There are many industries of recruitment that are out there. I myself specialise in engineering appointments within the manufacturing sector, so I wanted to give you a bit of perspective about it.
The demand for engineers will only increase
In this sector there were 113,380 manufacturing engineering companies based in England in 2016. Out of the most surveyed the biggest response was that they are struggling with the competition for skills and the availability of candidates. I’m sure if you are in this industry you would have heard about this and would also have heard about the plans to change this.
However, it’s all good having a plan, but actually being able to put it into practice is another thing! With the advancements in technology, and the demand for mass production from companies chasing a better bottom line, the demand for engineers will only increase.
The pressure on companies to meet targets and stretch production has been the main cause for the increased demand, paired with the lack of talent coming into the engineering trade from schools. This is leaving nobody to fill the gaps within an ageing workforce.
Engineers are required within every industry
The good news is that within the engineering sector there has been a 10% increase in 16-19 year olds that would consider a career in engineering over the last 7 years, sitting around 39%. These figures are pretty good, but there must be an added push and reminder for this career path to be followed.
It’s also important to note that engineering isn’t ONE discipline, and there are so many routes you can go down, as engineers are required within every industry. Everything has to be designed, produced, managed, and maintained at some stage in every industry – be it in manufacturing, construction or IT to name a few. There are so many avenues to explore and there will be new roles out there in the next 2 years that nobody would have heard of before.
Look at the advancements with drones, AI and cybersecurity. This has moved things on massively creating a lot of opportunities for you to explore, if you are considering a move into the sector.
The golden candidates are unlikely to apply
This is where professional recruiters come in by assisting companies to find the most suitable talent for their business, or finding the right roles for niche candidates by the use of top technology.
This is allowing recruiters to work smarter, faster and access a whole new realm of niche candidates outside of the old – post a job add and wait for a reply.
This archaic way of recruiting is going to die out. The demand for the best isn’t likely to come through advertisements as the golden candidates are being well looked after and will unlikely be applying.
The applicants don’t grow on trees
In the last year 87% of our candidates haven’t come to us from job boards which is pretty good and highlights how precise you need to be when identifying and attracting talent. I’m sure you would agree. This statistic comes down to the processes we run and to target passive candidates via our own consultant networks, who could be persuaded to join a new role if the right opportunity is put in front of them. This is the future of recruitment in the engineering sector.
You can read more about the future of recruitment and the power of Artificial Intelligence here. Or check how the video interviews will shape the future of recruitment here.
The applicants don’t grow on trees and time has to be spent to find them!
If you are currently struggling with recruitment for engineers, or looking for a new role, we would be happy to see if we can assist and discuss how our process can add value to your search.