DEMAND FOR

TALENTED

ENGINEERS

REMAINS STRONG

By Mike Sylvester

AllTek Staffing

Perhaps many readers will find it surprising that very few engineers, designers, and drafters in the civil/structural, mechanical, and electrical fields are available to fill openings in the heavy industry/construction sector. The main reason: the recent increase in demand from the energy sector.

The encouraging bottom line is that the overall demand for talented engineers remains strong, even now when many industries and firms are facing new uncertainties. We in Western Pennsylvania are particularly well equipped to meet that demand.

A Region of Survivors, Workers, and Learners

This region by its very nature is made up of survivors. In the 24 years that I have been placing engineers, designers, drafters, and project managers, I’ve sensed that good engineering talent survives on its own merits. Despite the fact that employers of engineers are bought and sold, open and close, and move in and out of town, talented, hard-working engineers remain employed, and they stay here whenever they can.  Our engineering schools help assure the future of the profession and our industries by developing the technical ingenuity for which we are justly known. The next generation of engineers being incubated here is expected to spawn incredible advancements in the fields of factory automation, laser applications, green energy, and other technologies, some of which we can only imagine.

Although many of the steel mills are gone, 25% of the steel services industry still resides in Southwestern PA.

This one statistic is perhaps validated best by the memberships of AISI and AIST, which are heavily weighted toward engineers and project management professionals from our region. In addition, ASME lists Pennsylvania as the third largest state in terms of membership. AllTek Staffing, which focuses on the engineering market in this area, was ranked by Staffing Industry Report as the 9th fastest growing staffing firm in the US, and by Inc. Magazine as one of the top 100 fastest-growing companies in the Service Provider category in its annual Inc. 5000 issue. The awards are further evidence of a vibrant area with a healthy demand for engineers.

New Opportunities for Employment

The devaluation of the American dollar has attracted a huge wave of foreign investment in local engineering and manufacturing firms; the smart money still bets on this market. In turn, many local firms have extended a global reach, bringing a vast library of technical talent to a world racing to build infrastructure and manufacturing capacity. As a result, the area has transformed itself from one of the manufacturing hubs that built America to a “city-state”, able to bring efficient and effective engineering to a far vaster market.  Westinghouse nuclear is a prime example of global reach. It is hiring and building here at a rapid pace in response to new energy initiatives worldwide.

New industries are opening here as well. For example, Solar Power Incorporated (SPI), in Belle Vernon, plans to produce more solar capacity in 2009 than existed in all the US in 2007. Flabeg Inc., a German automotive glass producer, is building a facility in Clinton Township that will produce solar mirrors that will reflect concentrated solar rays into an engineered glass tube and then into oil vats. Heat in the oil boils water, producing steam, which then is used to generate electricity. Interestingly, Flabeg considered only Pittsburgh and Albuquerque as a site for the plant. I asked David Littau, from Flabeg, who was in charge of choosing a home for this new facility that will employ 200, why he had chosen Pittsburgh. I pointed out that Albuquerque enjoys more sunny days per year, and is closer to the market for panels. I thought that the odds were stacked against us. The tipping point in our favor was our abundance of technical talent and our strong work ethic.  Biofuels could be another new industry on the cusp of growth; significant public and private funds are being invested in it and other forms of alternative energy. Laser applications (both defense and consumer) have spawned a wave of firms competing for a share of this vast and developing market.

Geography and Market Proximity: Other Advantages

Local geography works to our advantage as well as to our disadvantage. Having managed multiple engineering recruiting offices and spending a lot of time in Detroit and Chicago, I learned that Pittsburgh and its surrounding areas are very commuter-friendly versus the other huge engineering markets mentioned above.  Professionals in this market are far more willing to commute to opposite ends of the Metropolitan area. On the other hand, recruiting in the northern suburbs of a metro area such as Chicago and expecting employees to commute to anywhere south of the city is virtually impossible, which makes these huge markets more like multiple smaller markets. If a company builds or manufactures here, it will be able to design it here.

Optimism in an Age of Uncertainty

There is indeed much to be optimistic about in this market. Large engineering/construction firms such as Fluor Corp and CH2MHill have made Pittsburgh the hub of its metals service sector. Siemens, Danieli, and SMS Demag, the three main original equipment manufacturers for steel making that are headquartered in Germany, have established their North American bases here and employ nearly 1000 professionals.  Companies this size are investing in this area to some extent because they are able to attract the talent necessary to sustain their businesses.  When I consider the makeup of our people and other advantages we offer, I harbor no doubts that the world looks to us now, and will look to us in the future, for a pool of engineering talent within the strategically critical steel, construction, and mining industries.

To view the entire Pittsburgh Engineer publication please visit http://www.eswp.com/PDF/PEWinter08.pdf