A lot of it has to do with the change over the the EASA licence....... I know of at least 5 people that have simply walked away from the job as they are fed up of being served cr*p for poor wages, and that is from an area about 100 meters square........... so times that by a country and you can understand the shortage...........
One of the basic reasons I was given was "I have trained for X years to get this licence, I have worked on xyz for 20 years plus and now they say my licence coverage is not sufficent to carry on doing the same job without spending a fortune on additional training".......... walk away time....... and they do in droves..
That and the aging population problem...... perhaps it will drive wages up to a realistic figure............. myself? well It would not be a lie when I say I am looking round too, and out of this country as the Labour Party has screwed that up right and proper......