In 2008, engineering jobs have been the most difficult positions for employers to fill in the United States, according to a new survey released by recruitment firm Manpower Inc.

The findings, based on a survey of 2,000 American employers this year, coincide with the publication of the Manpower white paper Confronting the Talent Crunch: 2008.

Engineers are followed by 2) machinists/machine operators, 3) skilled trades, 4) technicians, 5) sales reps, 6) accounting/finance staff, 7) mechanics, 8) laborers, 9) IT staff, and 10) production operators, according to the employment services company's latest annual list of the 10 hardest jobs to fill.

In 2007, engineers weren't even on the top 10 hard-to-fill list (though they were No. 2 in 2006, the first year of the sampling).

We constantly hear that already there aren't enough engineers out there and that it's about to get worse. The two reasons most often stated for this so-called future shortage is 1) the fact that engineering is not favorably perceived and 2) students are shying away from math and science.

Yes, these may both be true statements, but they do not imply that there will be an engineering shortage. There may be a talent/hiring problem, but is there really a talent war?

Perhaps, as Management-Issues.com proposes, what they really mean to say is: "There aren't enough engineers able to work for what we want to pay them" or "There aren't enough engineers who want to do this job under current stress-filled working conditions" or even, "There aren't enough people we can pull off the street and drop into the job without having to invest anything in their training."

IMT reader K Kasting wrote to us a few years back (Clearly, this debate has been going on for a while):

What does exist is a shortage of educated, skilled, motivated people who are willing to work for small dollars, few or no benefits, in positions offering little advancement potential. Employers want to get by very cheaply, so instead of hiring an experienced individual who knows the technology, they'll haul a guy off the plant floor and make do with him, paying him very small dollars. I've seen this done repeatedly.

The engineers that employers want aren't necessarily the engineers who are available. And companies often create the very shortages they decry by insisting on applicants who meet every item on a detailed list of qualifications.

Hiring managers often prefer to wait for the candidate who has the exact combination of attributes they seek, rather than immediately hiring someone who comes close and then giving that person time and empowerment to get familiar with a new machine or software program.

At Management-Issues.com, Wayne Turmel, a hiring manager, writes:

Is it me or is it rather ridiculous to demand experience on machinery, for example, that didn't exist five years ago? As anyone who's watched me with lawn equipment knows, I'm no machine operator but it seems that if I have worked an Acme 310, I can probably handle the Acme 311. Just give me a couple of weeks and someone who can tell me where the coffee machine is. Instead the nice lady in HR looks at the resume, doesn't see Acme 311 experience and immediately gets on the phone to a recruiter in Bucharest.

In other words, rather than looking in a general direction with a plan to invest in training, many companies are looking for a nonexistent needle in a haystack — and then wring their hands about how there aren't any qualified people in the U.S. and call for higher H-1B visa caps.

"To succeed in the contemporary world of work, employers must not only encourage current employees to re-skill and up-skill to ensure they meet workload demands, but also refine their recruitment and retention strategies for a new generation of workers," says Manpower.

Earlier

Engineering, Science and Tech for the Pros

Labor Shortage: Fact or Fiction?

Fighting to Fill the Engineering Gap

Are We Lacking Engineers? Or Are Engineers Lacking? (Does It Matter?)

Newsflash: There is NO Engineering Shortage

References

10 Hardest Jobs To Fill Survey
Manpower, April 22, 2008

What War for Talent?
by Wayne Turmel
Management-Issues.com, April 28, 2008

Confronting the Talent Crunch: 2008
Manpower, April 2008