Business

Need a job? Staffing firm says these are the skills in demand

Posted May 28, 2009 11:00 pm

By Kim Mikus

College graduates who studied engineering, nursing or sales may have an advantage when looking for a job, according to a Manpower survey.

These careers are among 10 that rank on a list of the nation's most challenging positions to fill, according to the survey released Thursday.

Even with unemployment at or near record levels, there are jobs out there that employers struggle to fill.

"There is still a skill shortage in certain niche professions," said Anne Edmunds, regional director for Manpower.

The report finds that the 10 hardest jobs to fill for 2009 are: engineers, nurses, skilled/manual trades, teachers, sales representatives, technicians, drivers, IT staff, laborers and machine operators.

In the local area, there is a high demand for sales representatives, Edmunds said.

"We have difficulty in finding high-caliber sales people. There are so many opportunities out there," she added.

Aging teachers and nurses are also creating opportunities, Edmunds said. She said retiring teachers, especially at the elementary and middle school level, are creating vacancies. This is also true in the health care industry.

As nurses get older, they often aren't able to do all that the job demands.

"There is a big need for nurses as many are not able to do 100 percent of the job such as lifting," Edmunds pointed out.

Engineers are also in demand.

"We haven't produced enough engineers to fill the green job sector," Edmunds added.

The report is part of a global study that surveyed more than 2,000 U.S. employers in the fourth annual survey.

Each of the 10 job categories on the list has appeared on the list in the past. Technicians, machine operators and sales representatives have been on the list all four years.

Got skills? The report finds that the 10 hardest jobs to fill for 2009 are: Engineers Nurses Skilled/manual trades Teachers Sales representatives Technicians Drivers IT staff Laborers Machine operators

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