Eagerly recruiting...

Police Bus drivers Vicars Technicians Teachers Oil rig workers Nurses Electrical engineers Accountants IT workers

But in the middle of the doom and the gloom, many companies are still fighting a tough battle to recruit both skilled and non-skilled staff.

Some of the nation's staff shortages - namely teachers, nurses and the police force - have been catapulted into the limelight as political hot potatoes.

But many other employers are also desperate to attract new staff such as oil rig workers, vicars, accountants, bus drivers and electrical engineers.

And the two industries facing the worst recruitment crisis - construction and engineering - admit that the problem is often tied up with the public's perception of those jobs as unattractive.

Marconi's recruitment crisis?

Mike Sanderson, chief executive of the national training organisation for engineering manufacture (Emta), says the UK's critical shortage of engineers comes back to the prejudice that it is an unfashionable area to work in.

And his organisation - charged with recruiting and equipping more engineers - has invested in Mori research to analyse the psychological problem of getting the nation's youth enthusiastic about a dull sounding career.

Bus drivers have a turnover of up to 50% in a year

"I find that the word engineering and manufacturing, turns young people off, whereas if I use the word technology they are turned on.

"So I'm trying to seduce young people by using words such as hi-tech and motor sports technology," Mr Sanderson told BBC News Online.

The real problem in the engineering industry is at the technician level, he explains.

Many of the industries that have been vociferously cutting jobs of late - automotive, aerospace, semiconductors and electronics - still face this critical lack of skilled staff, he explains.

Mr Sanderson cites Marconi and Siemens as two examples of companies that have hit the headlines for mass redundancies and a rapid deterioration of market conditions, but still face a lack of technicians.

And in the meantime, the staff that are already in the industry are forced to work longer hours to plug the gap.

Harmful impact

According to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), 19% of UK manufacturers say their output is being negatively impacted by a shortage of skilled staff.

Oil production is one example of a British industry that may be stymied be a lack of staff.

An unpopular office

Exploration in the North Sea is increasing but recruitment is not, leaving employers with insufficient people to man the rigs.

This lack of staff could be the stumbling block to expansion plans.

Technicians are in greatest demand to go to the rigs, but there is also a lack of general labourers and senior managers.

BP recently estimated the shortage of rig workers at 1,000 industry wide.

And the industry is fighting the image of being dirty and polluting, as well as being forced to offer unsociable hours and shift work.

Government initiatives

The skills shortage problem has not gone unnoticed by the government.

Earlier this week, Education and Skills Secretary Estelle Morris invited businesses to set up Sector Skills Councils to identify and then tackle those shortages.

The Anglican church is looking for new vicars

And on Wednesday, Works and Pensions secretary Alistair Darling launched "Ambition: Construction" which will provide 1,000 long-term unemployed people with training for skilled trades such as carpentry, plastering and roofing.

The initiative has widespread support from the Construction Industry Training Board which estimates demand for new workers at 76,000 a year over the next five years.

It comes as part of National Construction Week, in which the industry is trying to attract recruits to fill the gap in its workforce, especially plumbers, electricians and brick-layers.

Enticing packages

The latest research from the UK's leading recruitment specialist, Reed, shows that 56% of UK organisations are currently finding it difficult to recruit suitably qualified and experienced staff.

The recent round of job cuts

Motorola 32,000 Nortel 30,000 Honeywell 16,000 Siemens 15,000 Boeing 30,000 Corus 6,000 Toshiba 18,800 Hitachi 14,700 BT 6,000 Marconi 7,000 Ericsson 12,000 Delta airlines 13,000 Accenture 1,400 Compaq 4,000 JP Morgan Chase 5,000 Deutsche bank 2,600

And the CBI's policy adviser, Maniza Ntekim, confirmed to BBC News Online that the number of companies reporting a skills shortage has been steadily increasing since 1999.

The recruitment consultancy Manpower also stresses the steady stream of companies looking for the right workers.

Amongst the most prominent, says Manpower spokesman Richard Cox, is the information technology industry.

Despite the hi-tech collapse and thousands of lay-offs, companies still need new workers who can master the newest technologies, he explains.

"With today's high level of skills shortages in the UK, employers are having to be more creative and flexible in their benefits packages to attract the right staff.

"Alongside better health and pension benefits, companies are now offering their employees increased holiday entitlement, gym membership and even subscriptions to dating services," said Sarah Parsons, head of communications at Reed.