When they hire your trade

Site clearance, ground investigation, ecology and archaeology surveys, haul roads, hoarding, site compounds and welfare facilities. On former industrial land like the Kempston Hardwick brickfields, ground remediation is a substantial job in its own right.

Who gets hired. Earliest and most local-friendly phase. Groundworkers, plant operators, banksmen, traffic marshals, surveyors, ecologists and archaeologists, plus the welfare, catering and security staff who keep a compound running.

Highway works and junction improvements, drainage and attenuation, high-voltage power, water mains, gas and telecoms. Much of this happens off the resort footprint, on the surrounding road and utility network.

Who gets hired. Civils and utilities specialists: streetworks operatives, jointers, drainage crews, highway gangs, setting-out engineers. Traffic management is a large and continuous need.

Piling rigs, foundation excavation, reinforcement, concrete pours and below-ground services. Theme park structures and ride foundations carry unusual loads, so the engineering is heavier than typical commercial work.

Who gets hired. Peak demand for steel fixers, concrete finishers, piling operatives, formwork carpenters and plant operators. Quantity surveyors and site engineers scale up sharply here.

Steel erection, concrete frames, cladding, roofing and glazing across attraction buildings, hotels, retail and back-of-house. Cranes dominate the skyline through this phase.

Who gets hired. Steel erectors, scaffolders, crane operators, cladding and roofing crews. Lifting supervisors and appointed persons are in constant demand.

First and second fix electrical, pipework, HVAC, sprinklers and fire alarm, plus the building management and controls systems. Attraction buildings carry far more services than an equivalent office or warehouse.

Who gets hired. Electricians, plumbers, pipefitters, HVAC and fire alarm engineers. This is where the trade mix shifts decisively from civils to services.

Ride track and structure installation, drive and control systems, safety systems, commissioning and testing. Ride manufacturers typically bring their own installation and commissioning teams, working alongside local mechanical and electrical support.

Who gets hired. The least local phase. Ride systems engineers, controls engineers, specialist welders and commissioning technicians are recruited internationally. Local support roles around them are still substantial.

Joinery, painting, plastering, tiling, flooring, signage, scenic and sculptural theming, soft and hard landscaping. Theming is a genuinely specialist craft discipline and is what makes a park look like a park rather than a shed.

Who gets hired. Carpenters, painters, plasterers, tilers, landscapers — plus scenic artists, sculptors and model makers, which are unusual skills to be hiring at volume.

Recruitment, induction and training for the thousands of hospitality, retail, ride operations, entertainment and facilities staff needed on day one, plus rehearsals, soft openings and systems testing.

Who gets hired. The pivot point. Hiring shifts almost entirely away from construction toward hospitality, retail, guest services and entertainment — and this is where the local hiring pledge has the most room to deliver.

Running the resort: rides, restaurants, shops, hotels, entertainment, cleaning, maintenance, security, logistics, and the corporate functions behind them. This is the phase that lasts.

Who gets hired. Overwhelmingly hospitality, retail, ride operations, entertainment, facilities and corporate roles. Ongoing maintenance keeps a permanent core of electricians, mechanical fitters and building services engineers on site.