Totally OT - Recruiting from Overseas (Engineering not crop picking)

[alan_m]

I know people who have giving up well paid jobs for lower paid jobs because of the time taken commuting for the former.

[thescullster]

Not quite accurate - I did take on an apprentice a short while ago, but after putting a fair amount of time into the lad he cleared off to join his mates working on the tools!

[thescullster]

Yes, that is the reason for using the title "Design Engineer", to give more kudos to what is effectively the same role.

[Steve Walker]

Engineers would normally command a higher rate, so people may not be applying because your rate isn't high enough. Are you not looking for "Designer", which is the term that seems to have superseded draughtsman and CAD operator?

SteveW

[Theo]

I don't have any experience of the mechanical side of things, but generally the only agency people have a good word to say about is ECM:

Obviously there's a bit of a Cambridgeshire bias in the jobs they have to offer, but some candidates would rather be based in the north and that sets you apart from the majority of the jobs they have listed.

You would of course have to pay the going rate.

Theo

[Jethro_uk]

"Pay" != "Money"

[thescullster]

I would say that the job is above designer level. Not just someone that can use the tools but also configure the software to suit our workflows, standards and required deliverables.

Phil

[Martin Brown]

If you are in that position and in a hurry then you may not have much alternative but to go to one of the talent scout/low end headhunters that specialises in recruiting the best engineers recently out of university. Snag is that they tend to move again just after you finish training them up unless your pay rate for their skill is in the upper quartile.

We used to swap employees with various other high tech firms through the use of the same recruitment consultant. A quick look in the back of New Scientist will give you an idea of who the current players are. Count your fingers before and after every encounter with such guys.

You could also consider talking to your local (or not so local) university to see if you could get a sandwich year student in to do some of the low end work freeing up more skilled workers. We used to take one in each of mechanical, electronics and software every year. Sometimes one of them would join us after they graduated. I had one of the first ever software apprentices in the UK working for me in the late 1980's.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Very true. Look how much cheaper health care is in the US. That shrine to the free market.

And in the UK things like water gas electricity etc are so much cheaper since they were privatised.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Wasn't directing it at you Phil, as not all companies are large enough to train at all times. It was more a general comment about the UK education system and larger industry.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Now we know what you are it's only a question of haggling over price.

[whisky-dave]

rewarding for who ? If you had to share your salery with an appentice would that be just as rewarding.

I'm sure we could all find many things to call them ;-)

So you can't get them from work experience or anything else, well we can;t because we were told we couldn't pick and choose.

The bigger problem is who's going to pay them and while you are training them who's doing your job. Most people can't be in two places at the same time doing two differnt jobs.

[whisky-dave]

Which can be related to drink, drugs or other services. I wonder what trumps wives were offered.

[spuorgelgoog]

There are some highly qualified (although not always able to substantiate this due to circumstances) and keen to work Syrian refugees ... Give them a couple of years and I think they will turn out to be the new Polish. For now they'd need training in the British way of doing things.

Owain

[thescullster]

If we had to pay the going Cambridgeshire Hi-Tech rate we'd likely be out of business in no time.

[Fredxx]

Unless you are specifically head hunting I don't see why you need to look overseas as such. FYI, I regularly get offers from other EU countries for work.

May I suggest you work though an agency, who will provide their costs and salary / day rate / hourly rate depending on the type of hire. Due to the international nature of wage expectations and the drop in £, there has been significant inflation when hiring experienced engineers.

The position would normally be mechanical design engineer, and you would also have to factor in the purchase of a software package such as SolidWorks. I might also suggest you engage someone who has a few years experience unless you strike lucky with a very good graduate engineer.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

More and more I wonder what planet you're on...

[bert]

In article <+ [e-mail]>, The Marquis Saint Evremonde [e-mail] writes

Exactly. What the OP wants is to magically find an exact fit for their need who has been trained by someone else.

[bert]

Be prepared to drive a hard bargain. Don't accept their first quotes for fees.

Recruitment agencies are like Estate Agents but without the ethics. :-)

[bert]

In article [e-mail]>, "Dave Plowman (News)" [e-mail]> writes

They are better value for money.