French engineers easily find a job, but companies, conversely, encounter great difficulty in filling their positions, according to the annual survey of the society of engineers and scientists of France IESF conducted among former students of schools of French engineers, and published on Wednesday.
“
Recruitment and mobility have returned to their pre-crisis level.
Activity rebounded sharply in 2021 after the 2020 recession linked to the Covid-19 pandemic
,” the IESF said.
Read alsoRecruitment: the public service no longer seduces, even at the highest level
The unemployment rate for engineers, 3.2% including young graduates (2.2% otherwise), "
is among the lowest levels recorded
", according to the survey.
On the other hand, the rebound in activity has resulted in a return of difficulties for recruiters: 20% of recruiters questioned "
encountered difficulties in recruiting for all profiles, a level unequaled in the last eight years
", only 39 % having not experienced any particular difficulty.
The hydrogen sector is looking for 5,000 engineers
The nature of the difficulties varies according to the profiles sought, specifies the IESF, which cites for example "
excessive salary requirements for experts in artificial intelligence or cybersecurity
", or a "
absence on the market of certain profiles of technical experts
" .
.
"
Companies are having trouble recruiting engineers because we don't make enough of them
," summed up Marc Rumeau, president of the IESF, during an interview with AFP.
Some 38,000 new engineers present themselves each year on the labor market in France, while, according to him, it would take about 60,000.
The hydrogen sector would lack 5,000 engineers, the air and space sector 10,000, nuclear power, in full recovery, lacks 10,000 engineers and technicians, according to information available to Marc Rumeau.
The reform of the high school in question?
Concerning this specific sector, Marc Rumeau points the finger at the lack of political impetus, echoing the recent remarks of the CEO of EDF Jean-Bernard Lévy, curtly reframed by President Macron: "
It's been 30 years that we have foot on the nuclear brake and very strongly for ten years, so we have not recruited and even less trained in these sectors
, ”he laments.
The phenomenon of lack of engineers is not new, but has increased in recent years, due to several factors, he said.
He notably mentioned the high school reform which removed mathematics from the common core from the first class and caused a substantial drop in applications, in particular female, a deletion to which the executive promised to return.
"
We are starting to feel pressure on the pipeline of preparatory classes and therefore of engineering schools
," said Marc Rumeau.
