A priority issue
With five million people living and working in flood-risk areas, flood defence is a top priority for the Environment Agency. Since 2000, around £300m has been spent every year on flood management and control measures in England and Wales. This is a high-profile area in which complex technical problems and profound human impact come together to create formidable challenges.
Skills shortage
Against this background, the Environment Agency has a substantial and growing need for people with a range of engineering, scientific and project management skills. They are recruiting in a fiercely competitive marketplace, in which engineering companies and consultancies can often offer higher salaries than a government agency could ever provide.
On the other hand…
Nonetheless, the Environment Agency is at the forefront of flood defence; it offers superb training, genuinely excellent career development and first-class facilities. For technical people who want to make a real difference on an issue of national importance, the Environment Agency should clearly be the employer of choice.
