A small, sector-fluent permanent recruitment desk built around a simple discipline: only place people we would stand behind.
Thorold Dewling is a UK permanent recruitment business focused on the onshore oil & gas, refining, petrochemicals, gas distribution and process engineering sectors. We do not staff every industry in Britain - we staff the ones where we can already name the operations directors, the plant managers, the senior process engineers worth knowing.
That focus is deliberate. Process plant hiring is not transferable from generic agency work. The certifications matter. The shutdown calendar matters. The difference between a 7-on / 7-off rotation and a continental shift pattern matters. We learnt those distinctions the hard way, by working inside this sector long enough to stop guessing.
The person who picks up your call is the person who runs the search, briefs the candidates, manages the offer, and checks in at week 12. No researchers in a back room. No handovers. The phone number you dial first is the phone number you dial all the way through.
If a brief is outside the disciplines we know, or the salary band is below market for the rotation, or the role description is a copy-paste of someone else's spec, we will say so on the first call. Telling clients no is one of the few things we are completely consistent about. It is also why our delivered briefs land.
The same operations teams we serve live and die by paperwork. So do we. Right-to-work documents, CCNSG / SMSTS / IOSH / process-safety credentials, technical references and visa status are confirmed before a CV reaches you. The shortlist is what you act on, not what you start triaging.
We will not source contractors or interim staff. We will not staff offshore drilling rigs - we partner with offshore desks for those briefs. We will not run a search where we do not believe the salary band can attract a strong candidate. And we will not send you a CV unless we have already spoken with the candidate, vetted their credentials, and would shortlist them ourselves.
Operators of UK refineries, petrochemical complexes, LNG terminals, gas distribution networks, storage and tank farm facilities, and the EPC consultancies that design and project-manage them. Heads of HR who want a single named contact. Plant managers who would rather take three good CVs than fifty average ones.
If that is the way you would rather hire, we will fit. If you want a CV firehose, we are the wrong agency.
Every permanent placement is covered by a 12-week replacement guarantee. If a hire does not stay, we re-run the search at no additional fee. The terms are written into the engagement letter, not buried in T&Cs.