Don't take risks, use RISQS!

I’ve spent the best part of 20 years recruiting for clients in the rails sector. I don’t think I’ve seen a period during that time that has been as busy as it is right now. There’s not a day goes by where I don’t see a newspaper article or an online post hammering home the facts about the massive skill shortage our (rail) industry faces. 

So what happens in times of skill shortages? The work still has to be done, and the projects have to be completed, ideally on time and to budget. Well it’s fairly simple in theory; you take skills from another area, whether that be another industry, sector or country and bring them into ours. But of course, in practice, it’s far from simple…

One of the biggest issues facing us all when introducing candidates from other sectors isn’t their technical skill set, it’s getting the candidates to understand and embrace the safety culture. Our rail industry is fairly unique in terms of safety. There aren’t many other industries where 400 tonnes of metal are passing you by within a couple of meters of your work space at speeds of up to 125mph, more often than not separated by a thin blue fence. Over the past few years we have seen 1000’s of new candidates enter our market and the need for blue helmets has increased significantly. (For those of you not involved in the rail sector, all new workers on Network Rail’s Managed Infrastructure must wear a blue helmet following initial training) 

Moreover, the vast majority of these new workers aren’t actually employed by the organisation for which they are performing they’re duties, they’re supplied by “agencies”, or, “employment businesses” to quote the correct name. Choosing a reputable employment business to partner with is absolutely critical when it comes to a. finding the right technical calibre of personnel for your business and, more importantly, b. ensuring that the personnel supplied have the necessary safety training and competencies in order to do their job whilst maintaining the safety of themselves and those around them. 

At Spencer Ogden we are very proud of our safety record. We work very closely with our customers to understand the safety culture of their business and we work in partnership to ensure that the candidates that we supply to our customers are well trained, well briefed and that their safety competencies are maintained on an on-going basis. 

We are approved under the Achilles RISQS scheme (Railway Industry Supplier Qualification Scheme) to supply recruitment and contingent labour services in 21 categories, known as Product Groups, meaning we can meet our customers entire staffing needs whilst maintaining the safety and competencies of the workers we supply. 10 of the 21 Products Groups are only passable via audit and we are very pleased to announce that this year we passed our RISQS audit with the maximum rating of 4 stars. 5 stars is only achievable when you receive 4 stars for 2 years in a row. Below is a comprehensive list of all of the product groups we hold:

 Product Code Product Name Status

•  04.74.01 SER Secretarial                                                   
• 04.74.02 SER Finance                                                           
• 04.74.03 SER Information Management                            
• 04.74.04 SER Technical                                                        
• 04.74.05 SER Commercial                                                    
• 04.74.06 SER Project Management                                                 
• 04.74.07 SER Safety                                                              
• 04.74.09 SER Maintenance Staff                                          
• 04.74.10 SER Executive Search & Selection                       
• 04.74.15 SER Planning & Estimating                                   
• 04.74.18 SER Design & Architect Services                                     
• 07.06.01 SER Contingent Labour (Signalling)                   
• 07.06.02 SER Contingent Labour (Track)                          
• 07.06.03 SER Contingent Labour (Building)                      
• 07.06.04 SER Contingent Labour (Civils)                        
• 07.06.05 SER Contingent Labour (Telecoms)                  
• 07.06.06 SER Contingent Labour (Electrification)            
• 07.06.07 SER Contingent Labour (Plant Operators)         
• 07.08.01 SER Possession Management (SPICOP, PICOP
• & Possession Support Staff)                                                            
• 07.09.04 SER Electrical Isolation Staff (DC Conductors) 
• 07.09.05 SER Electrical Isolation Staff (OHLE)                 

We welcome enquiries from new customers who are looking to partner with an employment business who can deliver the technical skill set required whilst maintaining the safety and wellbeing of the candidates supplied and those around them.

Please get in touch with me at richard.thompson@spencer-ogden.com

Don’t take risks, choose RISQS!