I maybe wrong, but if the companies were willing to pay what should be paid, there wouldn't be a shortage.
Looking at it from the perspective of someone very new to this industry that's not so much the issue as that companies seem unwilling to pay for training. Maybe I shouldn't say this, but compared with what a lot of FW guys get paid starting as a FO, the rotary equivalent on the north sea isn't half bad. The problem is that most people aren't going to be able to afford the initial investment required to apply for those jobs in the first place, namely a ME IR(H). There are plenty of CPL(H)s / CPL + FI guys and gals out there who'd snap the hand off anyone offering that rating. I also know half a dozen CPL/IR FW guys who'd pay for a large proportion of their RW conversion tomorrow given the guarantee of a NS job at the end of it