Engineers will likely jump ship for new job opportunities this year as they take advantage of increased demand for their talent, according to the Engineering Talent Supply and Demand survey released today by Esperis, a division of ManpowerGroup (NYSE: MAN).

According to the report, 61 percent of engineers said they may look for new engineering jobs in 2014. This includes 40 percent that are actively seeking new positions and 21 percent that are networking/may look for a new job. Additionally, 13 percent have updated their resume but are not likely to job hunt. Only 26 percent said they will stay in their current position.

Concurrently, 95 percent of employers who hire engineers reported having difficulty filling engineering roles. Eighty-eight percent of these plan to hire engineers this year, while 29 percent do not believe they will be able to find the engineering talent they need for their businesses. Electrical/electronics engineers ranked highest on the list of the most in-demand.

The survey reports hiring challenges for filling open engineering positions include:

• Lack of applicants: 44 percent
• Lack of hard skills needed for the position: 37 percent
• Lack of experience: 33 percent
• Salary demands are too high: 29 percent
• Lack of workplace competencies/soft skills: 23 percent

“The Experis survey results should signal a wake-up call to employers who want to keep their engineers on staff and engaged in the workplace,” said Richard Hutchings, Experis vice president of engineering. “To protect themselves from employment voids, employers must embrace flexible workforce models so they can tap into talent communities of engineers when and where they need them.”

The online survey was conducted in January and included 700 engineers and 100 employers who are likely to recruit engineering talent.