A website has been set up to help match skilled employees facing redundancy to UK companies in the manufacturing and engineering sectors.
Called Talent Retention Solution (TRS), it is being supported by the by the Skills and Jobs Retention Group (SJRG) and Semta (the Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies).
The website will provide live data broken down by skills and geography.
Manufacturing and engineering companies which have already signed up to the system and who are recruiting over the coming year include Rolls Royce (1000), Siemens (500), Nissan (200) and Airbus (600).
Supply chain companies will also be able to use the system for redeployment and recruitment.
"The defence sector makes a substantial contribution to the country’s skills economy through high value jobs and as a key sponsor of apprenticeships and training,” said Minister for Business and Enterprise Mark Prisk.
Prisk hopes the website will help ensure that “these skills are not lost by redeploying highly skilled workers into growing sectors of advanced manufacturing such as automotive, energy, infrastructure and aerospace”.
The system is business led and will be fully funded by business from January 2012.
Following a short implementation phase, TRS will become fully operational by January 2012, when it is expected that over 1500 employers across the UK will have signed up to the system, ranging from large organisations in each sector to the smallest SMEs.
“We rely totally on highly skilled staff to design, develop and produce products and services,” said Allan Cook, chairman of Semta and the SJRG.
“It is imperative for future success and economic growth that we do all that we can to retain, recruit and motivate our employees within the advanced engineering and manufacturing sectors,” said Cook.