WEST BLOOMFIELD ? The labor market for engineering talent has fundamentally changed in Michigan becoming a sellers’ market, so says The Hunter Group, an executive search agency.
?If you have a strong technical background and you?re not working, it?s by choice,? said Sherry Muir Irwin, a partner in The Hunter Group, founded in 1995 to serve the executive search needs of a variety of industries by identifying and attracting high caliber leadership and managerial expertise for clients.
Muir Irwin was the luncheon keynote at the 2013 Tech Crawl, organized by AutoCom Associates public relations. The day-long press briefing was held at the Pine Lake Country Club. Muir Irwin said her agency works closely with Tier 1 and 2 auto suppliers. She said they have a lot of orders to fill for middle to senior engineers and program managers with starting pay of $100,000 that rises to $300,000.
Computer system design, scientific research and development, and related services have risen 9.1 percent, adding 10,100 positions from the end of 2009 to 2012. It?s forcing employers to offer more bonuses and raises, she said. Employers also are creating more internship programs as well as new senior positions for recruiting. What?s more, the gap between what companies need and what the educational systems produces is growing, further diminishing the technical talent pool.
The big issue is many automotive engineers have left Michigan, left the auto industry or have retired. Young adults, particularly those with strong technical skills, are not as interested in becoming engineers, Muir Irwin said. At Michigan State University, enrollment of engineering students dropped from 3,800 to about 2,400 over the past decade.
Demand also is driving companies to target the desired employees at rival firms, she said. Nearly two out of three employers indicate that other companies seek to hire away their organization?s leaders compared to just 42 percent last year. New data indicate that competitive pressures have grown more acute and top talent is being targeted more than before. Negative implications for an organization?s bench strength aid management succession are obvious.
What is being done? Companies are offering perks to lure engineers to Michigan. Programs like MichAGAIN, MICHAuto and LiveWorkDetroit have been set up to stimulate interest in engineering positions. MichAGAIN is a campaign developed by the Michigan Economic Development Corp. to woo engineers and other technical workers with a Michigan connection back to the state. MICHAuto is a trade association to promote the region?s auto design and engineering assets. LiveWorkDetroit invites college engineering students to see and experience Detroit, with hopes they will move to the Motor City.
The solution of the fundamental problem of shortage of engineering college completions may be on mid or long term, not on the short term. So there is no end in sight for the war for engineering talent. Retention efforts are more important than ever. Employers must deal with the situation by being creative and competitive in terms of working environment, flexibility and creative perks if they want to not only recruit, but retain scarce engineering and technology professionals.
