Jacobs Engineering Group has announced plans to hire around 2,400 extra employees in the UK over the next few years, mainly through its new London Office at the Cottons Centre
The jobs will include various high skilled professional and technical roles across diverse sectors. Jacobs’ current UK talent force comprises more than 9,000 employees and the additional roles will be based across the company’s 30 UK offices.
The expansion of Jacobs’ employees will help the company to deliver digital and other advanced technical solutions to support more connected communities, cleaner air and water, cyber defences, strategic deterrent, clean energy and environmental clean-up.
Jacobs President, Bob Pragada, said: “Britain is a critical market for Jacobs. This investment is an indication of our ongoing confidence in the UK economy and its long-term infrastructure plans.
“Our people are helping to tackle some of the UK’s most complex challenges to make the future better, delivering projects to safeguard the environment and improve the security, connectivity, resiliency and productivity of the UK.”
Attracting diverse talent into Jacobs
As part of this investment in skills, Jacobs is committed to developing the next generation of diverse talent. One-third of Jacobs’ 1,300 hires in the UK over the past year were graduates, interns and apprentices.
Jacobs is joining forces with the London Interdisciplinary School to create a new undergraduate program integrated with the real world as part of its strategy to continue developing talent. Students will train to solve problems across a variety of sectors.
Jacobs also encourages its employees to continue to lean through a variety of programs and a full suite of formal training. This includes courses to develop technical skills, continue professional development and train as mental health champions.
The company also offer an MSc in Business and Strategic Leadership at Cranfield University’s School of Management to attract diverse talent and create potential leaders.
At the London office opening, Professor Brian Cox spoke to 16 to 18-year-olds from local London schools, aspiring engineers and Jacobs employees about the skills they will need for the future, giving inspirational ideas for future infrastructure projects.
Professor Cox explained: “Jacobs’ work to encourage and help young people to build STEM careers is impressive. We are living in an exciting era of scientific discovery and rapid technological change, but we are also facing significant challenges as we try to build a better and sustainable future.
“What is certain is that the next generation’s jobs will be unrecognizable from those we see today. Our young people therefore need new skills to meet these challenges and seize the opportunities.
“By nurturing talent, and investing in people early, we can provide the training, experience and development needed for us all to succeed in the long-term.”
Jacobs’s new flagship office in London
The new London office at the Cottons Centre is central to the company’s growth strategy in Europe and the Middle East. The office on the banks of the Thames, takes advantage of sustainable reuse of space to provide a flexible, collaborative and high-energy work environment for up to 1,000 employees. The progressive workplace solution is designed to enhance Jacobs’s employee’s engagement and work performance through a wide range of settings.
