The Educator Magazine U.K. Sept-Dec 2026 issue - Magazine - Page 44
Why Specialist
Recruitment
Matters More
Than Ever
By Nick Orde-Powlett, Managing Director, TIB Services
There has been a significant shift in the way
educational establishments think about
their estates teams.
requires an understanding, not just of the
job description, but the environment into
which somebody is being placed.
The traditional perception of the caretaker
is disappearing. Today, the people
responsible for our educational estates
can be managing contractors,
compliance, health and safety, security,
building systems, maintenance
programmes and emergency situations,
whilst working every day in an environment
where safeguarding learners must remain
paramount.
Safeguarding changes the
recruitment equation
These are increasingly complex roles.
Yet when vacancies arise, the recruitment
process does not always reflect that
complexity.
Finding someone who understands
education
There is an important distinction between
finding someone who can maintain a
building and finding someone who can
successfully manage an educational
environment.
A candidate may have excellent facilities
management or technical experience
from a commercial setting. That does not
automatically mean they will be
comfortable working around learners,
communicating with teaching staff,
responding appropriately to safeguarding
concerns or understanding the particular
rhythms and pressures of an educational
environment.
That is where specialist recruitment
has real value
Recruiters who work consistently within
educational estates develop a much clearer
understanding of what successful
candidates look like. Technical competence
matters, but so do judgement, reliability,
communication and an appreciation of the
responsibility that comes with working in
an educational estates role.
At TIB Services, we have deliberately
remained focused on this area. We recruit
operational and estates professionals
including caretakers, premises assistants,
site managers, facilities managers and
estates managers. Our specialisation
For any role within education, recruitment
cannot simply be about filling a vacancy
quickly. Educational leaders need
confidence in the person arriving at their
gates.
For estates roles in particular, employees
can have considerable freedom of
movement around a site, access to
buildings and keys, and regular contact with
staff and learners. Robust recruitment and
vetting therefore matter enormously.
Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE)
has rightly created high expectations
around safer recruitment. Recruitment
partners operating within education should
understand those requirements and build
them into their processes rather than
treating compliance as an administrative
exercise at the end.
At TIB Services, candidates undergo
comprehensive pre-placement checks
including Enhanced DBS, Right to Work and
identity verification, employment history
checks and professional references,
alongside safeguarding and relevant
health and safety training.
Compliance should form the foundation of
education recruitment and not be seen as
an optional extra.
Procurement should make
recruitment easier, not harder
The introduction of the Government
Commercial Agency (GCA) RM6376 Supply
Teachers and Education Recruitment
Services Framework is another important
development.
For schools and multi-academy trusts,
procurement frameworks can sometimes
appear to introduce another layer of
complexity. Used properly, however, they
should do the opposite.
Frameworks give educational organisations
a route to suppliers that have already been
assessed against defined requirements.
That can provide valuable reassurance
around areas such as governance,
financial standing, recruitment capability
and compliance.
As an approved supplier on the GCA
RM6376 framework, we have seen first-hand
the level of scrutiny involved, but being on
a framework should be the starting point
when selecting a recruitment partner,
rather than the only consideration.
Educational leaders should still ask:
Does this organisation genuinely
understand the roles we are recruiting for?
Moving from reactive recruitment to
workforce planning
Perhaps the biggest opportunity is to stop
thinking about estates recruitment only
when somebody leaves.
Schools and trusts should be
considering where future skills gaps may
emerge, whether knowledge is
concentrated in individual members of
staff and how temporary recruitment can
provide resilience without becoming a
permanent substitute for workforce
planning.
A good recruitment partner should
ontribute to those conversations rather
than simply wait for the next vacancy.
Ultimately, specialist recruitment is not
about making the hiring process more
complicated. It is about recognising that
some environments demand a deeper level
of understanding.
The people looking after educational
buildings play an essential role in creating
safe, secure and effective places for people
to learn. As the demands placed upon them
continue to increase, ensuring schools have
access to capable, appropriately vetted and
education-ready professionals has never
been more important.
Nick Orde-Powlett is Managing Director of
TIB Services, a specialist educational estates
recruitment provider and approved supplier
on the GCA RM6376 Supply Teachers and
Education Recruitment Services Framework.
For more information,
visit www.tibservices.co.uk
or call 0333 772 9633
