Engineering news
Engineering companies are finding it difficult to recruit staff because of a surge in demand from large infrastructure projects such as Crossrail, according to a new study.
Engineering vacancies for permanent and temporary jobs have increased since the start of the year, especially in the energy sector, including oil and gas and renewables. Firms in other sectors such as aerospace were reporting skills shortages, according to the study by the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSC).
The problem of skills shortages may also have been exacerbated by engineers on the job market not having the requisite knowledge of different engineering disciplines, according to separate research carried out by Festo Training & Consulting.
Ann Swain, APSC chief executive, said: "Engineering remains the bright spot among the professional jobs market at the moment. Crossrail is Europe's largest construction project and has created huge demand for engineering and project management specialists.
"With the government focused on boosting investment in UK infrastructure projects, demand for engineering skills should remain buoyant.
"The UK has a long-term shortage of engineering skills. With demand so strong, the government needs to ensure that the UK's historical underproduction of engineering skills does not impede growth in vitals sectors such as oil & gas and power generation."
Investment in infrastructure increased by almost a quarter in the final quarter of last year to a record £3.6 billion compared to the same period in 2010, said the APSC study.
Festo's research found that more than three-quarters of the manufacturing companies it surveyed found it difficult to recruit. The company said this was due to the phenomenon of “role creep”, where employees were expected to have experience in more fields than their academic or professional specialisation.
The difficulty in recruiting the right skills was “worrying” in an environment where the average age of workers in manufacturing is more than 50 years, said Festo.
Andrew MacPherson, industry sector manager at Festo, said engineers were having to become more multidisciplinary. “More is expected nowadays by employers. Certainly when you look at factory automation, machine controls and actuation of machinery, people are expected to be multidisciplinary. And that goes beyond engineering skills to people, management and leadership skills. But some niche areas still require specialisation.”
There was also a pressing need to attract more youngsters into the industry and for industry to provide the latest technology to schools and universities, MacPherson said. The Festo research revealed mixed views on whether there was a positive future ahead for manufacturing in the UK, with 36% of those surveyed agreeing the future is bright for manufacturing, but 52% disagreeing. Government rhetoric on the importance of manufacturing needed to be back up by action, MacPherson said. “Everybody's always said we investment in skills and technology and people have heard the story so many times they are sceptical.
“The proof of the pudding will be is if investment is carried through and companies are supported. It all looks good – it all looks more promising than it has before – but it's following through on it.”