The general increase in international mobility has had a significant effect on the working practices of many organisations. As a recruitment company with an international presence, NES has observed that the removal of geographical barriers that would have once prevented relocation has created fierce competition for skilled and experienced chemical engineers, internationally as well as domestically. This change has meant that greater emphasis has been placed upon managing a two-way flow of candidates to satisfy the requirements of both UK and overseas organisations.
NES consultants are specialists at placing applicants in international locations abroad, according to their career aspirations. The employment of local nationals to form in-country recruitment teams in NES overseas operations has addressed potential language differences and has meant that a localised recruitment service can be offered. Combined with an FNC (Foreign National Candidate) pipeline to manage inward migration, this enables a two-way flow of candidates to and from the UK to occur.
The market in Malaysia is extremely busy at the moment: during 2004 it was estimated that the approved projects in the chemical and petrochemical sectors alone would result in career opportunities for around 3,500 extra people; and this trend has continued throughout 2005 and into 2006. Current projects, both onshore and offshore that are at various stages of development, have been working at maximum capacity for some time and with a number of large projects set to commence over the following six to 12 months, further strain on an already busy marketplace is inevitable.
NES has also observed a level of concern in Malaysia about the number of graduates who gain their engineering qualifications in Malaysia and after working in the country for only a year or so, move to the Middle East where more attractive rates can be commanded. This concern is equally applicable in other countries, where the demand for oil and gas means that countries are increasingly competing for the same candidates. The key is to counter the effects of people leaving the country by attracting overseas applicants and Malaysia too, will need to attract expatriates in order to fulfil the hiring requirements of its petrochemical industry.
The benefits in widening the pool of available candidates with overseas applicants can be further illustrated using the ‘Gumusut’ field: a forthcoming deepwater project due to commence in 2010. Since previous projects in Malaysia have tended to be in shallow water, attracting overseas applicants with experience in managing deepwater projects in this instance will be an appealing option to ensure the project is completed within budget and within the specified timescale. With the industry predicting that the price of oil will be high and fluctuating, meeting the demand will become evermore imperative.
Malaysian engineering contractors are also not all based in one country. Petronas, the wholly-owned government organisation, has interests in no fewer than 31 other countries and the need for engineering personnel in each of these means that there will be a constant requirement for both local and foreign manpower. It is for this reason that NES is committed to delivering a tailored recruitment solution according to specific client requirements, wherever they might be.
The considerable anticipated growth of Asia-Pacific economies is expected to create an abundance of opportunities in the region; China’s chemicals industry (including dyes and pigments, fertilizers, inorganic and organic chemicals and pharmaceutical products) grew by 27% 2004 - 2005; and the country’s largest petrochemical site, Nanjing, is far exceeding its objectives. Plans to build chemical plants throughout, possibly with foreign multinationals, have been initiated; and six million jobs were created during the first half of 2005.
In addition Singapore, the heart of the Asian Chemical industry, supplies the world with petrochemicals, industrial chemicals and pharmaceutical ingredients, whilst South Korea’s ethylene production increased to over six million metric tons during 2005. The increased supply of chemical engineering products and services throughout the Asia region has been in response to increased domestic consumption and general higher demand from Western developed countries.
UK Chemical Engineering
Similarly, the UK chemical engineering market is currently dominated by the oil & gas sector, with most of the EPC players extremely busy with projects that are being driven by the continued high price of oil. Oil & gas tends to be polarised between London and Aberdeen, although notable exceptions elsewhere include the North West and Glasgow regions. Such high demand in the sector means that it can offer the most attractive salaries and rates.
The water treatment sector is also buoyant, with the current Asset Management Programme (AMP4), a major series of infrastructure refurbishment and development projects across the country, now under way and scheduled to run until 2010. NES has also witnessed an increased spend in the pharmaceutical sector with demand, particularly in the North West and the South East, steadily rising following a relatively indifferent period over the previous 12 to 18 months.
The skills shortage within the UK chemical engineering industry has been well publicised for some time now. The UK ranks 22nd out of 30 countries for the level of ‘basic’ qualification (equal to five A to C grade GSCEs) among 25 to 34 year olds. Meanwhile, China is producing 300,000 science, technology, engineering and maths graduates every year - three times the number coming through UK universities. This is not just the case in China either: in India, engineering graduate students in 2006 will number 450,000. However, it is important to note that this may not be a straight like-for-like comparison as India and China typically include short-cycle courses and lower level technicians, such as auto-mechanics, within their statistics.
But changes to the UK educational system to encourage teenagers to become engineers have been suggested and schemes to promote engineering as a career option for women are a step in the right direction. Such initiatives are long-term solutions to a growing problem; so immediate requirements must still also be met. Managing the flow of engineers entering and leaving the workforce of any country is an important part of the recruitment process and for the UK, is an effective method of addressing the skills shortage.
Tackling this growing skills shortage in the UK is just one way in which NES is committed to working with its clients. By providing additional assistance to people coming into the country, the company has created a wider pool of skilled candidates from which its clients are able to select applicants. NES has a resource co-ordinator in place to manage this Foreign National Candidate (FNC) pipeline, meaning that NES can fully support the inward migration of skilled and experienced engineers.
While this initiative has already proven to be successful in the placement of non-UK candidates in the UK, the forthcoming achievement of level 1 adviser status with the Office of Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) will enable NES to progress from directing foreign nationals in the direction of relevant sources of information, to being able to fully assess the individual circumstances of each applicant and advise them of the best visa route to take according to their skills, qualifications, experience and country of origin.
By managing the FNC pipeline to alleviate some of the complexities associated with applying for UK work, NES can ensure that it maximises the number of options available to its clients and candidates. The Malaysian government, which places particular emphasis on science and technology through its National Education Policy, estimates that over the next five years there will be around 23,000 research personnel and more than 5,000 R&D scientists in its biotechnology sector and with demand for engineering personnel in the UK currently outweighing supply, the appeal of the skilled Malaysian workforce is understandable.
NES Services
As a continually expanding recruitment company, the workforce at NES is aware that bigger does not always mean better, so while the opening of new premises in worldwide locations does indicate growth and success to a certain extent, the provision of value-added services to support clients and candidates can help to ensure that an increase in volume of placements can occur while maintaining a quality focus.
These value-added services, offered in addition to the standard recruitment assistance, include: visas, flights and logistics; meet & greet and accommodation; and risk assessment – all of which contributed to the company being named Best International Recruitment Firm 2006 earlier this year at awards held by a leading recruitment industry publication and adjudicated by an independent panel of judges. This recognition of NES’ accomplishments illustrates the confidence that the recruitment industry has in the company as a recruitment partner of choice for technical and engineering industries.
The surge in demand for skilled and experienced engineering personnel, the UK skills shortage creating problems with filling positions and the international scope of the industry, combined with the geographic mobility of the workforce have all lead to an increasing reliance of companies within the industry upon the support of a committed recruitment partner. With this increasing pressure to deliver, NES has demonstrated that it is able to provide such support, and the very fact that the company has become a first choice agency for many significant domestic and international clients is a reflection of its success.