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Economy, Shortages Impact European Job Outlook

Newswise - Despite the painful recession, the job market for electrical and electronics engineers in Europe presents a decidedly mixed picture, as job losses are more than offset by the aging of the technical workforce and a shortage of qualified engineers.

The result is seller's market for talented technical professionals across Europe, including those just graduating from universities. Unemployment across Europe is only about 3 percent for electrical and electronics engineers, contrasted with an overall rate of about 10 percent in most locales, rising to 20 percent in a few places, like Spain and Latvia.

The need for engineers is especially high in the UK. "Just about every type of engineer with two years experience or more will find excellent opportunities," according to Workgateways UK, a Web site that lists engineering job openings. "Within the electrical engineering area, design engineers are in high demand; in particular for commercial, institutional (health and education) projects throughout the UK."

Engineering compensation reportedly remains relatively similar across Europe. Margot Nijkamp, director of human resources at Holst Centre (established by IMEC), agrees, but says salaries do vary across Europe, Asia, and the U.S. "We see that compensation and benefits are not highest on their list. Building a reputation is very important."

"It's not the salaries that are so important," notes Bill Parsons, executive vice president and a member of the board at UK-based ARM Holdings. "[I]t's the quality of the work itself. People want to work on the best projects."

The number and quality of those projects will, in the end, depend on improvements to the world economy. If the global economic output remains positive, this should translate to more growth strategies being adopted and increased hiring for electronics and computer scientists.

Source: NewsWise