The part of the job nobody wrote down.
Who is moving, who is hiring and what the next seat will ask of you, read from inside the interview room. And a place to hand down what you know before it leaves the industry with you.
Who this is for
Running a project, a region or a business
The job is yours and the people are yours. What you need now is the market read straight: who is winning what, who is moving, and what it means for the seat you are in.
The step to director or board
What boards actually ask for, and what separates the people who get the step up from the people who wait for it. Every pathway here runs to that level, in the order it is learned.
The last ten years, and what to do with them
Most of what gets someone from a first role to your chair has never been written down. It sits in heads like yours. The Mentoring Pathway, the mentoring programme and the exchange are how it gets handed on.
In your first years? Setting Out is the other door.
Who is moving, who is hiring, and why
Tracked overnight from live vacancy data and the trade press, and read for the hiring it sets off. Free to read.
Who is moving where at the senior end of the industry, and which seats their moves leave open. By the time an award is public, the shortlist has usually moved.
Latest · 7 October 2026Movers. 7 October 2026Go to Movers →Who is hiring at the top, where the roles are, and where the demand is heading next. The hiring signals behind the headlines, while they are still signals.
Latest · 8 October 2026Every downturn cuts training. The bill lands a decade laterGo to Insights →Opinions with skin in the game, on leadership, hiring and the habits that separate the people who get the step up from the people who wait for it.
Latest · 8 October 2026The year we didn't hire anyoneGo to Thoughts →93 senior roles open across 32 contractors and programmes
Mace and HS2 hold 26% of every director, head-of and chief role on the list.
London and Manchester account for 43 of the 93.
16 new roles added this week.
What the demand is telling us →Every pathway runs to director level
The Mentoring Pathway is how you pass it on. The discipline pathways are what your best people should be on, and what the step up will ask of you.
Mentoring
From Experienced Practitioner to Effective Mentor
Start the pathwayEarly Careers
From First Role to First Leadership
Start the pathwayCommercial
From QS to Commercial Director
Start the pathwayPlanning
From Planner to Planning Director
Start the pathwayEstimating
From Estimator to Pre-Construction Director
Start the pathwayOperations
From Site Manager to Operations Director
Start the pathwayDesign Management
From Design Coordinator to Design Director
Start the pathwayDesign and Technical
From Designer to Practice Director
Start the pathwayM&E
From MEP Coordinator to M&E Director
Start the pathwayBid Management
From Bid Coordinator to Work Winning Director
Start the pathwayDigital and Information Management
From BIM Coordinator to Digital Director
Start the pathwayHealth and Safety
From Site Advisor to HSE Director
Start the pathwayEvery pathway ends in a certificate with your name on it.
Four modules, an exam to close each one at 8 out of 10 or better, and a certificate issued in your name, ready to print and put on your profile. Free, like everything else here, and earned rather than given.
Research partner: Lancaster University Management School
See the pathwaysWhat happened this week
The community, before you join it. Free to read, and one email link to take part.
- Today · ThoughtsThe year we didn't hire anyone
- Today · InsightsEvery downturn cuts training. The bill lands a decade later
- Today · CommentScott Lechley, Founder, Lechley Recruitmentcommented on William Hare's profit jumps 27% as turnover falls a fifth
- Today · CommentScott Lechley, Founder, Lechley Associatescommented on Arcadis to cut 1,000 jobs and sell architecture arm
- Yesterday · MoversMovers. 7 October 2026
- 3 days ago · Weekly questionIf your firm announced a restructure tomorrow, what would you do first?Open now. Closes Friday, then Scott's take.
- 4 days ago · MoversMovers. 4 October 2026
- 8 Sept · ReplyKeith Norman Bennett, Commercial Manager, ECOBOSreplied to Would you join a contractor that just posted a loss?
And 24 more posts this week. Read the news.
You have the miles on the clock.
Three questions about what you have done and what you can offer, and Lechley matches you with someone coming through, discipline to discipline. A call a month, a coffee, a message when it matters. Or join the exchange and teach three things to someone from a different generation, and learn three back.
Thinking about your own next move, or a hire? Book a call with Scott.
The critical path runs through people.
Join the Critical PathSign in with your email. No password, no card, no catch. First ten years? Setting Out.