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In 2026, Ireland’s (NI/ROI) industrial sector is operating under sustained pressure where there is record-low unemployment, tightening EU and UK (NI) sustainability directives, and increased regulatory scrutiny following a rise in workplace incidents.

For manufacturing, construction and FMCG businesses, an unfilled HSEQ role is not an HR gap. It is exposure. According to provisional Health and Safety Authority (HSA) 2025 provisional figures, work-related fatalities rose sharply year-on-year. Inspections are intensifying. Standards are being tested more frequently and more publicly.

In that environment, HSEQ roles are delivery critical. Yet many remain unfilled, not because capability does not exist in the market, but because hiring decisions are made without fully defining the operating reality of the role.

The Operational Risk of an Undefined HSEQ Brief

Under site urgency, speed becomes tempting, but hiring an HSEQ Manager into a reactive, firefighting culture without clarity on authority, reporting lines or leadership backing does not reduce risk. It simply delays where it surfaces. In HSEQ, capability gaps rarely show in month one. They appear during inspection, after an incident, or when regulatory reporting is tested.

The hiring brief must therefore define:

·         What “good” looks like in the first 90 days

·         Whether the role is stabilising or sustaining

·         The level of leadership sponsorship behind compliance

Without that clarity, experienced professionals disengage early, often before the first interview.

Defining "Good" in the First 90 Days

Candidates in the HSEQ space are inherently risk-literate. They look for structure. If a hiring manager cannot define what "good" looks like in the first few months, whether that’s successfully navigating a BRCGS audit or stabilising a reporting line, top-tier professionals will withdraw.

Why Top HSEQ Professionals Drop Out Before an Interview

HSEQ leaders are risk-literate by default.

They assess:

• Audit exposure: repairing culture or maintaining discipline?

• Authority: influence at board level or isolated compliance function?

• Site reality: travel expectations, shift patterns, operational intensity

When these elements are softened or repositioned mid-process, trust erodes. In a tightening regulatory climate, professionals will not step into ambiguity that places their reputation or professional standing at risk. Qualification must therefore be two-way. The HSA Strategy Statement 2025–2027emphasises "building and supporting compliance" through targeted inspections. Professionals know that the regulatory environment is tightening; they will only join organisations that demonstrate a disciplined approach to these challenges.

Sector-Specific Pressures: From FMCG to Construction

The HSEQ requirements in a high-speed FMCG packaging plant are vastly different from a Tier-1 construction site.

Managing the "Triple-Bottom-Line" in 2026

In Food and FMCG, the focus is on biosecurity and quality continuity. In Construction, the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) reports that the labour squeeze is the main brake on delivery. In both sectors, the HSEQ professional acts as the guardian of the license to operate.

If an Environmental Specialist is hired solely to tick a box for CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) compliance without the operational authority to implement change, attrition is inevitable. We mitigate this by ensuring the reporting lines and operating style are ironclad before the first interview occurs.

Market Reality for 2026

• Roles: HSE Advisor, SHEQ Manager, Environmental Specialist, Quality Manager

• Shift: from compliance officer to strategic risk holder

• Pressure: increased inspection activity and public accountability

Success in this market is not about speed. It is about decision discipline under pressure. At Vickerstock, we focus on strengthening the hiring decision in delivery-critical HSEQ roles, ensuring the operating conditions, authority boundaries and exposure levels are surfaced before progression.

Because in Ireland’s current regulatory climate, hiring errors in HSEQ are rarely visible at the appointment. It surfaces later on the site, in audit, or in reputation.

Vickerstock: Delivery Critical Talent Partners. Reduces avoidable people risk in Ireland’s industrial sectors by strengthening hiring decisions in roles where regulatory exposure and operational continuity cannot fail.