Salaries and costs
Pay rates in Inverness reflect the local labour market and travel patterns into the Highlands. Warehouse operatives tend to earn £11.50 to £13.50 per hour, with night shifts at a premium. Production operatives usually earn around £11.50 to £13 per hour, rising to £ 15 to £ 20 per hour for clean-room or chilled environments. Forklift drivers often command £12.50 to £15 per hour, depending on licences and shift cover. Skilled maintenance engineers earn £38,000 to £48,000, with callout payments on top. Supervisors and first-line managers commonly earn between £28,000 and £35,000, with overtime and shift allowances shaping the final package. Permanent recruitment fees are often in the 12% to 20% range, stepped by salary band. Temp and contract margins vary, yet many staffing agencies quote transparent charge rates that cover pay, holiday, NI, pension, and their service costs. Agree on service levels, rebate periods, and conversion terms before roles go live, so budgets, retention aims, and agency costs stay aligned.
Qualifications
Industrial recruiters in Inverness look for practical tickets that keep sites safe and productive. Counterbalance and reach forklift licences remain a staple. Drivers need Driver CPC and digital tachograph cards for HGV roles. Fabricators and welders present codings, with MIG, TIG, or flux core in scope. Maintenance staff hold 17th or 18th Edition electrical certification, plus PLC fault-finding, for plants running automated lines. Food factories ask for basic food hygiene. Construction-linked workshops and yards may require CSCS. Many employers value first aid, manual handling, and COSHH awareness, supported by site inductions and toolbox talks.
Regional or geographic variations
Hiring in Inverness pulls from the city and a wide catchment across the A9 and A96. The Longman Industrial Estate is home to much warehousing and light manufacturing. The Port of Inverness and nearby distribution hubs drive logistics and marine-linked work. Inverness Business and Retail Park houses supply chain and service roles. Inverness Airport and the A96 corridor toward Nairn support aircraft, ground operations, and time-critical freight. Commuters arrive from Dingwall, Beauly, Muir of Ord, Elgin, and the Inner Moray Firth, so shift times that align with rail and bus links improve coverage.
Local hiring challenges
The labour pool is tight for certain shifts, with transport and housing adding friction for new starters. Winter weather can disrupt travel on rural routes, so contingency cover and multi-skilling reduce downtime. Some plants sit on the edge of town, which limits options for staff without cars. Agencies help by mapping candidate travel, setting realistic start windows, and building standby banks for peak days. Clear job adverts that show shift patterns, PPE requirements, and induction steps cut down on fall-out at the offer stage.
Key sectors or employers in the region
Inverness supports a mix of food and drink processing, timber, life sciences, and logistics. Bottling and packaging lines scale up for export through the Port. Timber and joinery workshops supply construction across the Highlands. Medical technology and lab work cluster around Inverness Campus, with clean environments and precise handling. Renewable projects in the Moray Firth lift demand for stores, fabrication, and maintenance logistics. These sectors keep recruitment agencies busy with a blend of hands-on roles and technical support posts.
Common job roles agencies recruit for in this sector
Recruitment consultants handle warehouse operatives, pickers, packers, forklift drivers, and goods in transit. They place production operatives, machine minders, quality techs, and line leaders for factories. Fabricators, welders, CNC operators, and assembly technicians cover workshop needs. Maintenance engineers, electricians, and multiskilled techs keep plants running. Planners, stock controllers, and transport coordinators link stores to outbound freight. HGV drivers, van drivers, and yard staff keep loads moving across the region.
Hard-to-fill positions
Multiskilled maintenance engineers are in short supply, with PLC exposure the pinch point. Coded welders and experienced fabricators see steady demand from workshops handling bespoke runs. CNC programmers with offline skills are scarce. HGV Class 1 drivers with night out flexibility remain hard to secure. Refrigeration engineers for chilled sites can be tricky to attract, so agencies often build passive pipelines and keep close contact with contractors between assignments.
Seasonal trends or themes
Tourism drives summer uplift, which lifts warehouse and back-of-house logistics. Food and drink plants scale ahead of Christmas, so production and packing roles spike from late summer into autumn. Construction and civils push hard in spring and summer, which leans on fabrication and yard support. Winter can shift patterns to maintenance shutdowns, with agencies lining up short-term engineers for planned stops. Sensible notice on peak volumes helps temp agencies staff lines without last-minute scrambling.
Roles and career paths
Many candidates start as production or warehouse operatives, then step into team leader roles within a year, provided their performance and attendance are strong. Skilled operatives progress to setter roles, moving toward process technician or shift technician paths. Engineers grow into reliability or control posts. Ambitious staff in planning or transport can rise to supervisor and then manager levels, often with employer-backed training. Executive search is relevant for plant managers, operations leaders, and heads of engineering, where confidentiality and reach matter.
Quick facts and frequently asked questions
How fast can industrial recruitment agencies fill a temp booking in Inverness?
Same-day cover is possible for warehouse and production shifts when rates, hours, and site access are confirmed.
What notice helps for volume ramp-ups?
Two to three weeks is a sensible window to brief agencies, book inductions, and build standby cover.
Do agencies work with probation or temp-to-perm routes?
Yes, temp-to-perm is common in Inverness, with conversion after a set number of hours and a clear handover.
What information should employers share at a briefing?
Site location, shift patterns, tasks, PPE, pay rates, training, and any checks, such as right-to-work or DBS, where roles require them.
How can candidates register with an agency?
Provide a CV, right to work documents, licences, and recent references, then complete onboarding and site induction before the first shift.
Do industrial recruitment agencies help with night shifts and weekends?
Yes, many staffing agencies run on-call cover for nights and weekends, which helps with last-minute changes.