Northern Steel Decking delivers more than 500 projects each year, providing the supply, detailing and installation of MetFloor metal decking, edge shuttering, shear stud welding, safety netting and associated fall-arrest systems.
Very little of this work is entirely standard. Projects frequently have different technical and structural requirements, making experienced CAD draughtspeople critical to successful delivery.
With a busy and growing project pipeline, Northern Steel Decking needed to strengthen its in-house draughting capability.
EnquireThe Challenge
Metal-decking draughting is a highly specialised area, with much of the work completed in 2D using AutoCAD alongside software such as Tekla.
The available talent pool is limited, while candidates with direct industry experience are often already well compensated. With little capacity for extensive training, Northern Steel Decking needed someone with strong CAD and construction drawing experience who could become productive quickly.
The company also prefers to manage recruitment directly wherever possible, meaning the use of a specialist recruitment partner needed to deliver a clear commercial benefit.
EMT Talent’s Approach
Drawing on established relationships with specialist CAD and design professionals, EMT Talent initially introduced a technically capable candidate who interviewed well but was not quite the right commercial fit.
After reviewing the feedback and refining the search criteria with Northern Steel Decking, we widened the search and introduced three additional candidates.
One stood out as a particularly strong transferable match.
Although the successful candidate had not worked directly within metal decking, he offered:
- More than five years’ experience producing detailed 2D drawings for residential and commercial construction projects
- Strong AutoCAD skills, including the production of elevations, sections and setting-out details
- Hands-on apprenticeship training in Revit and Tekla
- Experience producing material take-offs and schedules for glazed and structural systems
- Experience reviewing and interpreting structural drawings
- Experience completing structural calculations, providing a strong grounding in structural steelwork
- A proven ability to work with structural engineers, architects, contractors, project managers and installation teams throughout the design and build process
The candidate also brought examples of previous technical drawings to the interview. These closely matched the type and standard of work Northern Steel Decking required, giving the business confidence in his technical ability and the transferability of his experience.
His location was approximately 10 minutes from the company’s premises and realistic salary expectations further strengthened the fit.
The Outcome
Following a successful interview, the candidate accepted an offer to join Northern Steel Decking.
The appointment strengthened the company’s dedicated draughting capability and reduced the need for engineers from other departments to assist with drawing work, allowing them to refocus on their core responsibilities.
The combination of relevant technical experience, proximity to the business and realistic expectations allowed the recruitment process to move quickly and efficiently.
The Commercial Impact
Northern Steel Decking typically manages recruitment directly wherever possible, so engaging EMT Talent was a considered commercial decision.
For a business delivering more than 500 projects each year, securing someone who could contribute quickly, increase draughting capacity and make better use of its existing engineering resources provided a clear operational return on the recruitment investment.
No job advertisement was used by EMT Talent during the search. Every candidate introduced was identified, approached and assessed directly, giving us greater control over the relevance and quality of the shortlist. The successful candidate would likely never have been reached had the business relied solely on advertising the vacancy.
Recruiting Specialist CAD and Design Professionals?
This placement demonstrates EMT Talent’s ability to identify and engage specialist engineering and construction professionals in markets where conventional recruitment methods often struggle.
If you are recruiting CAD draughtspeople, AutoCAD or Tekla users, or professionals experienced with other specialist design software, get in touch.
There is a good chance we are already speaking with, or know, someone with the skills your business requires.
Enquire