Construction recruitment
Steel fixers, shuttering carps and blocklayers. Whole crews if you need them.
We supply site trades and construction professionals to main contractors, civil engineering firms, fit-out companies and subcontractors across Ireland and the UK. Single hires or full crews out of one brief. Local first, overseas when local cannot deliver.
- Full crews placed from a single brief, not one CV at a time
- Trades tested on the tools before they are put in front of you
- Safe Pass, CSCS and card status checked and tracked to expiry
- We run the permit, the visa and the Labour Market Needs Test
Tippers on site
Who we work for
Employers we work with
Established operators across Ireland and the UK. Transport, automotive, construction, engineering and food service.
What we place
Roles we fill in Construction
If what you need is not on the list, ask anyway. We turn down briefs we cannot fill, so a no from us costs you a phone call and nothing else.
- Steel Fixers
- Shuttering Carpenters
- Blocklayers
- Plasterers
- General Operatives
- Welders
- Fabricators
- Pipe Fitters
- Electricians
- Plumbers
- Scaffolders
- Groundworkers
- Site Engineers
- Setting Out Engineers
- Quantity Surveyors
- Project Managers
- Site Foremen
- Health and Safety Officers
Trade testing
Where we test construction candidates
These are our workshops, not stock photographs. Every candidate is trade tested on the tools before you see a CV, and before anybody gets on a plane.
How we fill it
Three routes, and we will tell you which one you need
We look at your local market before we look anywhere else. Overseas deployment is slower and more involved, so we only recommend it when local genuinely cannot deliver.
Ireland and the UK
- About two weeks from brief to a start date
- Candidates pre-screened and compliance handled before you interview
- No retainer and no monthly fee
- Thirty day replacement guarantee
International deployment
- Sourced from the Philippines, South Africa, the UAE, Bangladesh, Colombia, India and Nepal
- Permit, visa and Certificate of Sponsorship work handled end to end
- Labour Market Needs Test managed for you
- Flights, accommodation and welfare checks after arrival included
Remote support roles
- Live in one to four weeks, because there is no permit in the way
- Five stage vetting including a proper English assessment
- Employed directly by your company
- Typically 50 to 70% below the cost of a local hire
The work behind the shortlist
What we check before you see a CV
A shortlist is only worth anything if somebody did this first.
Cards and tickets
- Safe Pass and CSCS status checked, and the expiry date tracked
- Manual handling, working at height and confined space where the role needs it
- Plant and machine tickets verified against the ticket issuer
- Where a card has to be obtained after arrival, we tell you that before you offer
The trade test
- Steel fixers and shuttering carpenters assessed on real formwork, not photographs
- Welders tested to your process and your position, not a general ticket
- Pipe fitters assessed on fabrication and fit, not just on a CV line
- Assessment done by a tradesperson, recorded, and shared with you
Site references
- References taken from named sites with named contacts
- Employment gaps asked about, not glossed over
- Realistic view of Irish and UK site standards given to the candidate before they travel
- Somebody on the phone after they land, not just until they sign
Recruitment trips
Come and test them yourself
Every month we are in Manila, Johannesburg and Dubai with clients, running in-person trade tests and volume interviews. Based on everything we have seen, it is the most effective way to hire.
- Meet more candidates in a day than you would in a month of video calls
- Get a better read on somebody by watching them work, not just hearing them talk
- Trade test in person, on the tools, to your own standard
- We handle all the logistics. You turn up, we do the rest
Crews, and why they hold together
A crew that trained together and travels together stays together. Where you need volume, we deploy people who already know each other and know the ganger, because that is what stops the first month becoming a churn problem.
It also means accommodation, transport and induction get arranged once, not fifteen times.
Lead times
How long it takes, honestly
Government processing times move, and anybody quoting you a single confident number is guessing. Which route applies to your role, and the current wait, we confirm in writing before you commit.
Local hire, Ireland or UK
About 2 weeks
Brief to start date. Candidates pre-screened and compliance handled before you interview.
Ireland, employment permit
Department clock
Our preparation takes days. The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment publishes its own processing times and they move with demand; we tell you the current one in writing before you commit.
UK, Skilled Worker
UKVI clock
You assign the Certificate of Sponsorship; UK Visas and Immigration publishes decision times. We tell you the current one in writing before you commit.
Remote support role
1 to 4 weeks
Where the job can be done remotely, there is no permit and no queue.
Official processing times: enterprise.gov.ie for Irish employment permits and GOV.UK for the Skilled Worker visa.
Cost and cover
What it costs, and what happens if it goes wrong
Government fees are passed through at cost and the placement fee is staged across the process, none of it up front.
Replacement guarantee on a local hire
Replacement guarantee where the trade test was remote
Replacement guarantee where the trade test was in person
Retainer, startup or candidate fees, at any point
Sama Talent & Offshore Services Limited, 136 Capel Street, Dublin D01 T2C9. Licensed employment agency EA 5649, Workplace Relations Commission of Ireland. CRO 810220. Local first. Internationally ready when local cannot deliver.
Straight answers
Questions employers ask
Can you supply a full crew for a single project?
Yes, and it is the thing we are asked for most. Give us the trades, the headcount, the start date and the duration, and we build the crew, we do not fill one vacancy at a time.
Do candidates arrive with Safe Pass?
Some do and some do not, and it depends where they trained. We check status before they travel and tell you exactly what has to be obtained after arrival, with the timing, so it never lands on you as a surprise on day one.
Which permit route does a site trade go on?
That depends on the specific role, the salary and the lists as they currently stand, and those change. We confirm the route in writing for your particular vacancy before you commit to anything, instead of what is usually the case.
What happens if somebody does not work out?
Thirty days on a local hire, three months where the trade test was done remotely, six months where it was done in person. That is the whole guarantee, and it is not conditional on anything you have to argue about later.
Do you cover accommodation for a crew?
On overseas deployments flights, accommodation and the arrival set-up are part of the package, and welfare checks continue after arrival. On local hires that is between you and the candidate.
Tell us the role and the start date. We do the rest.
No retainer, no startup fee, and nothing is ever charged to the candidate. Call us on +353 1 903 8249, Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm.
Looking for work in Construction?
You will never pay us. Not once, not for anything.
Not to apply, not to be placed, not for your visa, your documents or your training. Employers pay us. Your wage is yours in full.
Everything else we cover