As the demand for employment rapidly increases, employers in certain fields are finding themselves searching for qualified individuals to fill positions. According to Manpower Inc.’s “Annual 10 Hardest Jobs to fill”, employers have trouble filling the following positions:

1. Engineers
2. Machinists/Machine Operators
3. Skilled Trades
4. Technicians
5. Sales Representatives
6. Accounting & Finance Staff
7. Mechanics
8. Laborers
9. IT Staff
10. Production Operators

These findings are part of Manpower’s 2008 global study of 32 countries and territories involving approximately 42,500 employees. It suggests that individuals are looking at the wrong positions and in the wrong places. Some individuals are aware of these positions yet ignore them due to the training or education required. However, the time it takes to acquire the skills are outweighed by the benefits of the jobs.  For example, jobs in predictive maintenance require training and reliability engineering requires education, but they both provide stability, a complete benefits package, good pay, and the option to travel. However, finding positions for these jobs could be an issue, if job seekers are looking in the wrong places. For those seeking employment in predictive maintenance or reliability engineering, Next Up Careers is a great tool. Next Up devotes its job board to reliability engineers and predictive maintenance professionals, making it a lot easier for individuals to find jobs in these careers. The general job boards, just don’t cut it in an economy where there are thousands of people out of work.