What It Does: Atkins is a jack of many trades. The company specialises in consulting, advisory, environmental services, design & engineering, intelligent networks & cybersecurity, project & construction management, procurement, decommissioning, and operations & maintenance.
Mission: Atkins' mission is to serve design and engineering clients to deliver revolutionary infrastructures by leveraging state-of-the-art technology, data, and design-driven technology.
Size and Presence: Atkins, being one of the largest consultancy firms in the UK, employs more than 8,600 employees across 47 offices in the UK.
Best Known For: Atkins has been named one of the best companies to work for in the UK. The company is renowned for its stellar project portfolio, which includes world-famous projects such as Dubai Opera, High Speed 2, Floodmap Desktop, A14 Upgrade, and ITER - Fusion For Energy, among others.
The Good Bits: The work is exciting. The company provides flexible work arrangements for a good work-life balance. Atkins’ employees enjoy numerous benefits aside from their basic compensation. There is job security. The company has a friendly work environment.
The Not-So-Good Bits: Work stress is high.
The origins of Atkins go back all the way to 1938. William Atkins established WS Atkins & Partners. This company’s pioneer operation centres were in London and Westminster. These locations focused on structural and civil engineering design and consultancy. Atkins achieved global renown during World War II for consistently manufacturing top-notch works of engineering regardless of the pressure of the war and other limitations. The anti-aircraft turret was its most popular invention then. The company later patented this project. When the war ended, the company was heavily involved in the reconstruction effort, engineering services, and other specialist services. In 1996, WS Atkins went public and was listed on the London Stock Exchange.
In 2017, SNC-Lavalin, a conglomerate in Canada, purchased Atkins in a deal worth £2.1 billion. This takeover coincided with the period that Atkins’ infrastructure division experienced some redundancies. After the deal was finalised, Atkins became a member firm of SNC-Lavalin and was delisted from the London Stock Exchange. When the pandemic hit, Atkins was forced to lay off 280 employees working in the infrastructure arm in the UK.
Atkins is a client-oriented organisation. Ironically, that makes it pay even more attention to its employees because a company needs a highly skilled workforce to meet and surpass clients’ expectations. As a competency-based organisation, Atkins hiring culture disregards nationalities, races, religions, political affiliations, genders, sexualities, and social statuses when selecting prospective employees from the applicants’ pool. The company listens to the thoughts and opinions of its employees and treats every staff member with respect. At Atkins, everyone feels included and valued. The employees are friendly and warm and willing to take new intakes, such as fresh graduates and interns, under their wing. In the company's offices, business professional is the official dress code, while at the factories, the employees wear overalls and helmets.
Atkins is a hub of opportunities where freshers and interns can gain rich work experience and gain the needed exposure that will be instrumental to their growth within the company. The company offers summer and industrial placement opportunities to undergraduates. This exposes them to how working for Atkins is and equips them with the skills and experience they need to get their careers launched. Apprentices also get opportunities to earn while learning and getting the relevant qualifications, skills, and knowledge. For the fresh graduates, there is a 3-year program where they are nurtured and trained through professional schemes and direct mentorships from some of the industry’s finest.
After the company screens applications and selects suitable applicants, they go through
the following:
Atkins pays its fresh graduates an average yearly salary of £30,000.
Atkins provides educational opportunities in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) to adolescents and young adults.
There’s no widely published controversy in the UK.