To become an attractive employer in the engineering sector, you need to base your employer brand on what engineers actually value, not on what you think they want. Target audience data shows time and again that employers misjudge their own appeal: job security, professional expertise and a decent working environment often carry more weight than a higher salary.
Engineering is one of the tightest labour markets in the Netherlands. Technical roles are among the hardest to fill in the country (UWV, 2024). Anyone wishing to attract the best professionals in this market is competing not only on salary, but also on visibility, brand story and experience. Below, you can read what target audience data reveals and how you can use it.
What makes you an attractive employer in the engineering sector?
An attractive employer in the engineering sector offers engineers a clear and credible answer to three questions: am I valued here for my professional expertise, can I develop my skills, and does the company’s message match reality? If the answer to all three is ‘yes’, you’ll be at the top of the list for both active and passive jobseekers.
The problem is that most technical companies describe their appeal from their own perspective. “We have a great team” and “an informal atmosphere” appear in virtually every job advert. Messages like these don’t set you apart, because they say nothing about what a mechanic, operator or welder can actually offer you.
Attractiveness is not a feeling, but a position that you back up with data. By basing your employer narrative on our data-driven approach Replace your assumptions with evidence: you know which criteria your target audience values and where you really stand out from your competitors.
What does target audience data reveal about technicians?
Target audience data reveals that technicians have different priorities to those employers often assume. Analysis of target audience data and hundreds of recruitment campaigns shows that skilled workers place great importance on journey time, certainty of working hours, the quality of tools and equipment, and whether they work for a top-tier organisation that takes their profession seriously. Salary is a prerequisite, not a decisive factor.
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- Recruitment using AI and data
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Employers often discover, through data, that candidates’ preferences differ from what they expected. A company that thinks it has the edge on salary turns out, in practice, to be particularly attractive because of short commutes and modern machinery. Another company loses candidates not because of pay, but because of a slow and unclear application process.
Why do employers in the technical sector misjudge their own appeal?
Employers assess their appeal from a management perspective, whilst the target audience is on the shop floor. Senior management looks at strategy, growth and corporate culture; a mechanic looks at his day-to-day work, his team and his career development. This gap means that job adverts talk about things that barely resonate with candidates.
Latent jobseekers — professionals who are currently in employment but open to something better — make up the largest section of the market. They aren’t actively applying for jobs, so you need to attract them with a message that’s tailored precisely to their situation. Without data, you’re just shooting in the dark; with data, you can target them effectively.
Which employment conditions do engineers really consider important?
Technicians value terms and conditions of employment that make their work predictable, safe and rewarding. Salary is a factor, but job security, career development and working conditions often determine whether someone stays or leaves. The table below compares frequently cited conditions with the weight they are given in practice for technical roles.
| Terms and conditions of employment | Relevance for technicians | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Timetable reliability and journey time | Very high | Directly determines the daily work-life balance |
| Modern equipment and tools | High | A sign that you take your craftsmanship seriously |
| Training and career progression | High | Skilled workers want to gain certification and specialise |
| Salary and allowances | Medium to high | A prerequisite, but rarely the only reason |
| Travel allowance | Medium | A practical challenge when travelling longer distances |
| Corporate culture and team | Medium | Important, but difficult to claim credibly |
The weighting per criterion varies by role and region. For operators, shift work and allowances carry greater weight; for maintenance engineers, travel time is an additional factor. If you want to know what your target group specifically considers important, it starts with a targeted audience analysis. It’s also worth checking which consider operators’ terms and conditions of employment to be really important.
How do you develop an EVP based on target audience data?
You build a strong employer brand (EVP) by testing your assumptions against data and only then formulating a message. This prevents you from communicating about issues that do not resonate with your target audience. Work in set steps:
- Collect target audience data: Analyse what the type of engineers you are looking for are seeking, using labour market data, campaign data and discussions with your current staff.
- Carry out a competitive analysis: See how similar employers in the tech sector position themselves and where the gaps lie.
- Identify your unique selling points: Choose two or three strengths where you clearly stand out, rather than a long list of clichés.
- Formulate your EVP in concrete terms: Translate those benefits into language that the workplace will recognise, using examples rather than promises.
- Test and adjust: Measure the response rate of job applications and optimise your approach based on the figures.
This approach is in line with the TEAM framework, in which data forms the basis for every decision. The result is an employer narrative that is not just marketing spiel, but a position that you can substantiate. You can see exactly what a data-driven approach delivers in technical sectors in our measurable recruitment results.
How do you translate your employer brand into the right channels?
You adapt your employer brand to the channels where your target audience can be found, with a message tailored to each channel. You rarely reach engineers through a job board alone. Meta, Google, LinkedIn and TikTok each work differently, and choosing the right channel depends on the profile you’re looking for.
You’re often more likely to reach passive jobseekers via social media outside working hours, when they’re scrolling on the sofa rather than actively looking for work. Technicians who are actively looking for work are more likely to be found via Google and Google for Jobs. A strong EVP loses its impact if you post it on the wrong channel.
Data-driven recruitment campaigns highlight which channel yields the best results for each profile. FosFor combines data from hundreds of campaigns with labour market and target audience data and fills technical vacancies within three to eight weeks on average, with clients interviewing only the two to four best candidates per month. If you’d like to see which roles this approach works best for, take a look at the current technical vacancies.
Checklist: Are you an attractive employer in the engineering sector?
Use this checklist to quickly check whether your positioning matches what your target audience is looking for:
- Do you know, based on the data, which three factors your technicians consider most important?
- Do you clearly stand out from your competitors in at least two areas?
- Does your job advert include specific examples rather than clichés such as “great team”?
- Do you also reach passive candidates via social media, not just those actively looking for a job?
- Is your recruitment process quick and straightforward, so that you don’t lose candidates along the way?
If you find yourself answering ‘no’ more often than ‘yes’ here, you’re probably missing out on good professionals because of a lack of clarity and assumptions. You can read more about the philosophy behind this approach at Why FosFor brings top players together.
Frequently asked questions about being an attractive employer in the engineering sector
How much does it cost to build an attractive employer brand in the engineering sector?
The costs depend on your starting point, target audience and mix of channels. Data-driven recruitment marketing is generally more cost-effective than traditional recruitment and selection or temporary staffing, as you build up a steady flow of candidates rather than paying per vacancy. If you’d like an estimate for your situation, Then book a no-obligation strategy meeting.
Why do engineers consider salary less of a deciding factor than employers think?
For technicians, salary is a prerequisite: it must be in line with market rates, but it is rarely the sole deciding factor. Factors such as certainty regarding work schedules, travel time, modern equipment and career progression opportunities often carry greater weight. Target group data consistently shows that employers underestimate the importance of these non-financial factors.
How quickly do you see results from a data-driven employer branding approach?
With a targeted campaign, you usually start to see the first high-quality responses within a few weeks. FosFor fills technical vacancies within three to eight weeks on average, because the message and the channel are tailored to the target audience in advance, rather than based on gut instinct.
Does employer branding in the engineering sector work even on a small budget?
Yes. On a tight budget, you start by making the most strategic choice: which two key benefits will you highlight, and through which channel can you reach your target audience most effectively? By using data-driven targeting, you avoid wasting money and get a better return on every euro than you would with broad, untargeted adverts.
How do I know which employment conditions are important to my specific target group?
You can determine this by carrying out a target audience analysis using labour market data, campaign data and input from your current technicians. This allows you to see, for each role and region, which factors really matter. These insights form the basis for your employer brand story and ensure you avoid communicating about issues that do not resonate with candidates.
Do you want to move from assumptions to evidence and consistently attract the best engineers? Find out how our data-driven approach works and discover what target audience data can reveal about your employer brand. Sources on the shortage of technical roles can be found at UWV and the latest unemployment figures at CBS.