Time was when everyone knew someone who busied themselves in their room taking apart circuit boards and wielding soldering irons. But the electronics boom is over and electrical engineers are scarce in any industry, let alone food and drink processing. The drought is being felt across all disciplines, from mechanical engineers to chemical engineers and process managers. And with the icy tendrils of recession slowly creeping across the land, it's likely to get tougher. Small to medium-sized enterprises wrestling with this issue shouldn't imagine they're alone. A recruitment specialist for a major confectionery manufacturer, with factories across the UK, confides: "It used to be that if we put an ad in the right area and the pay was good, we would get someone, but over the years it's getting harder and harder."
展开▼
