New world of work- traditional engineering is re-engineered!
by Kirsty Dillon, engineering specialist, BluePrint Appointments I
t definitely is a new world of work‑ the last year and a half has had a major impact on how companies do business and what talent they are looking for as well as having an impact on job seekers. The recruitment landscape has been transformed in response to the changing economic conditions and although this is reflected across the recruitment spectrum it has been particularly evident in engineering.
Positive signs
This sector employs around 45,000 people in Northern Ireland and is viewed more as a traditional sector but has witnessed new opportunities resulting from the convergence of technologies and science with engineering; the result‑ a new era for opportunities as well. BluePrint have has observed an increase in job opportunities in this sector showing a 40% growth each quarter compared to last year. As recruitment freezes have started to lift, there has been an increase in both temporary and permanent positions. Some organisations have opted for flexibility by offering temporary assignments.
Talent pool
There is a perception that there is a large available talent pool as we exit from recession. However this talent pool has been reluctant to move particularly into temporary positions and in some cases into new permanent opportunities during this period of uncertainty. This has had an impact on talent availability but in recent months the confidence has returned and the talent pool is on the move again for permanent roles. There has also been a significant increase in applications from the UK citing the attractiveness of Northern Ireland as a key factor.
Restraints
There have two other major impacts‑ the type of talent required and the longevity of the recruitment period. Firstly, organisations have reassessed the skills sets required and are now not looking for traditional engineers. They require value added engineers who will drive process improvements, cost reduction and have strong managerial skills (3 years+). Even in more traditional roles such as Maintenance Engineers this has had an impact where there is a requirement for preventative forward thinking planned maintenance programmes as well as expertise in increasing automated processes. Secondly, as organisations are more cautious and also more determined to get “the right fit” with both engineering and soft skills, the recruitment process from advertisement to placement has extended to 6 months (previously half that time) and has also extended the process to include testing and even 2‑4interviews. This has had an impact on applicants with either counter offers or withdrawal from the process.
New market opportunities
There are a number of new opportunities within engineering such as renewable, ecology and environment but it is the healthcare arena that will see significant change‑ a change particularly in job requirements which engineers are best positioned to respond.
Healthcare faces extreme pressures and challenges in terms of demographics (such as an aging population), spiralling costs, convergence of technologies and medicines, accelerating product development cycles, tighter regulatory controls and a much better informed user/patient base. The delivery and management of healthcare is seeing significant changes in how it is delivered, as technologies allow monitoring and management of conditions and diseases away from acute care facilities, such as hospitals, to community settings including the patientʼs own home. The medical device industry must respond to these challenges by providing devices that are cheaper, more accurate, more robust, easily useable, and as unobtrusive as possible. These changes will come about primarily with engineering solutions in areas such as electronics, software applications, intelligent algorithms and rule sets, wireless technologies, plastics and polymers, materials, and product design. Engineering is now a cross disciplinary profession where electronics, software and mechanical engineers need to appreciate and cross the interfaces between the technologies in order to deliver on value added products.
Transferable skills
Engineering is an extremely exciting and challenging profession and within medical devices there exists an opportunity to realise the convergence with medicine, physics, chemistry, biology, ICT and mathematics. Dr Peter Donnelly, CEO of BioBusiness, himself a qualified electronics engineer, said that “Engineering has given me the capability and flexibility to work in a variety of industries including telecoms, construction, defence and medical devices. However, medical devices are the most fulfilling sector, not only for the opportunity to work with many convergent technologies but knowing that devices you deliver have an impact on quality of life.” Transferable skills are becoming increasingly more important when organisations consider what skills they need for future growth and in the new emerging sectors.
For further information on engineering trends and opportunities contact:
kdillon@blueprintappointments.com
25
www.businessfirstonline.co.uk
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