Skills and Demand in Industry report 2010

The 2010 skills survey indicated economic recovery, with 55 per cent of employers reporting that they planned to recruit new staff over the next twelve months. This compares to only 31 per cent of employers in 2009, though it is not yet up to the pre-recession levels seen in 2008.

With the rise in demand for engineers and technicians in 2010, many employers were once again struggling to find suitable candidates to recruit. In 2010, 37 per cent of employers were finding it hard to recruit suitable senior engineers and 21 per cent were finding it hard to recruit suitable graduate engineers.

When asked what could be done to address skills shortages, the most commonly cited actions were improving the image and profile of engineering (32 per cent of respondents) and improving engineering and technical degree content (22 per cent).