With the U.S. labor market at its tightest in three decades, the demand for talented engineers is at an all-time high, and as a result, more and more companies are turning to temporary workers to serve both short- and long-term needs. This trend has also been fueled by a growing number of engineers who consider themselves "free agents." Free-agent workers define themselves by their skills, and are more likely than other professionals to switch employers. This trend has impacted a variety of industries, including shipbuilding. To meet these new needs of employers and employees, Kelly Services, who has provided engineering staffing to companies for more than 30 years, recently consolidated its engineering staffing services into a new division called Kelly Engineering Resources (KER).