As Greenbang reported last week, the fast-changing energy industry is creating a boom in eco-power jobs.

The Sunday Times had a feature on this yesterday, written by Jonathan Leake (but we got there first )

“Phil Williams, an executive director of RPS, an international engineering consultancy that employs 4,000 people, admits that the energy sector has not had a good employment record. “It has had periods of boom and bust, such as when the price of oil fell to $10 a barrel in 1999 and lots of people got laid off. Things are different now. The energy sector is heading for a long-term major expansion.”

That boom, combined with the shortage of qualified recruits, could mean engineers have a chance to claw back some of their former status – and salaries – as one of the top professions. Ivor Catto, a director of design and engineering solutions at Atkins, an engineering consultancy with 17,000 staff, is convinced the profession is heading for a revival. He has boosted the firm’s nuclear section to 500 engineers in anticipation of new orders. “Engineers do not make as much as accountants and lawyers but as demand rises and shortages hit home, salaries are going to go up,” he says. “