The doom defiers

In a rare display of unity, economists, politicians and observers of the engineering sector agree — 2009 is going to be a challenge.

With availability of finance for business expansion at extremely low levels and the economy contracting, the market for engineering professionals is, unsurprisingly, taking its share of punishment.

Despite this, some companies are still looking for employees and while the recruitment market may have slowed, it has not ground to a halt.

is one firm that is bucking the trend for freezing recruitment or shedding staff in preparation for survival in 2009's harsher economic climate.

'We are looking for line engineers with aerospace experience to work on a large contract for Rolls-Royce in Derby,' said Avtar Bratch, technical support manager. 'Although a number of companies may be downsizing at present, this division of our company only started life in 2007 so it is just maturing and is therefore still growing.'

He added: 'The work involves a new engine and so we have to design and develop the tooling for this over the coming 12 months, yet all our existing engineers are busy working with our traditional products. This has meant we are now taking on new staff in order to work on this new project.'