Manufacturing employers

Hire skilled Manufacturing staff in record time.

From CNC machinists and maintenance engineers to production managers and quality engineers, Reed.ai is an AI agent that finds and shortlists Manufacturing staff on repeat, so you need no in-house talent team and pay no 15 to 25% agency fee.

Book a demo

Under 30 seconds

to a ranked shortlist of Manufacturing candidates

Under 1 minute

to contact matched production and engineering staff

Under 3 minutes

to a booked interview with a shortlisted hire

Reed.ai - the newest member of the Reed family

In short

Reed.ai is an AI recruitment agent that finds and shortlists Manufacturing candidates for UK employers. You pay 8% only when you hire, with nothing upfront, against the typical 15 to 25% agency fee. Built by Reed, recruiting since 1960, it searches 15 million UK candidates and returns a ranked shortlist in under 30 seconds. It covers roles like CNC machinists, maintenance engineers, production operatives and quality engineers, and it's built for UK firms of 49 to 250 staff hiring regularly. We work across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, from the Midlands and the North West to Yorkshire, the North East and the South. Every decision stays with you. We surface the people; you choose who to meet.

Save money. Save time. Get the right match.

Tell Reed.ai the role by voice or text. It searches, shortlists and even schedules interviews — like a recruiter that never sleeps. You stay in charge of who to interview and who to hire.

Save money

On a £34,000 machinist salary, a 15 to 25% agency fee runs £5,100 to £8,500. With Reed.ai you pay 8%, about £2,720, and only when you actually hire. Nothing upfront, no monthly fee.

3D hand making an OK gesture with pink lines on a blue circular background.

Save time

Describe the role once. Reed.ai searches 15 million UK candidates, ranks a shortlist in under 30 seconds, contacts matched people and books interviews for you. Every decision on who to meet and who to hire stays with you.

Get the right match

People are matched on real skills and on Reed's placement data built up since 1960. You get a genuinely qualified candidate who fits the role, not a keyword-stuffed CV.

The roles you hire on repeat

The hard-to-fill, business-critical positions that come round again and again — the specialist skills, the senior hires, the seats you can't leave empty for long.

Production operatives

CNC machinists

Maintenance engineers

Quality engineers

Production managers

Assembly technicians

Machine operators

Process engineers

Manufacturing engineers

Is Reed.ai right for you?

Built for some employers, not all

A great fit

You run a growing manufacturer of 49 to 250 staff and you're hiring production operatives, machinists or maintenance engineers on repeat, without an in-house talent team.

You want a fast, ranked shortlist for permanent roles and you'd rather pay 8% on a hire than a 15 to 25% agency fee.

You need to fill a cluster of shop-floor and engineering vacancies quickly to keep a line or a contract on schedule.

You want to stay in control of every interview decision while an AI agent handles the search and the first contact.

Better elsewhere

If you're a jobseeker rather than an employer, head to our candidate page: Reed.ai is free for candidates and built to help you find work.

If you need a senior plant director or a confidential leadership search managed end to end, 'Blended Pro' fully managed search is the better fit.

If you're staffing a shutdown or ramping contract and temporary lines at scale, Reed Talent Solutions handles contract and interim hiring better than a permanent shortlist.

If you're hiring designers and developers for the systems that run your factory, start with instead.

Trust, transparency and security

Expert

Created by experts at Reed, the UK's leading family-run recruitment service — recruiting since 1960. We know a thing or two about hiring.

Two hands of different skin tones shaking in a business handshake on a blue background.

Trusted

Over 26 million jobseekers in our database, and recruitment services delivered to more than 12,000 UK businesses.

Hand making a heart finger gesture with a pink heart above on a blue circular background.

Ethical

An Ethical Advisory Board ensures everyone is treated fairly and equally — and we give 18% of our profits to charity.

Only pay when you hire

Get unrestricted access to your AI recruitment agent with nothing to pay upfront — no subscription, no retainers, no per-vacancy invoices. You pay a single 8% fee only when you make a successful hire, a fraction of the 15–25% a traditional agency charges on placement.Whether you're hiring one person or scaling a whole team, the model is the same: Reed.ai does the searching and shortlisting, you keep every decision, and you only pay on a result.

Book a demo

8% on a successful hire

Upfront cost £0

Fee on a successful hire 8%

Typical agency placement fee 15–25%

Access to candidates 15m

Working hours 24/7

Our blended approach

Choose the level of support that suits you

From a digital-first experience to hands-on sourcing — pick the support that fits your hiring needs.

Self service

8% on a successful hire.
No upfront cost.

Source and place candidates independently on our platform. Ideal for teams who want full control and only pay when they hire.

Most popular

Blended assist

Talk to us

Personalised support from a dedicated recruitment coach. They help you onboard and craft job descriptions that get the best matches.

Blended Pro

Talk to us

Work alongside our recruitment coaches to enhance your search. Perfect for teams ramping up for new contracts or rebuilding a department.

30 seconds

To a ranked Manufacturing shortlist

14 days

To fill four shop-floor roles

Customer story

How a Tier 2 supplier filled four shop-floor roles in 14 days

Challenge. A 180-staff Tier 2 supplier won a new contract and needed CNC machinists, two production operatives and a quality engineer fast, with no in-house recruiter and agency quotes at 15 to 25% per hire.

Approach. They described each role once. Reed.ai searched 15 million UK candidates and returned a ranked shortlist in under 30 seconds, contacted matched people in under 1 minute and booked first interviews in under 3 minutes.

Outcome. The hiring manager reviewed ranked shortlists the same morning and met shortlisted candidates within days, keeping every selection decision in house.

Result. All four roles were filled in 14 days, at a saving of around 80% versus typical agency fees, with 8% paid only on each successful hire.

Frequently asked
questions

Your AI recruitment agent is here - just 8%.

Reed.ai connects employers of all sizes with the right candidates and helps candidates find their ideal jobs. It’s AI-powered recruitment for smarter, faster matches. Free to use to find a job, and only 8%* to recruit, payable on placement. *Terms and conditions apply.

Candidate sign-up