Manhasset, N.Y. — With a $5,000 scholarship, headhunter firm Kelly Engineering Resources is hoping to encourage junior and sophomore students to complete their engineering training in order to offset a growing backlog of engineering job vacancies.

"There's a huge shortage of electrical and electronic engineers," said Teresa Carroll, the company's vice president. Those shortages are primarily in areas such as San Jose, Dallas, Indiana, Houston and San Diego, she said.

The shortage has come about primarily due to the aging of the workforce and retirement as well as the reduction of engineering students coming out of college. "The number of students who took the ACT test and indicated they were going to study engineering was 3.8 percent in 2005. It was 5.8 percent in 2000. That's a drop of 16,000 engineers," she said. Carroll also attributes the shortage to the number of students that become engineers — and then move on to something else.

The $5,000 Future Engineers Scholarship, now in its fourth year, recognizes exceptional engineering students throughout the nation and is intended to encourage students to go beyond the junior and sophomore years. Engineering students who meet the program criteria compete for the scholarship by submitting essays on contemporary engineering topics and candidates will be evaluated on their demonstrated potential for and commitment to a career in engineering, outstanding academic performance and depth of knowledge about the issue or challenge addressed in the essay.

In December, the student with the winning essay will be presented with the scholarship, which may be used toward eligible expenses for tuition, fees, books, and room and board during the 2007 calendar year.

Submission materials, guidelines and essay questions are available at:http://www.kellyengineering.com. The company must receive applications for the scholarship no later than Oct. 15.