Balfour Beatty Plans to Add 2,000 UK Jobs by 2027 as Infrastructure Booms
What happened
Balfour Beatty, one of the UK's largest infrastructure contractors, has announced plans to add 2,000 staff to its UK workforce by the end of 2027 — taking its headcount from around 14,000 to 16,000.
The announcement, made in late September, represents a 30% increase from the company's 2023 base of approximately 12,200 UK employees. Chief executive Philip Hoare called it "a clear vote of confidence in the market."
Around half of the new positions — approximately 1,000 — will come through early-career routes including apprenticeships, graduate programmes, internships, and trainee positions. Early-career employees currently make up about 9% of Balfour Beatty's UK workforce, with that proportion set to rise to roughly 12.7% by 2027.
The recruitment drive is fuelled by a strong UK order book. Revenue from UK Power Transmission rose 24% in the first half of 2026, and the company's order book in that segment stands at £2.1 billion, with a further pipeline of £6–8 billion identified.
What this means for tradespeople
This is a tale of two markets. While housebuilding is stuck in the doldrums — Travis Perkins just reported merchanting volumes down 9% — infrastructure is booming. Energy projects, transport upgrades, and power transmission are creating thousands of jobs.
For electricians, that's particularly relevant. Power transmission work requires qualified electrical professionals, and Balfour Beatty is actively recruiting. If you're an electrician looking for steady, well-paid work, the infrastructure pipeline offers an alternative to the feast-and-famine of domestic jobs.
For tradespeople who prefer self-employed domestic work, the news is still useful context: the construction industry isn't dying — it's shifting. The work is moving from housing to infrastructure. That means the residential market has less competition from large contractors poaching skilled workers, but it also means fewer new-build housing projects generating follow-on work.
What to do about it
- If you're open to infrastructure work, Balfour Beatty and similar contractors are actively hiring — particularly for electrical, civil engineering, and site management roles. Check Balfour Beatty's careers page directly.
- If you're staying self-employed, the domestic market still needs you — but you need to stand out. With fewer new-build projects, more tradespeople are competing for the same repair and maintenance work. A strong Google review profile is what makes homeowners pick you over the next person in the search results.
- For apprentices and trainees, this is encouraging news. Half of Balfour Beatty's new roles are early-career positions. The CITB recently forecast the UK needs 41,200 extra construction workers per year through 2030 — so demand for skilled tradespeople isn't going anywhere.
Source: Building magazine