Human Resource Management Policies and the Retention of Technical Professionals in Electronics

The 1980s saw considerable debate about the nature and extent of skills shortages in the IT and engineering sectors, particularly in the increasingly competitive labour markets of the South East. The concern of this paper is not to add to that debate, but to consider the ways in which companies employing specialist technical staff have responded to the situation by examining human resource management policies developed to aid the retention of skilled staff in the electronics sector. This will be related to wider issues concerning the technical/managerial dichotomy which is perceived to shape the career trajectories of professional engineers and scientists.