Hiring and Retaining Engineers
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Engineers with work visas
Now boarding at gate 2001: a nonstop flight to the U.S. for engineers with work visas. Hundreds of engineers have taken such a flight as companies in the automotive industry look overseas to fill engineering positions.
The most recent available data from the U.S. government, covering the period October 1999 through February 2000, shows that engineers, architects, and surveyors accounted for 13.3% of the time period's approved work visas.
During that same period, India was the leading country of origin for nonimmigrant professional specialty workers, accounting for 37.5% of all new arrivals. China followed at 10.5%, and Canada with 4.6%. Countries between 2 and 4% were the UK, the Philippines, Korea, Taiwan, Russia, and Japan.
 More of the same: the Lear Corp. is continually looking to recruit engineers. |
According to government information, an alien legally in the U.S. for a specific purpose and a temporary period of time who is working as an engineer earns a median annual salary of $50,000. Persons obtaining a nonimmigrant professional specialty visa (commonly known as an H-1B visa) are required to have at least a college bachelor's degree or its equivalent.
Eight engineers - with England and Ireland representing their countries of origin - have or are logging work visa time with Freudenberg-NOK. "We have recruited outside of North America as a means of getting ahead in this game. By recruiting elsewhere, we are less likely to lose engineers to other companies because they are on our work visa. Also, by coming to work for Freudenberg-NOK, they can someday transfer back to Europe or other locations of our global partners," said Sharon Wenzl, Vice President, Corporate Relations for Freudenberg-NOK in Plymouth, MI.
In 1998, the U.S. Congress enacted legislation to increase temporarily the number of H-1B visas available. That ceiling was reached months before the close of 1999. The same situation occurred in 2000 when the ceiling of 115,000 was reached by June.
The Senate, at press time, was still debating on a bill to increase the ceiling on H-1B visas by 297,500 over three years. If approved, the bill would also exclude from the ceiling all H-1B visa holders who have at least a master's degree or who work for universities or nonprofit research facilities. The bill also would revise the education and training programs funded by the $500 fee that employers of H-1B workers pay.
The U.S. House of Representatives has introduced more than three separate bills, still being debated at press time, that if approved also would alter existing H-1B legislation. In one proposal (H.R. 3983), an additional 362,500 H-1B visas would be added between 2001 and 2003, with 60,000 of those visas annually set aside for persons with a master's degree.
Contract employees fill job slots
Dan Rach wanted a job as an automotive engineer. He had the college degree: a major in mechanical engineering and a minor in petroleum engineering.
 Dan Rach's tour of duty is with a US automaker via a contract services employment company. |
The 24-year-old graduate of the Univ. of Calgary in Canada went online to apply with U.S.-based automakers. Since Rach had Canadian and U.S. citizenship, applying for a U.S. job made sense, especially given the fact that automotive engineering jobs are uncommon in certain regions of Canada. "It's very, very limited," said Rach.
During college, Rach had worked jobs with oil/gas companies. After graduation he had interviews and interest from oil/gas companies for full-time engineering employment. "I wasn't totally sold with a permanent job with oil/gas companies, though," Rach said. While waiting for a response to his online job search, Rach spread the word that he was looking for employment.
Acting on information from a friend of a friend, Rach learned about Quality Measurement Control, Inc. (QMC), a contract services employment firm based in Auburn Hills, MI. He soon had a referral from an existing QMC contract employee, and after a bit more time, he was working at the General Motors Truck Assembly plant in Flint, MI, under a long-term job assignment with QMC.
"I do think a contract services employer gives you opportunities. You can use their reputation. If a contract service company believes I'm the person for the job, they're going to pitch me. I don't think I would have a job in the auto industry right now without QMC because just trying to get in is quite hard without (direct) experience," said Rach.
Al Corker, Director of Business Development for QMC, noted that Rach is one of 60 employees presently placed at Tier 1 suppliers and OEMs across the U.S. (QMC plans to address a need in Europe for contact employees through the establishment of offices in Great Britain and Germany by the end of 2001.) QMC job assignments focus on four specific engineering areas: quality, data management, dimensional, and manufacturing. Contracted employees with QMC typically have engineering degrees in mechanical, electrical, or industrial engineering.
Ricardo Meda Technical Services LLC (a joint venture between Ricardo, Inc. and MEDA Technical Services Inc.) also has placed about 60 people - many being engineers - on job assignments. In some cases, the appeal of being a Ricardo Meda contract employee centers on choices. "Someone may take an assignment because it means working on a new vehicle program, and that person may not have otherwise been able to get such a job," said Jeremy Holt, President of Ricardo, Inc., and Chairman of Ricardo Meda Technical Services, adding, "The appeal might also be the variety of work where the people like to know they're not on the same assignment for life."
Informally regarded as a relief crew, one of the company's placement initiatives addresses cyclical staffing needs. "This concept is being deployed at several operations and involves facilitating the 24/7 operation of resources - or manufacturing operations - without habitual use of excessive overtime. Ricardo Meda arranges a system that monitors needs, (then) tracks and supplies people to ensure coverage of weekends, holidays, vacation, and training time to cover many of the jobs," said Holt. Ricardo Meda's contract staff is forecast to reach 200 within two years.
In an August 1999 survey of 669 automotive engineers (as well as nonau-tomotive-employed engineers and information technology professionals working in the U.S.), nearly a third of the automotive engineers reported they prefer a free-agent work style. "Automotive engineers like their work. They like being engineers, but that doesn't mean they intend to stay with their current employer or that they aren't open to other employment arrangements, like contract work," noted Ed Sarpolus, Vice President of EPIC/MRA, a Lansing, MI, firm that conducted the Kelly Services-sponsored study.
"Automotive engineers love being engineers, want challenging work, enjoy having responsibility, and like their coworkers. But unlike other engineers, they also value flexibility. This group is more likely to describe themselves as free agents, willing to move from assignment to assignment. Automotive engineers behave more like IT (information technology) professionals in this regard," noted Larry Seyfarth, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Kelly Services' Professional and Technical Services Group.
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