Scottish Engineering – Quarterly Meeting – March 2015

As active members of Scottish Engineering, our specialist recruiters regularly attend the quarterly regional meetings across Scotland.

Tommy White, Engineering Recruiter with Escape attended their most recent event held at Heliex Power in East Kilbride on 2nd March 2015.

Tommy White, Escape Recruitment

“The Scottish Engineering meetings are a great way to keep abreast of the marketplace. The information provided and networking opportunities allow us to understand current trends and future developments.”

Overview of Key Discussion Points
This was the first meeting of the quarter in 2015 and due to the falling price in oil there was some concern around the current economic climate: “A number of factors, both global and home based, have impacted on the manufacturing and engineering sector in Scotland in the first quarter of 2015”.

This has impacted on staffing levels within the industry, with some employers reporting reduced overtime, a fall in total order intake and a decrease in overall output volume. However predictions for the next three months indicate output is expected to move back into positive figures. Additional encouraging news included high levels of investment both in capital equipment and people development.

In terms of employment, feedback from Scottish Engineering members advised that it is a good time to be a bilingual engineer. With many companies increasingly working and supplying overseas, employees with language skills are becoming ever more valuable.

This quarter’s event was held at Heliex Power in East Kilbride, an innovative leading technology company operating in the waste heat recovery sector. Originally formed as a spin out from City University Londin, they have been named one of Global Cleantech’s Top 100 companies and were awarded “One to Watch” at GP Bullhound Connect.

Following the meeting, we were given a guided tour of the of the Heliex Power facilities where we were shown how their patented technology works. An extremely impressive operation, Heliex itself demonstrated good news for the Scottish industry as it continues to grow from strength to strength.

This was another excellent meeting from Scottish Engineering, soon to be followed by their next quarterly industry report due out this month. Download your copy here.

Our Engineering, Manufacturing & Supply Chain team specialise in recruiting within: