Despite a steady growth in engineering graduates produced in Connecticut, local companies are struggling to fill vacancies.
“It’s definitely a real problem to find entry-level engineers, at least in the Greater Hartford area,” said Alan Wells, Rocky Hill office manager for Cambridge, Mass.-based SEA Consultants. “We try to be just as competitive as other locations, but we can’t offer the sort of lifestyle, maybe, that they want and they go to Boston or California.”
The state produced 614 engineering grads last year, up 28.5 percent from 2003. But many of those students from schools like the University of Connecticut, the University of Hartford and Yale University take entry-level jobs in other states. Meanwhile, the state Department of Labor has projected a need for 754 engineers here this year.
The latest Connecticut Society of Civil Engineers newsletter reflects that strong demand. It lists job openings at 17 firms, including BVH Integrated Services in Bloomfield, CME Associates in East Hartford and PB Americas in Glastonbury. BL Cos., which has offices in Hartford and Meriden, listed seven engineering openings.
“It has certainly become a serious issue,” said Paul Brady, executive director of the Connecticut Society of Professional Engineers, which has more than 450 members. “Our member firms are having difficulty finding enough young and old engineers to fill their slots. There is work to do.”
Higher Education Commissioner Michael Meotti said that the number of degrees across the board in Connecticut show little variation from year to year.
“The problem is that the world is not in a steady state,” he said. “Right now, we can’t meet the demand of the global economy in some areas, and that means those jobs have to go somewhere else.”
Top Priority
Since stepping in as commissioner earlier this month, Meotti has made increasing the number of graduates in high-demand areas — namely engineering and computer science — a top priority.
“The first thing we’re doing is reaching out to the engineering community, reaching out to university officials and trying to figure out how we can start working on this,” he said.
From the universities’ perspective, the first step is evaluating the quality and relevance of their engineering programs.
One problem in engineering, Meotti said, is that evolving technology is constantly making the field more complex. Specialties are proliferating. That’s driving the need for more trained professionals.
“We have to make sure that what we’re offering is what employers are looking for,” he said.
Brady, of the CSPE, noted that an office that once required simple phone lines now needs high-speed Internet access, wireless capabilities and a host of other communications devices.
“Everything has become more complicated, and that means you need more engineers,” Brady said. “Look at the new design requirements for energy consumption and environmental impact. Thirty years ago, you could just throw in an air-conditioning system. Now there are more demands just to get that system in there.”
Multiple Deterrents
Why aren’t more students drawn to engineering, given the strong demand for high-paying jobs in the field? The answer is partly explained by race, gender and grade school education.
Historically, women and minorities have shied away from the field, greatly reducing the potential pool from which to draw.
Furthermore, Brady said, most teenagers do not come in contact with engineers. While they can be expected to interact with doctors or lawyers and often develop an interest through direct exposure, most 14-year-olds don’t meet engineers.
Another factor that may be hindering the cultivation of a new generation of engineers: math and science programs in many elementary and middle schools around the country have been sharply criticized for failing to match equivalent programs in other highly developed countries.
“It’s one of those things where there isn’t one simple answer or solution,” Brady said. “Engineering is not a field that is popular and it isn’t high profile. But behind the scenes, there are engineers working on everything.”
Reimbursement Lure
During her 2008 State of the State address, Gov. M. Jodi Rell announced a plan to grant $300,000 for an engineering loan reimbursement program for working engineers in Connecticut.
Meotti said that more incentives of that kind could be used to lure students not only to engineering, but to the state itself.
“We need to have incentives that keep engineers in Connecticut, not to help them graduate and then leave to another state,” he said. “We really need to look at incentives for graduate students who are committed to engineering to come here.”
Wells of SEA Consultants understands the interstate competition for young engineers.
After ads on the company Web site drew no responses over several months, company officials broadened their search for new employees.
By sending a representative to a college job fair in Delaware, the company landed its newest employee, a recent graduate of the University of Delaware.
“We didn’t have anyone apply from the University of Connecticut,” Wells said. “It hasn’t always been an issue, but I don’t believe there has always been this much demand for engineering services.”
