Resourcing a national rail manufacturer and reducing agency spend
A global rail transportation manufacturer, growing quickly across three Australian divisions, needed to stabilise recruitment for hard-to-fill engineering and safety-assurance roles. Infrastructure People delivered 68 placements, sourced specialists from across Europe and reduced reliance on external agencies.
The business
The client was a global rail transportation manufacturer operating nationally in Australia across three divisions. Infrastructure People was awarded a contract to support recruitment across the business, with the intent of stabilising hiring and prioritising ageing vacancies in engineering, project delivery and functional areas including health and safety, human resources and contract management. Salary packaging on the roles ranged from $100,000 to $400,000, and the engagement delivered an average cost per hire of $5,510.
The challenge
The organisation was experiencing significant growth in the local market and struggled to meet demand for key talent on projects in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. Part of the difficulty was structural: the business was hiring into its own internal talent acquisition team while also competing for scarce specialists in a highly contested market.
From reactive to proactive sourcing
Rather than wait for applications, we proposed a targeted strategy to map and headhunt key talent, raising the profile of the people presented and lifting the quality of the field for critical roles. Market data and talent insights informed every decision, helping the business tackle local skills shortages and pinpoint adjacent sectors and countries where the required skillsets were more readily available.
Accessing international talent
That approach opened access to specialists who were simply not available locally. A Senior Signalling Engineer with Solid State Interlocking experience was resourced and hired from the United Kingdom, a Test and Commissioning Manager was identified and hired from France, and a Project Safety Assurance Manager was resourced from Belgium. We also worked closely with the senior executive team on confidential and senior appointments across the business.
The results
The engagement delivered 68 placements in a single calendar year, 64 external and 4 internal, spanning engineering and technical roles, human resources, procurement and supply chain, health and safety, contract management and operations. Twenty-six of the placements were in engineering and technical disciplines alone. By shifting to proactive, international search, the business reduced its external agency expenditure and its reliance on multiple suppliers.
How we help
This is where direct search and global reach earn their place. For assurance-critical rail roles, active headhunting, rigorous screening and access to talent networks across the United Kingdom and Europe, supported by migration know-how, consistently reach people that advertising cannot. Consolidating that capability into one partner also lowers the total cost of hiring.
“The specialist roles that hold up a rail program are rarely filled by advertising. They are found through direct search, and increasingly from overseas.”
– Principal Consultant, Infrastructure People
