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Employer Quotes
The quotes below are from employers in this industry: Engineering
They are talking about this topic: Workforce Trends & Challenges
The quotes below are about this issue:
Many employers face difficulty finding high-quality, entry-level applicants. This is especially true for mechanical and electrical engineering positions.
| "We've got a significant presence in the mining industry. And it's pretty cyclical, and it has picked up. So, of course, we're looking for more mining engineers. I think we have seen the potential where we're looking for maybe people with advanced degrees." | Metro |
| "Right now, our company has about a hundred positions open. I'd say the majority of them are in the engineering fields and a few administrative, but mostly engineers or technicians." | Metro |
| "During the course of my work, I had the opportunity to get involved with a lot of manufacturing firms located in the seven-county metro area where about half of Minnesota's manufacturing takes place. Almost every client that I had an opportunity to interact with has expressed some need for some level of skilled worker. To speak very specifically about today's topic, last week I had an opportunity to meet with a relatively newer company, two years old, in a growth mode, and they are in need of electrical engineers. They can't find them, which was interesting because the data—this is 2010 data—but the data was suggesting that there was an oversupply of electrical engineers. Now maybe there is a disconnect in terms of, 'How do we get those that have the need in contact with those that are available to fill the position?' But, I see a lot of need out there for electrical and mechanical engineers, so some of this data was a bit surprising to me. There are also other areas, and I don't want to get off the track, but the simple things like welders. I was at an event where we talked about manufacturing, and in that study as well there seemed to be an oversupply in terms of welding, but yet that is a need that I encounter all the time when I talk to manufacturers. We need mechanical engineers. We need welders. We need tool and die makers. And, in the case last week where the company was after electrical engineers, the comment to me was, 'Well, I've talked to some electrical engineers, but they've never been exposed to anything like three-phase motors or any of those kinds of things coming out of their school.' I don't know how valid that comment is, but it was made. So, there is somewhat of a disconnect, I think." | Metro |
| "A little bit more of a struggle to find entry-level electricals." | Metro |
| "We do enjoy a pretty good candidate pool, but let's say less so for mechanical and less so for electrical. We're finding the same thing—a little bit more of a struggle finding entry-level electricals out there." | Metro |
| "I looked back five years, and what did I see? They needed electrical and mechanical engineers. They needed those other skill sets: tool and die makers, welders. I still see that today, and as I look forward, there is nothing that I can see that tells me if we meet five years from today that it is going to be any different." | Metro |