Engineers and technicians pay rises at 5%

Engineers saw their basic pay rise by an average of 5.0% over the past year, according to CELRE's 2008-09 Engineers and Technicians Salary Survey.

The report, published today, is based on data from 50 companies and 7,826 individuals.

Email CELRE or call 0845 671 1110 to subscribe to this year's survey report and to find out more about how to participate in 2009. Please mention Ref CW01 when you call.

The report shows that engineers and technicians saw their basic pay rise by an average 5.0% over the past 12 months, while total earnings, including bonus payments, went up by 4.3%

Both basic pay and total earnings rose more rapidly for technicians than for professional engineers. While professional engineers saw their basic pay rise by 4.9% and total earnings rise by 4.1%, technicians enjoyed pay rises of 5.4% and 5.1% respectively.

The increases mean that the median basic salary for an engineering director now stands at £95,000, with total earnings including bonus of £114,700. At department manager level, the equivalent figures are £52,898 and £54,490.

Senior technicians, meanwhile can expect a median basic salary of £32,136 and total earnings of £32,778.

Both basic salaries and total earnings rose faster in the energy and the food, drink and tobacco industries than in other sectors, with finance sector salaries lagging behind..

The survey also reveals that pay rose fastest outside London and the South East. Basic salaries rose by 4.1% in London, compared with 4.6% in the South East and 5.3% in the rest of the UK.

It is worth noting that the data records changes in pay over the 12 months to 1 September 2008 - before the crash in share prices and economic downturn.

In the coming year, employers expect to see basic pay for engineers and technicians rise by 4.0% at the median, with an anticipated increase in the pay bill of 4.8%.

Nearly four out of ten (38%) of pay reviews for engineers and technicians take place in January, with a similar proportion (38%) in April.

The survey shows that women remain very much in the minority in engineering and technical jobs. Although 82% of companies surveyed have women engineers and technicians, they constitute just 8.6% of the total sample of employees.

Women are also concentrated in more junior roles: just 3.2% of engineering directors are women. Among relatively new recruits to the profession, women make up 37.5% of trainee engineers and 21.3% of trainee technicians.

Women also earn less than men at most levels. the greatest disparity is among junior technicians, where women earn on average 89.2% as much as men.

However, among technical supervisors and trainee engineers, women typical earn more than their male counterparts.

The report is based on data covering 10 job levels, from sales and marketing director to clerical staff, and 63 job functions, including civil engineers, rail engineers, environmental engineers and nuclear engineers.

Commenting on the findings, CELRE managing editor Mark Crail said:

"Although this research took place before the worst of the recent economic downturn, there are already indications of a rise in redundancies and a fall in recruitment and retention problems in this year's survey.

"The proportion of engineering staff receiving bonus payments has also fallen off quite markedly over the past couple of years.

"Although there is little indication yet that engineering salaries will take a big hit in the recession, as more and more companies lay people off or cut back on recruitment and as inflation falls, the upward pressures on pay will lessen this year."

Email CELRE or call 0845 671 1110 to subscribe to this year's survey report and to find out more about how to participate in 2009. Please mention Ref CW01 when you call.

Find out more about this year's Engineers and Technicians Salary Survey.