You are here
- Home
- Publications and reports
- Data insights
- Science and engineering technicians: skills opportunities and challenges (2023 update)
Science and engineering technicians: skills opportunities and challenges (2023 update)
Summary
Science and engineering technicians accounted for around 4 per cent of all employment in the EU in 2022. They are an important occupation to the achievement of the ambitions of the European Green Deal, as they are among the most important ones that will be implementing, operating, and monitoring green and sustainable technologies of various kinds.
Science and engineering technicians perform various technical tasks related to research and operational methods in science and engineering. They set up, monitor and operate instruments and equipment in laboratories, and supervise the operation of mining, manufacturing, construction and other engineering sites. They frequently coordinate and schedule the activities of other workers. Jobs within this group include chemistry, material testing, water plant, agricultural, and forestry technicians, construction safety inspectors, energy analysts and consultants, construction supervisors, food production planners, renewable energy plant and oil refinery plant operators, ship and aircraft pilots, and air traffic controllers.
Key facts
- Around 7 million people were employed as science and engineering technicians in 2022, which accounts for almost 4 per cent of the total EU employment.
- Employment in this occupation increased by more than 400 thousand workers between 2012 and 2019.
- Between 2019 and 2020, when the EU experienced economic lockdowns, over 200 thousand science and engineering technician jobs were lost. Employment declined further in the following year and by the end of 2022, it was almost 900 thousand workers short of the pre-Covid 19 level.
- Most science and engineering technicians – 56 per cent in 2021 - are occupied in the manufacturing and the construction sectors.
- More than half of science and engineering technicians (52 per cent) have attained a qualification level of ISCED 3 and 4 in 2021, equivalent to (upper) secondary education and post-secondary non-tertiary education. By 2035, most of the science and engineering technicians are expected to hold high-level qualifications.
- Science and engineering technicians are mainly men. In 2021, just around one fifth of them were women.
- By 2035, the employment of science and engineering technicians is expected to increase by roughly 250 thousand jobs compared to 2022. However, the number of science and engineering technicians to be filled over the same period will be much larger. This is because an estimated 4.4 million people are expected to leave the occupation mainly due to retirement. Considering also the expansion demand, this means that an estimated 4.7 million job openings will need to be filled between 2022 and 2035.
- New technologies changing how technical construction and maintenance are conducted, cloud technologies (such as BIM for construction managers and digital twins for chemical engineers), requirements for more sustainability and circularity in production processes, and the need for upscaling Europe’s renewable energy production capacity will drive changes in the science and engineering technicians’ skills required in the future.
Employment and job demand
Employment trends for science and engineering technicians were similar to all technician and associate professional jobs in the past decade. There was a much larger employment drop during the Covid-19 pandemic, and employment has yet to fully recover.
Figure 1: Year-to-year employment change for science and engineering technicians (2013-2022)
Source: European Labour Force Survey. Employed persons by detailed occupation (ISCO-08 two digit level) [LFSA_EGAI2D__custom_7778289]. Own calculations.
More than half (54 per cent) of science and engineering technicians are engaged as physical and engineering science technicians. These are workers who perform technical tasks to aid in research and the practical application of concepts, principles, and operational methods. They carry out technical work (e.g., setting up and operating laboratory instruments and equipment, and recording results) related to a variety of sciences such as chemistry, physics, geology, meteorology, astronomy, and engineering.
Around a quarter of science and engineering technicians (26 per cent) are engaged as mining, manufacturing and construction supervisors. People employed in these jobs supervise manufacturing processes in firms and the operation of mining and construction sites. They oversee the activities of other workers, plan work schedules, and are also responsible for the safety and training of workers in these sites.
Overall, 9 per cent of science and engineering technicians are engaged as process control technicians, who operate and monitor various kinds of processing units (such as wastewater treatment plants, chemical, and fossil fuel refineries, metal manufacturing equipment, and electrical power generation and distribution plants). They do so through electronic or computerised control panels from a central control room.
A small share of science and engineering technicians (4 per cent) are engaged as life science technicians and related associate professionals. These workers support life science professionals by conducting various tasks such as conducting experiments and field research assisting in analysing data and operating and maintaining related equipment.
Another 4 per cent of science and engineering technicians are engaged as ship and aircraft controllers and technicians. These oversee controlling the operation of mechanical, electrical and electronic equipment on ships and aircraft, developing computerised air control systems and commanding and navigating ships and aircraft.
Over the period from 2016 to 2021, the employment share corresponding to these five occupations remained stable, with small increases in the employment share of process control and life science technicians.
Figure 2: Employment in science and engineering technicians jobs (in %)
Source: European Labour Force Survey. Microdata. Own calculations.
Similar to their overwhelming employment share, physical and engineering technicians and mining, manufacturing and construction supervisors represent the majority of OJAs for this occupation. Vacancies for some specialised jobs – especially ship and aircraft controllers and technicians – may be advertised by different means than job portals covered by Cedefop’s Skills OVATE.
For more details on skills demand and job openings for this occupation, please access the Cedefop’s Skills OVATE tool.
Figure 3: Online job advertisements for science and engineering technicians (2022, in %)
Source: Skills in Online Job Advertisements indicator based on Cedefop’s Skills OVATE. Own calculations. Note: Online job advertisements are by definition not equivalent to job vacancies. See Beręsewicz (2021) or Napierala et al. (2022).
The manufacturing sector employs the largest share of science and engineering technicians - 41 per cent in 2021. The construction sector (14 per cent) and the professional, scientific, and technical activities sector (11 per cent) are the other two sectors with a significant share of science and engineering technicians. As regards the share of science and engineering technicians within sectoral employment, these workers form a significant portion of the workforce in the electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply sectors.
Figure 4: The top sectors employing science and engineering technicians (in %)
Source: European Labour Force Survey. Microdata. Own calculations.
Austria, Sweden, Czechia, Slovakia and Norway have the highest employment share of science and engineering technicians – 5 per cent of the total employment. The size and the development of the manufacturing industry, the key employment sector, is the main driver behind the employment of science and engineering technicians.
Figure 5: Science and engineering technicians as a share of overall country employment (2021, in%)
Source: European Labour Force Survey. Microdata. Own calculations.
Note: Data for CY, EE, IS, LV and LU have lower reliability because of the small sample size.
LFS data for MT are not available.
The workforce is composed mainly of men. In 2021, males accounted for 80 per cent of employment, compared with 54 per cent across all occupations.
A larger share of science and engineering technicians is aged more than 50 years old compared to the average across all occupations, but not markedly so. Over time, the share of older workers increases, indicating the growing future challenge of their replacement (more on that below).
Figure 6: Science and engineering technician workforce by age (in %)
Source: European Labour Force Survey. Microdata. Own calculations.
The share of science and engineering technicians reporting part-time or temporary employment was markedly lower compared to the one across all occupations. These technicians are more likely to have full-time employment contracts.
Figure 7: Contract and hiring trends for science and engineering technicians (in %)
Source: European Labour Force Survey. Microdata. Own calculations.
Skill needs and future trends
The share of workers in this occupation who report hazardous working conditions is way above the occupation’s average. Science and engineering technicians are less likely to need a high level of interpersonal skills, such as interacting with others, selling, or counselling. On the other hand, innovativeness, advanced math, and literacy skills are much more needed.
Among the digital skills, basic to medium-level ones are most frequently requested. Still, over sixty per cent of science and engineering technicians report working with specialised software, and around one-fifth report work or knowledge of database software.
Science and engineering technicians report high upskilling needs but at the same time above-average access to work-related training.
Figure 8: Skills, training needs and job perception of science and engineering technicians (in %)
Source: European Skills and Jobs Survey. Microdata. Own calculations.
Unless stated otherwise, it is a share of people reporting that a task/skill is part of their job.
*Always or often
** Share of workers reporting these needs to a great or moderate extent.
Employment for science and engineering technicians is expected to increase slightly (by about 3 per cent) over the period 2022 to 2035.
Future employment change will however vary by country. Employment in 14 countries grew in the past decade and it is forecast to do so in the next decade as well. Ireland, Poland, and Sweden are among those with higher past and expected future growths, while Denmark and the Netherlands represent the opposite trend.
Figure 9: Past and expected future employment trend of Science and engineering technician
Source: European Labour Force Survey. Microdata. Cedefop Skills Forecast.
Note: Data for CY, EE, IS, LV and LU have lower reliability because of small sample size.
LFS data for MT are not available.
New job creation is, however, not the main driver behind job demand. Most job openings are a result of people leaving them for other opportunities, or those leaving the labour market completely (retirements; parent leave, etc.). This replacement demand is much more substantial, and in the case of the science and engineering technicians it exceeds the new job creation 17 times, as it is estimated at 4.4 million. Meeting this future requirement may be challenging given the level of labour shortages currently reported for some job profiles within this occupation.
Overall, when the expansion demand is added to the replacement demand, an estimated 4.7 million job openings for science and engineering technicians will need to be filled between 2022 and 2035.
Figure 10: Future job openings for science and engineering technicians (000s)
Source: Future job openings indicator based on the Cedefop Skills Forecast. Own calculations.
More than half (52 per cent) of science and engineering technicians held medium-level qualifications in 2021 (i.e. at ISCED levels 3 or 4). The qualification level of the occupation is projected to shift towards high-level qualifications by 2035. In particular, the share of workers with low levels of qualification (ISCED level 2 or lower) is projected to slightly decline from 2022 to 2035, while the share of highly qualified workers (i.e. those qualified at ISCED level 5 and over) is projected to increase to 51 per cent.
Looking forward
Science and engineering technicians work with tools and technologies that are in constant development and change. Each detailed profile within this occupation is -from a different standpoint- at the forefront of the technological and green transitions taking place in the EU. Workers like civil, chemical, agriculture, forestry and electrical technicians, construction and manufacturing supervisors, power plant and waste incinerator operators, and ship and aircraft technicians will be those making these transitions happen by implementing technological innovations and solving the problems that may occur in the process. Most science and engineering technicians work in manufacturing (42 per cent), followed by construction (15 per cent), and the professional, scientific and technical activities sector (11 per cent). Future developments in these sectors will have prominence for their skillsets.
- The fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) has a significant impact on the way how products and services are produced in an increasingly digitalised world. Manufacturing is undergoing a transition from knowledge-based intelligent manufacturing to knowledge-enabled and smart manufacturing driven by innovative communication and information technologies like AI (Zeba et al, 2021). Methods like deep learning and advanced cognitive computing are increasingly used in manufacturing systems for automated visual inspections, fault detection and maintenance (Chien et al, 2020). The use of AI will lead to a reconfiguration of sought after skills by employers. For example, in manufacturing, the combination of digital literacy as well as soft skills (critical thinking, creativity and people management) are increasingly sought after (Wellener et al, 2020). Science and engineering technicians will need to work on new technologies, monitor their implementation, and solve errors in the process. For construction supervisors, digitalisation brings about innovative ways of building houses, such as modular construction processes. Modular buildings shift some aspects of building activities away from traditional construction sites, and into factories with manufacturing-style production. In off-site building production, digitalisation has enabled faster design processes, use of more versatile materials, and improved precision (Bertram et al, 2019). Digitalisation is also having an impact on manufacturing supervisors. These should be familiar with robotics and automation technology to optimise production processes and reduce errors. This includes understanding how to programme and control stand-alone, collaborative, and mobile robots, which assist in tasks such as palletisation and packaging, material handling on the ground and with forklifts, storage, and quality assurance (McKinsey & Company, 2023).
- Technologies affecting the value creation chain (such as cloud technologies, and blockchain, McKinsey, 2022a) are also driving the future skills of workers in this occupation. With the increasing amount of data that can be collected and analysed, science and engineering technicians will need to be skilled in working with data analysis tools and softwares to make informed decisions. The use of big data analytics across almost all sectors can improve throughput, yield, energy efficiency and quality of production (Noterdaeme et al, 2018). Agricultural technicians will need to be able to work with new data-based technologies related to integrated financial management information systems (FMIS), Big Data analysis and Agriculture 4.0, traceability of production, and supply chain information systems. These technologies help in crop/weed identification, yield prediction, precision feeding, irrigation, animal welfare and biodiversity monitoring (Trienekens et al, 2021). Construction supervisors should be able to operate Building Information Modelling (BIM) and use its outputs to guide site operation (Construction Blueprint, 2022a). Chemical engineering technicians could benefit much from using digital twins technologies to testing prototypes (Tanner & Newbery, 2022).
- Sustainability requirements and the strategies set out by the European Green Deal (EGD) are forecast to increase new employment opportunities for engineers and technicians across sectors (Cedefop, 2021). Growing customer demand for cleaner, low-carbon products implies changes for technicians who supervise and control mining, manufacturing, construction and other engineering operations (McKinsey, 2022b). One of the main areas of focus in the EGD is the deployment and development of clean energy technologies (e.g. renewables), which will increase employment for technicians in wind, hydro and solar energies as well as off-grid renewables (IRENA, 2022). These include electrical engineering technicians, power production plant operators, as well as construction technicians.
- Science and engineering technicians will also increasingly have to consider the principles of energy efficiency and sustainable resource management closely linked to their business processes. For example, electrical and engineering technicians will increasingly need to be aware of and certified for the change from Nearly-Zero Energy Building (NZEB) to zero-emission building (ZEB) principles, as well as to make sure to minimise energy and material use and waste production in construction sites. Technicians will require upskilling in topics of renewable energies, energy efficiency, waste and recycling, cost management, BIM and CAD knowledge (Construction Blueprint, 2022b).
- The Circular Economy Action Plan (2020) strategy seeks to enable remanufacturing and high-quality recycling, improve product durability, restrict single-use, and incentivise product-as-a-service models where producers keep the ownership of the product throughout its lifecycle. For example, sustainable resource management in any business process requires well-informed decision-making in determining what, when and how resources are developed, produced, reused and recycled by the society (United Nations, 2021). Interdisciplinary competences related to sustainability in engineering include foresighted thinking with a global vision, communication and teamwork skills, independent learning, problem solving and systems thinking (Perpignan et al, 2020). For instance, chemical engineering technicians will be working in a field that is key to promoting the principles of circular economy and innovation of reuse and recycling of products and valorisation of waste. There will be a special focus on innovations in sectors with high resource use (electronics and ICT, batteries and vehicles, packaging, plastics, textiles, construction, food, water and nutrients).
- Shortages documented for certain jobs within this occupation potentially threaten the number of projected job openings to 2035 being filled. A recent report by the European Labour Authority shows that civil engineering technicians – which are part of the group of physical and engineering science technicians accounting for more than half of employment in this occupation – are among those being in shortage across several Member States.
The skillsets of science and engineering technicians are changing because of the green and digital transformations. These people typically complete between one and three years of higher education. According to Cedefop data, in 2019 and 2020, almost half (47 per cent) of science and engineering technicians had a vocational qualification. Thus, developments need to consider both initial higher and vocational education and training to meet the future skill needs of science and engineering technicians. Continuing (vocational) education and training needs to be considered as well so that technicians in the field today are reskilled and upskilled to meet the emerging skills challenges.
The European Network for Accreditation of Engineering Education (ENAEE) provides a database of EUR-ACE accredited engineering programmes both in the first and second cycles of higher education. As science and engineering technicians are faced with increasingly global problems, they will benefit from transnational degree programmes, such as those offered under the Erasmus Mundus programme.
For example, the MSc in Sustainable and Innovative Natural Resource Management (SINReM), offered by the consortium of Ghent University, Uppsala University and TU Bergakademie Freiburg. In the interdisciplinary study programme, students are first introduced to themes like the value chain of raw materials, sustainability challenges of the circular economy, new technologies of recovering and extracting precious metals and raw materials form waste systems, sustainable mining, georesouce exploration and entrepreneurship, resources chemistry. In their second year of studies, they will specialise in one the previous themes. Another Erasmus Mundus Joint Master in MSc in Technology of Sustainable Biomass and Bioproducts Engineering (SBBE), offered by the Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Universidad de Castilla – La Mancha, and Lappenranta-Lahti University of Technology, prepares graduates to design, develop and implement process technologies and solutions for the sustainable use of renewable resources. This includes learning how to manufacture biobased products (incl. biofuels, bioenergy, biochemicals, bioplastics, paper, building materials, biocomposites) and their applications.
In addition to initial training, science and engineering technicians will need to upgrade their skillset and knowledge throughout their careers. This is possible in multiple ways – e.g. through education providers, sectoral skills alliances, and projects.
The Blueprint for sectoral cooperation on skills, introduced by the European industrial strategy, is a key European initiative, which aims to create new strategic approaches and collaborate on skills development solutions within industrial ecosystems. These alliances bring together businesses and trade unions, research institutions, education and training institutions and public authorities in a concerted effort to find innovative solutions to skills shortages in their respective sectors. Concerning technicians, the following relevant skills alliances should be highlighted.
For instance, the SAM (or Sector Skills Strategy in Additive Manufacturing) contributes to developing an effective system of identifying and anticipating skills in the AM (e.g. 3D printing) sector. The SAM tackles amongst others challenges like disruptive developments (decentralised supply chain, intelligent materials, digitisation, the green transition) and the lack of methodological approaches to addressing skills need in AM. The EDDIE (Education for Digitalisation of Energy) alliance seeks to develop a long-driven strategy in the European energy sector that will foster digitalisation to enable matching between the current and future demand of skills in the supply of improved VET systems and beyond. At the same time, the METIS (MicroElectronics Training, Industry and Skills) Blueprint alliance addresses the increasing need for advanced skills in the design and manufacture of microelectronics components/systems in the light of development of artificial intelligence.
Proactivity in personal skills development will also be central to science and engineering technicians so that they avoid skill obsolescence and remain relevant in their fields of expertise. Training programmes under the lifelong learning paradigm, such as micro-credentials are becoming increasingly popular as a tool to learn while working. Micro-credentials are short term certified learning outcomes, which offer a flexible way to help people develop their knowledge, skills and competences they need for personal and professional development.
Some blueprint alliances, like METIS, offer a catalogue of courses for future-looking skills development, targeted at professionals in the field of microelectronics. The METIS curriculum divides the courses into thematic areas of Component Design, System Design, Basics of Manufacturing, and Key Competences and Innovative Thinking. In addition, the ARISE project seeks to revolutionise the learning process by changing the delivery and recognition of sustainable energy skills in construction. This includes the development of a gamified training platform which entails a crypto-skills exchange and a learning interface with a system based on skills recognition rather than accreditation. Furthermore, the European Alliance on BIM has created new educational content and resources in the field of Building Information Modelling (BIM), as shown in the box below.
Learning Units relevant for construction technicians (BIMzeED project). Learning Unit 1 (Collaborative BIM to achieve nZEB) The following learning unit aims to give all tools and knowledge necessary to all project team members for BIM workflow generation and application. For this purpose, roles and responsibilities of the different construction team members will be taught, as well as the necessary documents and regulations to consider for the BIM methodology application. The objectives of the learning unit include:
Learning Unit 5 (nZEB Realization and Commissioning: Quality Assurance) The following learning unit focuses on quality assurance of the elements granting a nZEB qualification to the building, like energy production systems and constructive elements, using BIM methodology as a communication tool. The objectives of the learning unit are:
Learning Unit 11 (Nearly Zero Energy Building Facility Management) The following learning unit provides workers with knowledge to improve efficiency during facility management. Preventing and anticipating future problems or improvements and documenting them in a digital communication system between the design team and the facility team is essential. This learning unit will give participants the knowledge to understand the building parameters to consider in order to guarantee its nZEB qualification during its use, like spaces and users schedules, climate control changes, etc. The objectives of this learning unit are:
Source: BIMzeED: Course Information |
How to cite this publication:
Cedefop (2023). Science and engineering technicians: skills opportunities and challenges. Skills intelligence data insight.
Further reading
Beręsewicz, M. and Pater, R. (2021). Inferring job vacancies from online job advertisements, Luxembourg: Publications Office, 2021. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-statistical-working-papers/-/ks-tc-20-008
Bertram, N., Fuchs, S., Mischke, J., Palter, R., Strube, G., Woetzel, J. (2019). ‘Modular construction: From projects to products’, in McKinsey & Company: Operations, report, published 18 June 2019
Chien, C.C., Dauzere-Peres, S., Huh, W.T., Jang, Y.J., Morrison, J.R. (2020). ‘Artificial intelligence in manufacturing and logistics systems: algorithms, applications, and case studies’, in International Journal of Production Research, Vol. 58(9) (Special issue: Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing and Logistics Systems: Algorithms, Applications, and Case Studies)
Cedefop (2021). ‘The green employment and skills transformation: Insights from a European Green Deal skills forecast scenario’. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the EU
Cedefop (2023). Skills in transition: the way to 2035. Luxembourg: Publications Office. http://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2801/438491
Construction Blueprint (2022). Report on the professions and qualifications to be subject of modernization (D5.2.).
European Commission (2020). A new Circular Economy Action Plan: For a cleaner and more competitive Europe. COM(2020) 98 final
European Labour Authority (2021). Report on labour shortages and surpluses.
IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency) (2022). ‘Renewable energy and jobs: Annual review 2022’, IRENA: Abu Dhabi and ILO: Geneva
Lu, Y., Xu, X., Wang, L. (2020). ‘Smart manufacturing process and system automation – A critical review of the standards and envisioned scenarios’. In Journal of Manufacturing Systems, Vol. 56, pp. 312-325
McKinsey (2022a). ‘What are Industry 4.0, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and 4IR?’, McKinsey & Company, article, published 17 August 2022
McKinsey (2022b), ‘Building sustainability into operations’, McKinsey & Company, article, published 19 October 2022
McKinsey (2023), ‘Unlocking the industrial potential of robotics and automation’, in McKinsey & Company: Industrial and Electronics, article, 6 January 2023
Napierala, J.; Kvetan, V. and Branka, J. (2022). Assessing the representativeness of online job advertisements. Luxembourg: Publications Office. Cedefop working paper, No 17. http://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2801/807500
Noterdaeme, O., Schmitz, C., Sliczna, M., Somers, K., van Niel, J. (2018). ‘Mapping heavy industry’s digital manufacturing opportunities’, in McKinsey & Company: Operations, article, published 24 September 2018
Perpignan, C., Baouch, Y., Robin, V., Eynard, B. (2020). ‘Engineering Education perspective for sustainable development: a maturity assessment of cross-disciplinary and advanced technical skills in eco-design’. 27th CIRP Life Cycle Engineering (LCE) Conference, proceedings
Tanner, J., Newbery, C. (2022). ‘Digital Twins in the Chemical Process Industries’, The Chemical Engineer, article, published 29 September 2022
Trienekens, J., Morrenhof, W., Nanda, A., Bozou, E., Lazaro Mojica, J., Kretschmann, L. (2021). ‘Addressing the current and future skill needs for sustainability, digitalisation and the bio-economy in agriculture: European skills agenda and strategy’, Trend and Scenario analysis , FIELDS project, published 30 April 2021
United Nations (2021). ‘United Nations Resource Management System: an overview of concepts, objectives and requirements’, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), Geneva
Zeba, G., Dabic, M., Cicak, M., Daim, T., Yalcin, H. (2021). ‘Technology mining: Artificial intelligence in manufacturing’, in Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Vol. 171
Data insights details
Table of contents
Page 1
SummaryPage 2
Employment and job demandPage 3
Skill needs and future trendsPage 4
Looking forwardPage 5
Further reading