Engineering Sector: The evolving role of L&D in engineering recruitment

Sinead Trudgill FCIPD, MSc, is the Director of Learning & Organisational Development at Network Rail. With a strategic focus on developing high-performing teams across the UK’s rail infrastructure, she leads the design and rollout of leadership programmes, talent frameworks, and inclusive culture initiatives. Sinéad’s background includes senior HR leadership roles within Network Rail and directorship experience in organisational development, underpinned by her professional credentials in HR (FCIPD) and a master’s degree in organisational development. Passionate about enabling change at scale, she aims to equip leaders with the skills and mindset to deliver transformation and safety across the rail network.

Dan Crerand is Director of Workforce Solutions and leads the Train to Deploy business at Rullion, which he launched to help clients address long-term workforce challenges within critical infrastructure. The model focuses on building tailored, future-fit talent pipelines- grounded in a deep understanding of each client’s capability needs and business priorities.
With a background spanning early careers, social mobility, and strategic workforce planning, Dan works with organisations to move beyond transactional hiring by designing scalable, skills-led solutions that unlock overlooked or underutilised talent. He partners with trusted training providers to deliver targeted, job-ready upskilling aligned to real-world demand.

Dan’s approach combines commercial insight with innovation- enabling businesses to access the talent they need not just today, but for the future. He currently supports employers across sectors such as energy, utilities, rail, and engineering, helping them evolve their workforce strategies in response to a fast-changing landscape.

Kareena Prescott is the Founder and Principal Lawyer at C2E Law and has been advising the recruitment sector on employment law and tax since 2001. She spent eight years at DWF LLP, one of the UK’s top 20 law firms, where she developed deep expertise in advising umbrella companies and employment businesses.

Widely recognised for her ability to distil complex legislation into clear, commercially focused guidance, Kareena supports agencies with compliance, contractual frameworks, due diligence, risk management, and HMRC inquiries. Her work spans the full spectrum of workforce engagement models, from PAYE and umbrella arrangements to off-payroll and contractor compliance.

In an evolving legal landscape, Kareena’s practical insight helps staffing firms stay ahead of regulatory change. Her advice equips agencies to adapt with confidence while safeguarding their commercial interests. 

Dynamic Head of Innovation / corporate culture insight specialist - AI / human interface advisor with a strategic and influential approach - enabling innovative development of working practices based in compelling evidence and exceptional narratives. Progressive and trusted team player with 20 years of cross industry management, coaching, project management and commercial insight and development experience.

Experienced in overseas delivery - delivering compelling reasons for betterment and change (via intelligence, research & advisory) to different cultures / nuanced environments across USA, EMEA and APAC. Expertise across governmental organisations, NGOs, private commerce & charity sectors. 

Xanthe Marmion is CEO of Hatch Digital, a workforce innovation company rethinking how employers find, train, and retain talent. With a focus on outcomes over optics, they work with leading organisations to design end-to-end solutions that close real skills gaps while driving genuine diversity and performance. Hatch’s Hire & Train model integrates inclusive recruitment with role-specific learning, ensuring new hires are productive, supported, and ready to grow in fast-moving environments like tech and engineering.