Engineering Inc. - November/December 2006 - 10

T he engineering profession is held in very high esteem in countries like
India and China, and children are brought up to believe the better it is
for our company, our clients since 9/11, firms are being forced to seek
and staff members already on board. new alternatives to handle
recruitment. that the most successful Ron Drnevich, CEO of Gannett Flem-
We've definitely found that there's a people there are doctors or ing,
which has offices in 22 states and in shortage, says John Cook, director
of Canada, says the dearth of engineering human resources for H.W.
Lochner, a engineers. talent is being felt industry-wide. There
Chicago-based transportation engineer- absolutely is a shortage, he says.
The ing firm with 400 employees in 26 offices ViVek WADhWA number of our
open [job] requisitions is nationwide. As a result, we look very Duke
uniVersity testament to that fact. The economy is hard at candidates from
foreign countries, booming, and everybody I talk to in the even though
there are not many H1-B industry is busy, yet everyone is having visas to
go around. We're also consider- difficulty finding talent. ing a more
aggressive college recruiting For Gannett Fleming, the shortage has
program. been particularly painful in one specific KCI's Blake notes:
We've got openings job specialty: The lack of crucial project all the
time. But the climate has almost management candidates is one place where
put us in a situation where when we find we are feeling the shortage,
Drnevich good talent we just hire them, regardless of says. The interface
on every project is whether there is an existing position that the project
manager. We need experienced fits them or not. people who can do the work
and get to Years ago, we would just place a req- the work. Technology has
been a big help u i s i t i o n with a recruiter and someone in the
information sharing, but we still would quickly be selected, says Gannett
A l t h o u g h engineering firms still are need that main experience on
the job. And Fleming's Drnevich. The climate today W meeting deadlines and
delivering high- that's where we're feeling it the most. e're busy, which
is quality services to their clients, many prac- good. We'd just like to
Not Just the U.S. titioners confirm that there is an actual shortage of
qualified engineers, and the The shortage of engineers is not just a U.S.
have more staff to help us do shortage is becoming more and more of
dilemma. Germany, with a reputation of the work. The faster we fill a
hindrance to daily operations and firm engineering excellence built on the
legacies success. of Gottlieb Daimler, Carl Benz and Carl our job openings,
the better It is the single most important factor Wilhelm Siemens, is down
about 18,000 it is for our company, our restricting our growth as a firm,
Thomas engineers, according to Antje Lienert of Crump, a principal at WWC
Engineering the German Association of Engineers. clients and staff members
in Sheridan, Wyo., succinctly puts it. In Australia, the pool of available
engi- already on board. We definitely see a shortage of engi- neering
talent has been strained, according neers, and it has been this way for
awhile, to a recent Monash Melbourne University said Jim Blake, vice
president at KCI Tech- study, because of a current building boom of JiM
DiVito nologies, a 900-employee firm with 20 infrastructure and utilities
to serve the needs Haley & aldricH offices in eight states and the
District of of a rapidly expanding urban population. Columbia. We see it
in the competition And in Singapore, one of the major with other firms for
the talent coming out hubs in the Asian-Pacific region, the find- of
school, which has become absolutely ing and keeping of qualified engineers
fierce at times. But where we really see has become a major concern. The
real it is when we need the more seasoned worry in Singapore is the same
as what's and experienced talent, those with 10 to happening in the U.S.
and the U.K., says 15 years experience. They are becoming Andrew Smith,
manufacturing director for extremely hard to find. Shell Eastern
Petroleum. We're busy, which is good, adds James As U.S. advertisements
for entry- and DiVito, vice president of human resources mid-level
positions often go unanswered, for Haley & Aldrich in Boston. We'd just
and the availability of foreign-born engi- like to have more staff to help
us do the neers, long an alternate source of engineer- work. The faster we
fill our job openings, ing expertise, has been sharply curtailed 10
ENGINEERING INC. NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2006
Engineering Inc. - November/December 2006

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