Demand for key personnel across a range of industry sectors in eastern England is on the rise but employers are frustrated by a perceived skills deficit, according to a survey.
New-found confidence among businesses is driving 'modest' rises in wages across the board, with 'spectacular gains' for some, the 2014 Cooper Lomaz Recruitment Salary Survey has found.
Employers are looking well beyond county boundaries to fill senior posts vital to firms' acceleration plans, says the Bury St Edmunds-based recruitment firm, whose own business is booming.
The survey, which provides a regional barometer of employment and remuneration trends, found that vacancies are drawing candidates attracted by the lower cost of living from London and beyond.
Operations director Mark Fletcher said: 'Employers are displaying more confidence in planning for the future, but many are frustrated by the lack of candidates with the niche skills they need to drive those plans forward.'
The big earnings winners are those with niche skills in engineering, information technology or energy or those with a wider more commercial or strategic skills base, particularly in accountancy and marketing.
'The 2014 salary survey findings are a positive endorsement of the buoyancy of the East Anglian jobs market that there are a lot of quality positions paying good salaries which need filling,' said Mr Fletcher.
The trend is expected to continue as long-awaited trunk road improvements develop, including a fully-dualled A11 which is due to open during 2014, speedier rail links and faster broadband speeds. 'Faster transport links will also mean it is easier for people to travel between regional centres to work,' said Mr Fletcher.
Salaries continue to be markedly higher in Cambridgeshire and those parts of Essex nearer to London.
One of the 'boom' areas for recruitment in Suffolk and Norfolk is the oil, gas and renewables sector.
Typical salaries:
Bookkeeper
Norfolk £18k-25k
Suffolk £18k-22k
Cambridgeshire £18k-23k
Essex £18k-23k
Payroll Manager
Norfolk £22k-29k
Suffolk £22k-308k
Cambridgeshire £25k-40k
Essex £22k-30k
Financial Director
Norfolk £60k-100k
Suffolk £60k-100k
Cambridgeshire £60k-110k
Essex £60k-100k
Graduate Engineer
Norfolk £18k-26k
Suffolk £19k-24k
Cambridgeshire £20k-28k
Essex £20k-28k
Manufacturing Engineer
Norfolk £30k-45k
Suffolk £30k-45k
Cambridgeshire £30k-50k
Essex £35k-50k
Health and Safety Officer
Norfolk £20k-30k
Suffolk £20k-30k
Cambridgeshire £20k-30k
Essex £20k-30k
Head of IT
Norfolk £50k-85k
Suffolk £50k-85k
Cambridgeshire £55k-90k
Essex £60k-90k
Mobile Developer
Norfolk £25k-50k
Suffolk £30k-52k
Cambridgeshire £25k-55k
Essex £30k-55k
Oil, Gas & Renewable Energy
Construction/Installation (all areas) £30k-130k
Reservoir/Petroleum Engineering (all areas) £35k-125k
Technical Safety (all areas) £35k-70k
Maintenance (all areas) £23k-65k
Business Development (all areas) £27k-85k
Social Media Manager
Norfolk £25k-45k
Suffolk £25k-35k
Cambridgeshire £25k-45k
Essex £25k-45k
Transport Manager
Norfolk £30k-35k
Suffolk £30k-36k
Cambridgeshire £30k-40k
Essex £30k-40k
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