Everyone is talking the market down at the moment but we are relatively busy. True that there have been redundancies and closures in some of the companies that we have worked closely with over the years but for us and our other clients, this provides us with a pool of talent looking for work in the Southwest.

At the moment we have some fantastic candidates on our books, looking for work in the semiconductor and electrical markets. We are also delighted to report that it is not all doom and gloom and the Southwest's high tech companies are still recruiting.

The need for broad level design engineers is huge and with companies moving into next generation design, their need for top candidates also grows.

Tom Selman, Hardware & RF Design Sepcialist, Ashton Consulting, Bristol