Difficulties
in recruiting engineers are threatening the modernisation of Britain’s roads,
railways and infrastructure, the Association of Consulting Engineers has
warned.
A
survey of ACE member firms shows that 94 per cent of engineering companies are
having problems recruiting experienced staff and 80 per cent of firms are
finding it difficult to recruit good quality engineers.
Structural
engineers are the hardest to recruit with 95 per cent of companies reporting
recruitment difficulties. Civil engineers follow closely behind with 88 per
cent of companies surveyed experiencing recruitment problems.
"One
reason for the shortage of engineers is that graduate salaries are insufficient
as a result of fees earned by companies being continually squeezed in
comparison to those charged by other professions," said ACE chief
executive Nicholas Bennett.
He
added, "The number of civil engineering graduates has crashed by nearly 50
per cent since 1994."
By
Karen Higginbottom
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