Black & White Engineering grows graduate intake to 217

Black & White Engineering has increased its global graduate and apprentice workforce to 217, meaning graduates and apprentices now account for 17.3% of the consultancy's staff.

The engineering consultancy brought 137 graduates and apprentices into the business during 2025 as it expanded training routes for early-career staff.

Black & White Engineering employs 1,256 people globally. It said the intake reflects rising demand for engineering skills in data centres and other mission-critical infrastructure markets. The group's graduate and apprentice teams are based in Dubai, Dublin, Edinburgh, Gurugram, London, Manila, Newcastle, Noida and Riyadh.

The programme covers disciplines including electrical, mechanical and civil engineering, as well as computational fluid dynamics, sustainability engineering, building information modelling, and learning and development.

Participants work on live projects with more experienced colleagues and receive support from line managers, mentors and senior staff. The routes are designed to give early-career employees practical exposure to technical work, client requirements and multidisciplinary project teams.

Caff Allen, global director of learning and development at Black & White Engineering, outlined the company's approach to recruitment and training.

Allen said: "Graduate and apprentice development is a significant part of how we build and future-proof the business. Welcoming 137 people into these routes shows the scale of our investment in our people, but the more important point is the type of experience they are getting. They are working with experienced colleagues, learning on live projects and building the skills needed to support complex, mission-critical buildings and infrastructure."

The business said its training model combines technical and professional development with wider development events for graduates and apprentices. It also offers international work experience for front-office graduates and apprentices through placements with colleagues in its global design hub in Manila.

Skills pipeline

The expansion comes as engineering employers face pressure to strengthen skills pipelines and develop staff internally. Black & White Engineering said its graduate and apprentice schemes form part of longer-term workforce planning as demand increases in specialist infrastructure sectors.

Allen linked the programme to wider challenges in engineering recruitment.

He said: "The engineering skills challenge will not be solved by recruitment alone. Businesses need to give people options for development routes into the industry, clear responsibility and support to grow over time. Our graduate and apprentice programmes are built around that. They give people the chance to contribute early while learning how engineering decisions affect design quality, delivery and long-term performance. Bringing our graduates and apprentices together through events like our Technical Excellence and Innovation Conference and the Graduate Global Gathering helps create the connections and ideas that will shape both their careers and the future of our business."

The consultancy's early-careers presence in the UK includes teams in Newcastle, London and Edinburgh. Internationally, its intake spans offices in the Middle East, Europe, India and the Philippines, reflecting its wider footprint in markets tied to digital infrastructure and critical buildings.

Allen said the graduate and apprentice intake is linked to the company's need for staff who can work across specialist design and delivery requirements.

He said: "For Black & White Engineering, developing graduate and apprentice talent is part of long-term workforce planning. As demand grows across data centres and other mission-critical sectors, we need people who understand both the detail of design and the pace of delivery. That starts with giving them the right exposure, mentoring and training at the beginning of their careers."