If you run a heating business, there’s a good chance this question keeps you up at night: where do I find good engineers?
It’s one of the most common frustrations I hear from heating business owners. You post on Indeed, you wait, you get a handful of CVs that go nowhere, and then you’re back to square one — short-staffed, turning down work, and watching your competitors grow while you tread water. Sound familiar?
Let’s explore why the traditional routes often fall short, what actually works, and how to think clearly about the real cost of getting this wrong.
Why Job Boards Rarely Deliver
Indeed, Reed, Totaljobs — they all promise access to thousands of candidates. And technically, they’re not lying. The problem is that the best engineers in the heating industry aren’t usually scrolling job boards. They’re already working, probably quite happy where they are, and not actively looking.
What you tend to get from job boards is a mix of newly qualified engineers still finding their feet, candidates who’ve been job-hopping, or people who applied to your advert and fifteen others on the same afternoon. That’s not a criticism of those candidates — some of them will be diamonds in the rough — but filtering through a pile of unsuitable applications takes time you probably don’t have.
There’s also the matter of your advert. Writing a job posting that actually attracts the right person is a skill in itself. Most businesses write something generic, post it, and hope for the best. Without a compelling reason to choose your business over someone else’s, you’re unlikely to stand out.
Community Recruitment: The Underrated Goldmine
Here’s something worth thinking about. The best engineers you’ll ever hire are probably already in your world — they’re just not in a job advert.
Community-based recruitment is the approach that consistently delivers for heating businesses, and it costs very little. Let me break down what that looks like in practice.
Your existing team
Ask your engineers if they know anyone looking for a move. Offer a referral bonus — £500 to £1,000 paid out after the new hire passes their probation. Your team knows the kind of people who will fit your culture, and they won’t recommend someone who will make them look bad. It’s one of the most reliable filters you have.
Local trade communities and Facebook groups
There are dozens of trade-specific Facebook groups with thousands of active members. Groups like Gas Engineers UK, regional plumbing and heating forums, and local contractor groups are full of experienced engineers who are quietly open to the right opportunity. Post something genuine — not a corporate job advert, but a straightforward message about your business, what you do, and what you’re looking for. Authenticity goes a long way in these communities.
Your suppliers and merchants
The people behind the counter at your local Wolseley, City Plumbing, or independent merchant talk to engineers every single day. They know who’s unhappy in their current role, who’s recently gone self-employed and finding it harder than expected, and who might be open to a conversation. Build that relationship and let them know you’re looking.
Apprenticeships and colleges
Consider the longer game. Partnering with a local college to take on an apprentice means you’re growing your own engineer — someone trained exactly how you want them, embedded in your culture from day one. The government’s apprenticeship levy and co-investment schemes make this more affordable than many businesses realise. Yes, it takes time, but the engineers you develop yourself tend to stay with you.
Your own customers
Don’t overlook this one. Your domestic and commercial customers often know tradespeople personally or have friends and family in the industry. A simple message to your customer base — “We’re growing and looking for experienced heating engineers — do you know anyone?” — costs nothing and occasionally delivers.
When a Recruitment Agency Makes Sense
There are times when going to a recruitment agency is the right call. If you need someone quickly, if you’re hiring for a specialist role, or if you’ve exhausted your own network, a good agency can save you considerable time and frustration.
The key word there is good. There are agencies that genuinely understand the heating and plumbing sector, and there are generalist agencies that will send you anyone with “plumber” on their CV. Spend time finding one that specialises in the trades — they’ll have a better candidate pool and a clearer understanding of what you actually need.
What you can expect to pay
Recruitment agency fees for permanent placements in the trades and technical sectors typically fall between 15% and 20% of the candidate’s first-year salary. For specialist or senior roles, you might see fees creep up toward 25%.
Let’s put that into numbers. If you’re hiring a Gas Safe engineer on a salary of £40,000, you’re looking at an agency fee somewhere between £6,000 and £10,000. That’s a significant sum — and it’s worth weighing up carefully.
The guarantee period
Most reputable agencies will offer a rebate or replacement guarantee. The standard in the industry tends to be somewhere between eight and twelve weeks, though some agencies offer up to three months. What this typically means in practice is a sliding scale: if the candidate leaves in week two, you might receive a full refund or a free replacement; if they leave in week ten, you might receive a partial credit. Always read the small print, and always negotiate before you sign anything.
The Real Cost of Not Recruiting
This is the part that many heating business owners don’t fully calculate — and it’s worth sitting with for a moment.
When you’re one engineer down, what does that actually cost you?
Let’s imagine a single engineer generates £70,000 to £90,000 in revenue for your business each year. That works out at somewhere between £1,350 and £1,730 per week. Every week you’re short-staffed, that revenue simply doesn’t happen. You might be turning jobs away, delaying installs, or burning out your existing team trying to cover the gap — which creates a whole other set of problems.
Then there’s the knock-on effect. Missed jobs mean disappointed customers. Disappointed customers go elsewhere and tell people about it. Overworked engineers make mistakes, take sick days, or hand in their notice. The cost of a vacancy isn’t just the lost revenue — it ripples outward in ways that are genuinely difficult to quantify.
So when you’re staring at a £7,000 agency fee and wondering if it’s worth it, consider this: if that fee gets you the right engineer within four weeks rather than four months, you’ve potentially protected £25,000 or more in revenue. Suddenly the maths looks very different.
A Framework for Making the Decision
Here’s a simple way to think about it:
Start with community recruitment — it’s free, it often delivers the best candidates, and it should always be your first move.
Set a timeframe — give yourself four to six weeks of active community recruitment before escalating. Post in groups, ask your team, speak to your merchants.
If that doesn’t deliver, consider an agency — but choose one that knows the trades sector, negotiate the terms, and be clear about exactly what you need.
Calculate your vacancy cost — be honest about what a month without an engineer costs your business in lost revenue, and use that figure as your benchmark when assessing agency fees.
Don’t wait until you’re desperate — recruiting from a position of urgency leads to poor decisions. The best time to build your network and pipeline of potential candidates is before you need them.
A Final Thought
The heating industry faces a genuine skills shortage, and that’s not going to resolve itself overnight. The businesses that will thrive over the next decade are the ones that treat recruitment not as a one-off task, but as an ongoing part of running the business — building relationships, developing apprentices, maintaining a reputation as a great place to work.
Your engineers are, ultimately, your business. Invest the time and, where necessary, the money to get this right. The cost of getting it wrong is far higher than most people realise.
If you’d like to talk through the financial impact of a vacancy on your business, or explore how your recruitment approach fits into your wider numbers, get in touch.
And if you’re looking to build a more structured, systems-driven heating business — one that’s less reliant on any single person and better placed to attract and retain good engineers — The Systems Handbook was written with exactly that in mind. Available on Amazon in Kindle, paperback and hardback.