2011 will mark the onset of growing demand for engineering talent, according to Lee Knowles, regional director at multi-sector recruiter NES.

CBI’s monthly Industrial Trends survey for December reveals 13% more manufacturing employers saying they expect their order books to rise over the next quarter.

Knowles told Recruiter that next year would mark the start of rising demand for engineering talent.

“We can see over the next few years, beginning in 2011 and peaking in 2012 onwards, growth in demand for engineers across a few different sectors. People are talking about the nuclear renaissance in terms of decommissioning and nuclear new-build.

“There is a surge in renewable energy — people are talking about 20,000 new jobs. There is the growth of wind farms, bio mass and bio fuels. There has also been a resurgence in the oil & gas sector particularly in relation to the North Sea in terms of new platform builds and major modifications to existing platforms. There is water treatment refurbs taking place next year.”