Spanish rail group CAF has appointed Morson Edge as exclusive recruitment supplier for its UK rolling stock and rail businesses following a multi-stage competitive tender, giving HR and talent acquisition teams in rail a view of how a single-supplier model is resourcing engineering and support roles.

CAF is a Spanish rail company whose CAF Rolling Stock UK and CAF Rail UK businesses employ around 1,000 people in the UK, and which opened a £10 million (€11.6 million) wheelset and bogie overhaul facility at Lowry Park in Manchester in June 2026.

Morson Edge is the specialist recruitment division of Morson Group, based in Salford, supplying talent to aerospace, defence, energy, rail and infrastructure, and technology clients.

The strategic logic consolidates recruitment into one supplier as headcount grows. Morson will provide permanent and temporary workers, plus access to executive recruitment, across an initial three-year term.

The structural driver is facility growth. CAF will recruit for specialist engineering and technical roles as well as support functions including finance, HR, quality, planning and procurement, with headcount at its new Lowry Park facility in Manchester expected to double as work ramps up.

Gary Smithson, managing director at Morson Edge, said: “This partnership solidifies our place in the rolling stock talent ecosystem and gives us a deeper understanding of how to support and source rolling stock talent.”

Iain Taylor, head of HR & support at CAF Rail UK, said: “From the outset it was clear that Morson is the right partner for our next phase of growth. Not only is it robust and experienced as a business, but we’re aligned on the importance of social value.”

Morson succeeds Ford & Stanley as supplier and said it transitioned 70 contractors to a new system in six weeks with zero attrition.

Morson has committed to almost £2 million (€2.3 million) of social value support during the contract, with activities so far including a volunteering day at Rail World Wildlife Haven.

For the sector, the appointment shows a rail company using a competitive tender, a three-year term and social value commitments to select a single recruitment supplier for engineering and support hiring.

Source: Rail Business UK