Finding engineers with the right setting out skills is harder than ever. The UK’s construction industry is in the grip of a skills shortage, and competition for experienced engineers is fierce.
This means your best opportunity for building a capable, confident setting out team may already be right under your nose – the people you’ve already hired.
When you invest in developing your own engineers, you’re not just filling skills gaps. You’re building loyalty, improving morale, and making your business more resilient. You’re also removing the risk of losing critical knowledge if one key person leaves.
Even highly capable engineers may not perform at their full potential if they have never received targeted, structured training in setting out. It’s a highly specialist skill that is sometimes underestimated in its complexity, and assumptions are often made that engineers “just know” how to do it.
In reality, this includes experienced staff who have learned on the job as well as new engineers who have been thrown in at the deep end. The fact that they don’t automatically know best practice is not a reflection on their ability, it simply means they have not yet had the benefit of focused, consistent training in this specialist area.
Without that foundation, the business can face:
Costly errors – mistakes that require rework, delay programmes, and increase costs
Inefficiency – trial-and-error approaches that slow progress and impact other teams
Unnecessary stress – pressure on engineers and managers when there’s uncertainty over accuracy
Over-reliance on external support – needing freelancers or survey companies for tasks that could be handled in-house
The good news is that these challenges are avoidable. Structured training gives engineers the confidence, consistency, and technical precision needed to deliver high-quality work, while strengthening the business as a whole.
We keep the process simple and responsive. You’ll get clear dates and prices quickly, so you can make decisions without delay.
If you already know what you need, request a proposal and we’ll confirm details straight away.
If you’d like to talk it through first, you can book a call with a director – we’re happy to spend time helping you work out the best approach.
If you’re eligible, we can also advise on CITB grant support – see our Funding Page for more details.
We welcome invitations to tender or to apply for framework supplier opportunities. Please send these to: info@settingoutforconstruction.com, for the attention of Gail McEwen.
