Look Toto, there is an Engineering Union. 31

[moltenmetal]

A lack of succession planning, combined with utter incompetence amongst journalists, is at the root of this.

Throughout my career there have been reports of an imminent or existing shortage of engineers. Yet engineering salaries have grown no faster than those of any other profession (considerably LESS rapidly than those of many other professions).

Engineering programs in Canada are reportedly still turning away 5 applicants for every one they select, and Canada is still permitting the immigration of nearly half as many engineers that we graduate from all of Canada's universities combined- even during a severe recession with escalating unemployment rates.

Over 2/3 of engineering graduates in Canada already are NOT working as engineers. Yet the reports of "shortages" are still there in the media.

THERE IS NO SHORTAGE OF ENGINEERS- there is only a shortage of engineering employers willing to hire, train and properly compensate engineers to satisfy their needs.

 

[ScottyUK]

Last two posts: in my industry there absolutely is a shortage of experienced, skilled and qualified engineers. It's certainly not because of outsourcing to China because no one has so far managed to make the economics of locating a power station two continents away pay off, so the bean counters are stuck with having to pay for indigenous labour. The problem in Europe, and the US too from what I read in the industry press, is that more people are leaving the profession to retirement than are entering it. There may be a surplus of engineers generally, but there's a massive shortfall in certain industries which is only getting worse.

I don't blame journalists, I blame the policy-makers of two decades ago who virtually stopped recruitment into the power industry, embarking instead on a frenzy of cost-cutting, down-sizing, recruitment freezes, and the wholesale decimation a reasonably well-run state industry.


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If we learn from our mistakes I'm getting a great education!

 

[KENAT]

WRT encouraging people into Engineering.

Just one thought, it may be that there are more than enough Engineering Graduates, but are there enough 'good' graduates? Maybe encouraging more into engineering the aim is to get more 'good' graduates, more so than just the number of graduates per se?

It seems like a lot of the cutting edge people in my little part of the hi-tech world weren't 'born & raised' in the good ol' US of A.

Now whether this is because my place abuses the H1B visa system (possible) or because there genuinely aren't 'born & raised' Americans willing/able to do the job or a myriad of possible other reasons that cross my mind I'm not sure.

I've seen it suggested that for some time the 'brightest & best' potential ‘USA born & raised’ engineers aren’t going into Engineering (at least, prior the current economic issues) but into other more lucrative fields.

Just throwing out other ideas to consider, and not meaning to denigrate recent grads or anything.

KENAT,

Have you reminded yourself of faq731-376 recently, or taken a look at posting policies:

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484

 

[moltenmetal]

"...there is a shortage of skilled, experienced and qualified engineers..."

When the prequalification is 10+ yrs of previous experience in a particular industry, is there EVER anything other than a shortage?! COULD there ever be anything other than a shortage under those conditions?!

 

[ScottyUK]

With an average 40 year career that means 30 of those years would be in the 'experienced' category, if the industry treated its workers well enough for them to stay with the company and in the industry. It doesn't take more than a generation to get over the initial shortage, but the key is to maintain that staffing without having a decade-long recruitment freeze or laying off huge swathes of the workforce.



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If we learn from our mistakes I'm getting a great education!

 

[cranky108]

Actually in the US the power industry for the most pary dosen't hire H1B visa engineers because of several reasons, mainly because of the culture differences, and not understanding the US standards, and university creadibility issues.

And when I retire in 10 to 15 years, there will probally still be a shortage of power engineers with 10+ years experence.

Part of the shortage of power engineers is the lack of schools teaching power. And part of it is people just can't handle the math, or have the wrong attitude.

If it wasen't for a shortage of linemen, I'd believe you. But the fact is there is a shortage people interested in this industry.

 

[PhonoPhilo]

cranky108, I was a power engineer for almost 14 years after I got out of engineering school in the early 1980s. It was a great job, but I had to leave because government regulation/deregulation just about killed the industry by the early 1990s. The utility I worked for started laying off engineers in droves. Realizing that I had a very questionable future there, I reluctantly jumped ship and went into manufacturing.

Now that manufacturing is in the tank, and I recently lost my job, I've been looking to get back into the utility industry again. At least now, they are hiring people again, but I have noticed that there isn't much for seasoned veterans like myself. Lots of lower-level positions requiring 2-3 years of experience. One recruiter actually told me that my 14 years of experience in power is no longer worth anything because I have been out of the industry for so long!

 

[ScottyUK]

Sounds like you were a victim of the policies which I described previously. As for "One recruiter actually told me that my 14 years of experience in power is no longer worth anything because I have been out of the industry for so long!", I laughed out loud. Many UK stations were built a few years before I was born, and the technology of the major plant in them isn't substatially different to that being built today. We haven't taken any really big forward steps, except in gas turbine technology and in control systems, over the past 20 years. In some ways the technology is simpler as the industry has moved away from the big hydrogen-cooled 750MVA sets down to (relatively) cheap and (relatively) simple air-cooled designs. Your recruiter is clueless.


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If we learn from our mistakes I'm getting a great education!

 

[cranky108]

I think there has been some improvments in protective relays. But with protective relays they might be right. You either keep on top or your almost lost.
However there are schools for refresher for this.

Most companies are looking for 2-3 years because they can't find more experenced people. In the area of project managment there should not be any problems with a gap in the industry.

In the area of power production there is a shortage of controls, and plant engineers, which are probally eazy to find through out the US.

And many jobs are no longer posted, as the companies just could not find people in a reasonable timeframe.