French engineers find work easily, because companies, on the contrary, find it very difficult to fill their positions, according to the annual survey of the French society of engineers and scientists IESF conducted among alumni of French engineering schools, and published on Wednesday. .
“Hiring and mobility have returned to their pre-crisis level. Activity rebounded strongly in 2021 after the 2020 recession linked to the Covid-19 pandemic”, indicates the IESF.
The unemployment rate for engineers, 3.2% including young graduates (2.2% for the rest), “is at the lowest levels on record,” according to the survey.
requirements too high
On the other hand, the rebound in activity has translated into the return of difficulties for recruiters: 20% of the recruiters surveyed “have found it difficult to hire in all profiles, a level unmatched in the last eight years” , only 39% have not experienced any special difficulties.
The nature of the difficulties varies according to the profiles sought, specifies the IESF, which cites, for example, “excessive salary demands for experts in artificial intelligence or cybersecurity”, or a “lack in the market of certain profiles of technical experts”.
“Companies have problems hiring engineers because we don’t do enough of them,” summed up Marc Rumeau, president of the IESF, during an interview with AFP.
Some 38,000 new engineers appear each year on the job market in France, while around 60,000 would be needed, according to Rumeau.
The hydrogen sector would lack 5,000 engineers, the air and space sector 10,000, the nuclear sector, in full recovery, would lack 10,000 engineers and technicians, according to information available to Rumeau.
Nuclear: lack of political momentum
With regard to this specific sector, Mr. Rumeau points to the lack of political momentum, echoing recent statements by EDF CEO Jean-Bernard Lévy, briefly restated by President Macron: “30 years have passed since we stepped on the nuclear brake and with great force for ten years, so we have not recruited and less trained in these sectors”, laments Mr. Rumeau.
The phenomenon of the lack of engineers is not new, but it has increased in recent years, due to various factors, he said.
In particular, he mentioned the secondary school reform that removed mathematics from the common core of the first class and caused a substantial merger of applications, particularly female ones, a removal on which the executive promised to return.
“We are starting to feel pressure on channeling preparatory classes and therefore engineering schools,” said Mr. Rumeau.
Source: BFM TV
