After a Long Dry Spell, Auto Industry Needs More Engineers!
Andrew Watt says he figures the shelf life of an auto engineer looking for a job in Michigan is about three days. Companies that wait longer than that will have to get back in line for the next candidate.
“If their skills are even on the edges of automotive, they can get a job,” said Watt, whose iTalent LLC in Troy finds engineering and information technology workers for companies in nine states. “There’s an extreme shortage. There’s way more demand than supply.”
Michigan’s unemployment was the worst in the U.S. at 14.2 percent in August 2009, shortly after General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC emerged from a U.S.-backed rescue, and has since fallen to 9 percent, closer to the national average of 8.3 percent last month. Employment in skilled positions is rising, reversing a decline under way since the turn of the century.
Recruiter Watt said the demand for engineering and IT workers is requiring additional pay and bonuses, with the normal pay range of $80,000 to $120,000 commonly stretching toward the high end. A recent recruit got a $17,000 raise and bonus of as much as 20 percent to move from Tennessee to Michigan, he said.
Engineers, who help design cars and parts, and need specific — and, in some cases, advanced — degrees, have been in demand across America for years. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said part of the problem has been a gap between what firms need and what the educational system produces.
From The Detroit News: detroitnews.com
