Balfour Beatty has announced plans to add around 2,000 people to its UK workforce over the next two years, taking its headcount from approximately 14,000 to 16,000 by the end of 2027. The infrastructure group said the expansion was driven by rising workloads across energy, transport and other major projects, and by the skilled jobs needed to deliver them.

The recruitment drive marks a sharp acceleration in the company’s UK growth. Balfour Beatty employed 12,200 people in the UK at the end of 2023, and expects to reach about 14,000 by the end of 2025. If the plan is delivered in full, its UK workforce will have grown by more than 30 per cent in four years.

Early-career talent will form a large part of the intake. Around half of the new roles — approximately 1,000 positions — are expected to come through apprenticeships, graduate programmes, internships and trainee routes. Apprentices, graduates, interns and trainees already account for about 9 per cent of Balfour Beatty’s UK workforce, and the company expects that share to rise to about 12.7 per cent by the end of 2027.

The company said the expansion was underpinned by a strong UK order book, with energy work providing a major source of demand. In the first half of 2026, its UK Power Transmission business delivered 24 per cent revenue growth and now holds a £2.1 billion order book, with a further identified pipeline worth between £6 billion and £8 billion.

Philip Hoare, Balfour Beatty’s group chief executive, said: “Britain’s infrastructure ambitions will only be realised if the country has the capacity, capability and skills to deliver them. Expanding our workforce by 2,000 is a clear vote of confidence in the market.” He added that the move showed the company’s commitment to investing in the people, projects and technical expertise that would power Britain’s future.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds welcomed the announcement, saying: “This is exactly what we want to see – a big British company backing Britain and creating 2,000 more jobs.” He said having British firms invest in people and train the next generation was good news at a time when there was a large amount of work to do to get growth in every postcode.

Balfour Beatty said the expansion also supported the Government’s ambition to put technical and academic pathways on a more equal footing, creating clearer routes into skilled, long-term infrastructure careers. The company is a member of The 5% Club, a movement of employers committed to providing earn-and-learn positions, and says 9 per cent of its workforce is in apprenticeship, graduate and sponsored student roles.

The group also pointed to its wider footprint in the UK economy. It said it currently supports the employment of more than four million people through its network of around 7,200 UK supply chain partners, of which 64 per cent are small and medium-sized enterprises.

For jobseekers, the practical next step is the company’s own careers service, where current vacancies are listed. The roles span engineering, project delivery and specialist disciplines, alongside the early-career routes that make up about half of the planned intake. Applicants should check the live adverts for the specific roles, locations and closing dates, as recruitment will be phased over the two years to the end of 2027 rather than opening all at once.

The announcement, made on 23 September 2026, comes as the UK infrastructure sector continues to report skills shortages. Balfour Beatty had previously identified those shortages as a major issue for its UK operations, making recruitment, retention and training priorities. The planned growth in power transmission work, in particular, points to sustained demand for engineers, quantity surveyors, planners and site-based staff in the years ahead.