Pasadena, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/07/2011 -- Kettering University’s annual job fair has shown that engineering graduates are still in high demand.

The Flint, Michigan based college focuses only on engineering, science, and business majors. Over 100 employers showed up to its job fair, a big change from two years ago when engineering graduates had a hard time getting offers. The offers this time are not just for electrical and mechanical engineering graduates but also for computer science majors.

Ford and other auto industry firms are expanding its technical capabilities for which they need huge numbers of software and related tech experts. Local universities in and around Detroit are not producing enough of the graduates that these companies now need. Auto firms are interviewing promising students from far away schools such as Stanford.

Engineers with skills in cloud computing and mobile software applications are in high demand. Dice, a job board has seen tech job openings double in the last one year for the Detroit metro area. Other recruiting firms based in Michigan have also seen a big demand from automakers for employees with specialized skills.

CEO A. Harrison Barnes of EngineeringCrossing says that for engineers, especially computer science majors, Detroit could be a good move. “Detroit does have a lower cost of living compared to other metro areas and most firms today are trying to adopt the Silicon Valley tech work culture.” Barnes’ firm has been able to compile a list of over 78,000 engineering jobs nationwide this month and 3,000 engineering jobs in Detroit.