A high demand of engineers in 2022
A clear majority of engineering companies plan to recruit more engineers in 2022 than this year. Six companies need to hire at least 1,000 engineers. Computer technology, battery technology, power transmission and community building are some areas that are in great demand.
– Published 26 November 2021
The magazine Ingenjören has asked more than 50 large engineering employers about their recruitment needs of engineers in 2022 and 31 of them have answered.
Of these, 21 state that they need to recruit more engineers in 2022 than in 2021. The answers include both new positions and replacement recruitments.
The six companies that state that they plan to recruit around 1,000 engineers next year are Ericsson, Sweco, WSP, Vattenfall, Volvo AB and Volvo Cars. It shows that the demand for engineers is high in everything from telecom and energy to community building and the automotive industry.
The Swedish Transport Administration is the public employer (in addition to state-owned Vattenfall) that has the greatest need for recruitment. Next year, the Swedish Transport Administration plans to employ between 750 and 1,000 engineers.
High demand in many areas
Employers demand a wide range of engineering skills. The specializations most in demand by "the big six" (the six companies that together need to recruit over 6,000 engineers by 2022) are energy, power transmission, climate and social change, computer technology, software, battery technology, information technology and technical physics.
The consulting companies in community construction recruit engineers all over the country.
Among other things, WSP needs to employ many engineers in the metropolitan regions. The work with the new bus terminal at Slussen in Stockholm and the project with Västlänken in Gothenburg are two examples.
- In addition, a lot happens in northern Sweden. New industries are being established and both housing and other infrastructure need to be built for everyone who moves there, says Ellen Huitfeldt, press officer at WSP.
At the moment, work is also underway to carry out a re-examination in accordance with the Environmental Code for all of Sweden's hydropower plants. It is a large project that will last for up to 20 years and WSP is one of several companies that have been commissioned.
Several employers also answer that they need to recruit expertise in artificial intelligence, including Saab AB and FOI in the defense industry.
- AI is often used as a basis for decisions and to solve complex problems. Therefore, the expertise is widely needed in our business, says Lena Eliasson, HR director at Saab AB.
A majority of the engineers that Saab recruits are recent graduates. The forecast is to recruit 1,000 newly graduated engineers during the coming three-year period.