More recruitment support. More market reach. Less hiring risk.
Some vacancies are too important to compete for recruiter attention alongside dozens of other assignments.
People Plus is designed for employers hiring into critical technical, engineering and leadership positions where candidate shortages, operational demands or project deadlines leave little room for recruitment delays.
Through a retained partnership, Astute commits dedicated delivery resource, enhanced recruitment marketing, proactive search activity and priority campaign management to your vacancy — making it a priority search from day one and providing a more structured, proactive approach to attracting hard-to-reach talent.
The retained investment forms part of the overall recruitment fee and is offset against the successful placement, allowing employers to access a significantly higher level of recruitment support without increasing overall hiring costs. It is particularly effective where vacancy delays, repeated hiring campaigns or poor shortlist quality create measurable operational or commercial impact.
Premium advertising
Enhanced campaign activity and targeted exposure designed to attract passive talent as well as active applicants.
Bespoke marketing
Dedicated recruitment marketing and employer branding that positions your opportunity to stand out in a competitive market.
39-day average time to fill
Priority delivery and dedicated resource keep your vacancy moving efficiently from brief to offer.
6-month guarantee
Every People Plus placement includes an extended replacement guarantee for added protection on critical hires.
What’s included in a People Plus partnership?
People Plus combines dedicated recruitment resource, enhanced marketing, deeper candidate reach and an extended guarantee to help employers secure critical hires faster. The retained investment contributes towards the final placement fee, giving you significantly more recruitment support, visibility and accountability throughout the search.
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01 Premium Advertising More visibility. More reach.
Unlike a standard contingent search, People Plus includes enhanced advertising and targeted campaign activity designed to maximise exposure and attract passive talent as well as active applicants.
- Featured industry adverts
- Video job profiling support
- Targeted LinkedIn campaigns
- Specialist job board exposure
- Passive candidate attraction campaigns
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02 Recruitment Marketing Employer branding that improves outcomes
Dedicated recruitment marketing helps position your opportunity more effectively, improving candidate engagement and helping your organisation stand out in competitive engineering markets.
- Employer profiling support
- Social and newsletter campaigns
- Candidate engagement assets
- Enhanced employer brand visibility
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03 Dedicated Delivery Team Structured ownership throughout
Your vacancy becomes a priority assignment with dedicated delivery resource, structured search activity and clear accountability from briefing through to successful hire.
- Named retained consultant
- Structured progress updates
- Active candidate engagement
- Priority assignment status
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04 Referral Programme Access to trusted talent networks
Additional referral activity opens up trusted talent networks and introduces candidates who may never actively enter the market through traditional recruitment channels.
- Warm candidate referrals
- Trusted introductions
- Improved response rates
- Access to hidden talent pools
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05 Data & Reporting Better market intelligence
Gain visibility into candidate availability, salary expectations, competitor activity and campaign performance, allowing faster and more informed hiring decisions.
- Market intelligence updates
- Shortlist transparency
- Campaign reporting
- Salary benchmarking insight
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06 6-Month Guarantee Extended protection after placement
Every People Plus placement includes an extended 6-month replacement guarantee, providing additional protection and confidence on business-critical appointments.
- Replacement guarantee
- Rebate protection period
- Reduced hiring risk exposure
- Greater hiring confidence
Why Employers Choose People Plus
The retained fee contributes towards the successful hire
People Plus provides dedicated delivery, enhanced marketing, deeper candidate reach, priority search activity and a 6-month guarantee. The retained investment is offset against the final placement fee, meaning employers receive substantially more support and accountability throughout the recruitment process.
Retained recruitment designed for control and consistency.
People Plus helps employers reduce hiring drift and improve shortlist quality through structured, committed search delivery.
Dedicated resource, active market mapping and campaign-led engagement ensure priority roles progress efficiently from brief to offer.
Priority delivery
Your vacancy becomes a dedicated recruitment project rather than one of many competing assignments.
Enhanced market reach
Additional advertising, headhunting, referral campaigns and employer branding activity attract harder-to-reach talent.
Reduced hiring risk
Every placement includes a 6-month replacement guarantee for additional protection on critical appointments.
Greater accountability
Structured reporting, market intelligence and dedicated consultant ownership throughout the search.
What clients say about People Plus
“Astute’s ability to scale our team with high-calibre engineering talent has been instrumental in our growth. They don’t just provide CVs; they provide candidates who are technically vetted, culturally aligned, and ready to contribute to our operations immediately.”
“Astute has a strong understanding of our business and requirements. Working closely with Arjun, they act as a trusted partner with excellent industry knowledge and connections.”
“The candidates Astute sourced genuinely fit the criteria. He has already implemented new ideas and control methods within our design and nuclear departments. His contributions have been working really well and have allowed me to focus more on business development—which was exactly what we wanted to achieve.”
“Astute takes time to fully understand niche requirements and works closely with clients to ensure strong alignment with business needs.”
“Augean worked with Astute to successfully recruit a Project Manager for a major decommissioning project at Berkeley. The process was collaborative and supported by strong market insight.”
“We chose Astute due to their proven ability to consistently deliver high-quality candidates aligned to our requirements.”
“Astute’s ability to scale our team with high-calibre engineering talent has been instrumental in our growth. They don’t just provide CVs; they provide candidates who are technically vetted, culturally aligned, and ready to contribute to our operations immediately.”
“Astute has a strong understanding of our business and requirements. Working closely with Arjun, they act as a trusted partner with excellent industry knowledge and connections.”
“The candidates Astute sourced genuinely fit the criteria. He has already implemented new ideas and control methods within our design and nuclear departments. His contributions have been working really well and have allowed me to focus more on business development—which was exactly what we wanted to achieve.”
“Astute takes time to fully understand niche requirements and works closely with clients to ensure strong alignment with business needs.”
“Augean worked with Astute to successfully recruit a Project Manager for a major decommissioning project at Berkeley. The process was collaborative and supported by strong market insight.”
“We chose Astute due to their proven ability to consistently deliver high-quality candidates aligned to our requirements.”
Priority recruitment, delivered
Explore real Astute People case studies across Energy-from-Waste, Nuclear and specialist technical recruitment, showing how focused search, market insight and structured shortlist management support successful hiring outcomes.
Scaling technical teams for CSWDC
Bespoke search, proactive headhunting and video-led employer marketing helped CSWDC attract specialist engineering talent in a competitive Energy-from-Waste market.
Explore waste management case studyA one-and-done hire for ENPRO SWISS
Targeted headhunting and careful technical screening helped ENPRO SWISS secure a project-ready Technician without losing valuable internal time to a difficult market search.
Explore retained recruitment case studyNuclear recruitment for Steve Vick
A focused nuclear recruitment search delivered a specialist Project Manager with the mechanical engineering, client-facing and project leadership experience needed for a niche role.
Explore nuclear case studyPeople Plus FAQs
Working with Astute
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Retained recruitment is a structured, partnership-driven model where a dedicated recruiter commits focused resource to your vacancy from day one. It is typically used for priority, hard-to-fill or business-critical appointments where speed, shortlist quality and accountability matter.
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People Lite is a no-placement, no-fee contingent model suited to occasional hires. People Plus is a retained solution with dedicated resource, priority delivery and a 6-month placement guarantee.
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Every People Plus placement is protected by a 6-month replacement guarantee and rebate period. If a placement does not work out within the agreed period, Astute People takes action to support the replacement process.
Retained Recruitment Fit
Guidance on when retained recruitment is the right model for permanent hiring.
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People Plus supports retained recruitment across Power Generation, Renewable Energy, Nuclear, Data Centres, Transmission and Distribution, Energy from Waste and wider engineering markets.
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For multiple hires over an extended project period, People Solutions RPO may be a better fit. For confidential senior or C-suite appointments, consider People Search. For occasional ad-hoc hires, People Lite may be more suitable.
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You can register a vacancy or contact Astute People to discuss your role, timescales, salary range, technical requirements and whether People Plus is the right recruitment model.
Need a different recruitment model?
People Plus is built for retained, partnership-driven hiring. If your needs are different, Astute People offers four wider recruitment solution routes across permanent, project and contract hiring.
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01 People Lite Contingent
Contingent recruitment for occasional, ad-hoc permanent hires.
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03 People Solutions RPO
Outsourced recruitment support for multi-hire and project-led workforce programmes.
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04 People Search Executive
Confidential executive search for senior, director and C-suite appointments.
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05 Contract Recruitment MSP
Managed contractor mobilisation for project-based and peak-demand workforces.