The candidate shortage in the engineering and construction sector is sending commission rates for recruiters up by as much as 25%, according to EPCglobal chief executive Tobias Reed.

He said: "Companies are competing against each other and rates are increasing. Some customers are refusing the rate increase, but you can't buck the trend, and as a result they aren't getting any candidates."

Reed said the engineering sector is facing a demographic time bomb, "the demographic being white male, aged 55, with two degrees. These professionals are at a stage in their life where they don't want to work too hard. They want to take life easier, and overseas or larger projects are more appealing.

"Countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines have been churning out engineers for years - the challenge is to find engineers who fit the bill. We have been developing our network to be able to place people across the world," he added.

To fulfil its customers' vacancies the company is currently bringing candidates with transferable skills into the sector - for example, taking staff from car manufacturing plants and introducing them to engineering - all they need is some training.

"We are relocating disciplines from dying industries, where wages are going down, into exploding sectors where there is better pay. It requires the customers to be open minded."

Reed said another solution to the skills shortage is women. In a recent study it found that less than 10% of those in the sector are women. "It is a career than needs to be promoted to girls at school," said Reed.