineer reports. The new structures are designed to last until around 2150.
Hiring angle: Heritage bridge renewals demand structural assessment, temporary works and rail interface skills, and candidate demand for these niches consistently outstrips supply. Contractors staffing up for the autumn possessions should benchmark pay against our structural engineer salary guide before going to market for structural engineer jobs.
£1.5bn YORbuild award points to steady civil engineering vacancies
Eleven contractors — including Kier, Morgan Sindall, Galliford Try, Wates and McLaren — have been appointed to the £1.5bn YORbuild Major Works 2 framework, signed on 6 July and covering major public building and civils schemes across Yorkshire, the North East and the East Midlands until at least 2030, per New Civil Engineer.
Hiring angle: Framework wins convert into multi-year workload visibility, which typically triggers regional hiring waves — expect fresh civil engineering vacancies and design manager roles across the North as call-off projects land. Browse current opportunities on our jobs board.
VolkerStevin completes first phase of £55m Preston flood scheme
VolkerStevin has completed Phase 1 of the Preston and South Ribble Flood Risk Management Scheme for the Environment Agency, delivering around 2km of new defence walls, four floodgates and nearly 14,000 new trees since work began in 2022, New Civil Engineer reports. The wider scheme will reduce flood risk for thousands of homes and businesses.
Hiring angle: Flood resilience remains one of the most reliable sources of civil engineering jobs UK-wide, with Phase 2 planning already under way at Preston. Water-sector employers facing a talent shortage in flood risk and hydraulic modelling can register a vacancy with our team.
Developers face end-of-July building safety remediation milestone
This month marks the deadline by which developers signed up to the remediation contract have committed to start works on at least 80% of their buildings requiring life-critical fire safety remediation, with 100% to follow by July 2027, as summarised in RWK Goodman’s review of Building Safety Act developments. A government call for evidence on built environment competence also closes on 12 August.
Hiring angle: The remediation push keeps demand red-hot for fire engineer vacancies, façade engineer jobs and building safety assessors — several of the hardest roles in the market to fill. Our fire engineering and façade engineering desks specialise in exactly these searches.
JustEng is a specialist engineering recruitment agency for the UK’s civil, structural, fire, façade and forensic disciplines — headhunting hard-to-find engineers for consultancies and contractors nationwide. Looking for your next role? Submit your CV. Hiring? Register your vacancy today.