Construction recruitment
Construction recruitment in the North East
YP Recruitment places site managers, quantity surveyors, project managers, civil engineers, and planning engineers across the North East for contractors including Kier, Galliford Try, Morgan Sindall, Willmott Dixon, and Tolent, working across Teesside Freeport infrastructure, offshore wind installation and onshore enabling works, and regeneration schemes in Newcastle, Sunderland, and Middlesbrough. The North East construction market has been energised by significant public and private investment in the Tees Valley and the region's coastal energy corridor. Salaries run from £30,000 for site engineers to £75,000 for senior project managers and commercial leads.
The construction market in the North East
The Teesside Freeport and the South Tees Development Corporation's work on the former SSI steelworks site is one of the UK's most significant brownfield regeneration and infrastructure programmes. Civil engineering contractors including Kier, Galliford Try, and BAM are delivering site remediation, road and utilities infrastructure, and industrial premises across hundreds of hectares. This has created sustained demand for civils engineers, project managers, quantity surveyors, and planning engineers who can work on large-scale, complex regeneration programmes.
Offshore wind is driving onshore construction activity across the North East coast. Cable landfall works, substations, operations and maintenance bases, and port upgrade projects are all live or in planning. Hitachi's Newton Aycliffe rail manufacturing expansion and the broader investment in net-zero infrastructure around Teesport are adding industrial construction packages to the regional pipeline. Caterpillar and Komatsu's ongoing site investment also contributes industrial construction demand in County Durham.
Residential construction across Sunderland, Newcastle, and the Tyne Valley is delivering steady demand for site managers and quantity surveyors in the housebuilding sector. Willmott Dixon and Morgan Sindall are among the contractors active on the region's education and commercial pipeline. Newcastle city centre has seen commercial and mixed-use development investment as anchor schemes attract secondary development. The region's construction salary levels are below London and the South East but living costs are substantially lower, making it a market where experienced candidates can achieve real quality of life alongside competitive earnings.
Salary benchmarks
Site engineers and graduate surveyors earn £30,000 to £38,000 in the North East. Site managers and quantity surveyors at mid-level earn £38,000 to £52,000. Project managers and commercial managers earn £50,000 to £62,000. Senior project managers and contracts managers on Teesside Freeport or offshore wind packages command £60,000 to £75,000. Infrastructure and civils roles carry a modest premium over residential construction at equivalent levels.
Roles we fill in the North East
Site Manager
Residential, commercial, civils. Newcastle, Sunderland, Teesside. £40,000-£54,000.
Quantity Surveyor
NEC and JCT. Freeport infrastructure, commercial, residential. £38,000-£54,000.
Civil Engineer
Teesside Freeport, offshore wind enabling, highways. £35,000-£54,000.
Project Manager
Regeneration, offshore wind, industrial. £48,000-£64,000.
Planning Engineer
Programme management, P6, MS Project. Infrastructure and civils. £38,000-£54,000.
Health & Safety Manager
CDM. Infrastructure, industrial construction. £40,000-£56,000.
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