A conversation that is heard throughout the engineering world at the moment is the struggle to recruit great engineers.

According to the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, 43% of science, technology, engineering, and maths vacancies are hard to fill. Only 15,000 UK students sat a computing or ICT A-Level exam this summer – this is less than 2% of the overall exams sat.

Various schemes and programmes are being introduced across the country’s primary and secondary schools to promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) to alleviate this problem in the future. But for businesses, the immediate problem is to recruit engineers for the here and now.

There is a significantly smaller pool of talent and a large number of organisations feeding on it. So, what can you do to attract better talent and fill the growing gap in skills shortage, giving you a competitive advantage in a challenging marketplace?

Offering a higher salary is the usual ‘go-to’ perk but entering a bidding war will not necessarily get you the best long-term solution to your recruitment issues. Another company will only come along shortly and outbid you, and you’ll be back to where you started. You would be better off creating your own engineering engagement programme to attract talent, build loyalty, and contribute to a healthier and more productive working culture.

Shift patterns
Long and unsociable shift patterns are part and parcel of being an engineer. Most manufacturing environments run 24/7 and require staff to cover shifts round the clock.

Depending on the size of your team, there is an argument for developing shift patterns that are flexible to the needs of your team, while still fulfilling the demands of the job.

Permanent days, permanent nights, Panama (12-hour shifts two working days, two days off, three working days), and Continental (three eight-hour shifts) are some of the most common shift patterns.

Consulting with your candidate about suitable shift patterns will give them a greater sense of ownership around their working hours and will place your organisation over and above another which is maybe more rigid and unbending in its shift pattern structure.

Working location
Developing a more hybrid and flexible approach to your working location has become an essential element of the overall recruitment process across all sectors. Covid has demonstrated how working from home is now possible and achievable, and many companies are implementing a more hybrid approach to work as we get back to normal.

Offering more flexibility in terms of enabling WFH when appropriate and improved facilities if there is a need to be away from home for any length of time, will make the potential employee feel more valued.

Technology
There’s a reason why an engineer chose this profession – their desire to follow advances in science technology and engineering systems is what drives their curiosity and motivation. As a company, if you are stuck in one groove maintaining the status quo, your pool of potential talent will soon dry up. An engineering candidate will want to work with a company that is constantly advancing its own engineering technologies, and that will look to engage new and innovative engineering minds to help drive the company forward. Even if you’re not necessarily the most innovative company, there’s still an opportunity to highlight the most attractive parts of your technology to engineers during your recruitment campaign.

Recruit with us!
BMS Performance is so much more than just an engineering recruitment agency. Our extensive network of engineers, paired with over 30 years of experience within the marketplace, make us the perfect engineering recruitment partner for your business.
If you would like to find out more about BMS Performance and how we can help your business, including recruiting engineers, contact us or upload your vacancy today.