We’ve always known that the war for talent doesn’t rage equally across all battlefields. Rather it’s dependent on how the multiple variables of job function, industry, and geography align in a given time and place. Sometimes even broader international affairs and global weather play a role.

Here are two studies on two different functional skill sets – with two different conclusions.

Issues in Science and Technology Online, published by the National Academy of Engineering in Texas, says:

Respondents to our survey reported that they were able to fill 80% of engineering jobs at their companies within four months. In other words, we found no indication of a shortage of engineers in the United States.

89 percent of respondents to the 2007 National Physician Nurse and Supply Survey are currently recruiting nurses and 86 percent are recruiting physicians. They reported:

Nurse recruiting was rated as either somewhat or extremely difficult and challenging by 86 percent of hospital administrators surveyed.

94 percent of respondents described the process of recruiting physicians to their facility as somewhat or extremely difficult and challenging.

Here’s the bottom line. Getting the right people into the right jobs at the right time has so many variables that you need to build a consistent hiring and sourcing process to cover all your bases.