Which engineering fields will see the most hiring by 2035, according to published data?

Distinguish between a forecast, a trend and a promise

An employment projection is a scenario. It rests on demographic, technological and budgetary assumptions, and it changes with each edition. Three sources frequently appear in public debate, and they do not measure the same thing.

Cedefop, the European Union agency dedicated to vocational education and training, models employment by occupation through 2035. The World Economic Forum (WEF) surveys employers about what they anticipate by 2030. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects changes in employment in each occupation over ten years.

An economic model, an employer survey and a statistical projection therefore cannot be compared on a like-for-like basis. Reading a percentage without knowing who produced it leads to shaky conclusions. None of these figures guarantees a job for a particular graduate, and none takes an individual’s path into account.

Read the European signal: approximately +23% by 2035

In its 2023 update on researchers and engineers, Cedefop projects an increase of approximately 23% in employment in this group between 2022 and 2035. This group accounted for nearly 4% of total employment in the European Union in 2021. The agency notes that growth varies by country.

This figure should be read alongside another. Cedefop’s general projections for 2035 forecast very low annual employment growth across the Union, at around 0.4%. Employment among engineers is therefore growing considerably faster than the average.

The energy transition affects the distribution of employment. Cedefop forecasts employment declines in coal mining and fuel manufacturing, and increases in occupations related to electricity.

One caveat is necessary: the “researchers and engineers” category covers scientific and engineering occupations broadly. It is not limited to engineering graduates.

Identify the engineering roles cited by the World Economic Forum

The 2025 edition of the Future of Jobs report is based on responses from more than 1,000 employers, representing more than 14 million workers across 55 economies. The three fastest-growing roles in percentage terms are big data specialists, financial technology engineers, and artificial intelligence and machine learning specialists.

Renewable energy engineers, environmental engineers, and electric and autonomous vehicle specialists also rank among the fifteen fastest-growing roles. The report anticipates 170 million jobs created and 92 million displaced by 2030, for a net gain of 78 million.

Two qualifications matter. First, a high percentage can start from a small workforce: it describes a rate, not a volume. Second, in absolute numbers, the largest job gains mainly involve frontline and care occupations, according to the report’s summary. Engineering has a more modest place in terms of volume than in terms of growth rate.

The report also notes that environmental stewardship appears, for the first time, among the ten fastest-growing skills. This finding reflects employers’ responses, and it does not indicate in which countries or sectors these skills will be most in demand.

Compare with U.S. projections

The BLS publishes projections by occupation. A table reproduced in 2026 by the Society of Women Engineers, covering the 2024-2034 period, provides useful indications of scale. Industrial engineering is among the fastest-growing engineering occupations, at 11% over ten years. Nuclear engineering declines by 1.1% over the same period.

The same table compares median annual salaries, in U.S. dollars: $106,070 for engineering occupations, $105,990 for computing occupations and $70,070 for engineering technologists and technicians.

These figures describe the U.S. market, not the Canadian or European market. They serve as a point of comparison, not as a forecast for another country. They also remind us that “engineering” encompasses opposing trends: some specializations are growing, while others are stagnating or declining.

Separate engineers, technologists and technicians

Many projections combine several levels of education. In Ontario, OACETT, the association representing engineering technologists and technicians, presented a labour market analysis in November 2025. Between 2015 and 2024, employment in the occupations it supports grew by 20.1%. Four occupations account for approximately 55% of this growth: mechanical engineering, electrical and electronics engineering, drafting, and civil engineering.

The analysis also projects demand above that of Ontario’s economy as a whole. Electrical and electronics engineering technologists and technicians show the largest increase in the number of jobs, corresponding to growth of 24.2% between 2025 and 2045.

These figures concern one province and occupations often taught at college rather than university. In Canada, the title of engineer is regulated, while technologists follow a different certification pathway. Comparing salaries or demand without identifying the correct occupational group distorts the picture.

Also look at what is declining

An honest picture includes declines. The WEF report forecasts that clerical workers and secretaries will experience the largest decline in absolute job numbers. Data entry clerks, postal service clerks and executive secretaries are among the fastest-declining roles in percentage terms.

In engineering, signals of decline are more localized. Cedefop forecasts the largest annual employment decline in coal mining through 2035, and the BLS projects a slight decline in nuclear engineering in the United States. These cases show that the same field can grow in one region and decline in another, depending on energy policies and public investment.

Reading only the list of growing occupations gives a biased picture. The same sources indicate that skills are changing within individual occupations, particularly as a result of automation.

Summarize the signals in a table

The following table brings together the signals cited above. It does not rank the fields: the organizations use neither the same methods nor the same scope, and their figures cannot be added together.

Keep three limitations in mind

Projections help put trends in context, but they have recurring limitations:

• Markets are local. A country may face a shortage of civil engineers and have too many computer engineers.
• A growth percentage depends on the starting workforce, and newer specializations start from a small base.
• A degree does not always grant the right to practise: in several countries, the title of engineer requires an accredited program, examinations and supervised experience.

Annual updates from the organizations cited regularly revise the figures. The safest approach is to check the date of each projection and consult the most recent edition.

One final point: none of these sources measures the fit between a specific program and a specific job. For that, program websites, professional regulatory bodies and national job placement statistics provide information closer to conditions on the ground.

What about Canada?

In Canada, the title of engineer is regulated by the provinces. Engineering programs are evaluated by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board, part of Engineers Canada, and licences to practise are issued by provincial regulators, such as the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec or Professional Engineers Ontario.

Several programs incorporate paid co-op placements, which contribute to the salary comparisons presented above. Occupational projections for the country are published separately by federal organizations; they should not be confused with the European or U.S. figures in this article.

To explore fields mentioned here, StudyCanada features, among others, the software engineering program at the University of Waterloo, the environmental engineering program (Environmental Engineering) at the same university, and the mining engineering program at McGill University. Admission requirements for international students can be found on each program’s page.