Global demand for electrical engineers

ManpowerGroup's future jobs analysis report on the global engineering force focuses on trends that are reshaping the industry and increasing the human resource gap.

The report revolves around three key questions: What are the biggest challenges facing the engineering team? Where is the gap in skills and human resources expanding? How do businesses access and develop high-quality technical human resources?

AI engineers

AI is reshaping the role of engineers through automating repetitive tasks, such as sketching, data analysis or administrative work. At the same time, AI highlights more than ever the value of human capacity - ability to evaluate, system thinking and cooperation.

Skill gap: 29% of engineering businesses said that the current team lacks effective AI application skills.

Declining core skills: 76% of engineers and architects expressed concern that excessive dependence on AI will weaken foundational skills.

Opportunities to create new value: The three capabilities predicted to benefit the most from AI in the next 12 months are problem solving (80%), creativity (80%) and training (78%).

Developing aviation and defense human resources

Aerospace and defense industries are expanding rapidly due to increasing geopolitical instability, leading to a large demand for technical human resources throughout the supply chain. However, recruitment and retention of personnel are becoming increasingly complex due to increasingly stringent security and censorship requirements.

Serious personnel shortage: Most businesses face difficulties in recruiting engineers (76%) and skilled workers (56%).

Retirement wave: In Europe, the proportion of experts who will retire in the next 5-10 years is at an alarming level. In the Hauts-de-France region - where large industrial parks are concentrated, more than 43% of technicians, 36% of engineers and senior leaders will retire before 2030.

High turnover rate: 42% of manufacturing workers plan to change jobs within the next 6 months.

The thirst for electrical engineers

The pace of technology development and the electrification process are driving up the demand for electrical engineers. Businesses are competing to find engineers to design, develop, and maintain power systems for infrastructure modernization, renewable energy, and digital transformation projects.

Supply-demand pressure:

Strongly increase energy demand: Global electricity demand is expected to increase by an average of more than 3.5% per year by 2030. Renewable energy, natural gas and nuclear energy are being strengthened to produce electricity to catch up with usage demand.

Data center development: The energy consumption of global data centers may double by 2030 (concentrated in the US and Europe).

Shortage of electrical engineers: In the US, 1/3 of more than 400,000 new engineer positions each year cannot be filled. In the UK, there is a risk of 1 million positions not being filled because 20% of engineers will retire by 2030. Japan forecasts a shortage of human resources for 700,000 positions.

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