Interested in a career in engineering? Essential to your education is getting to know the industry – not only in your home country, but a worldwide view can give you a leading edge. GoinGlobal’s constantly updated expert career and employment resources can help. In-depth analysis of industry trends and hiring outlooks by sector, can be found in GoinGlobal’s Country and Global City Career Guides.
In our Career Guides, we include engineering sections which offer information on the employment outlook, major employers, in-demand jobs and future trends in the sector. The information is tailored by location. Some guides will also offer information about education in the field.
How Do I Get Started?
Look for ‘Hiring Opportunities’ in any of our Country and City Career Guides, and click ‘Employment and Industry Trends’ and then ‘Industry Trends/Opportunities.’ Industries are listed in alphabetical order.
Here is a brief excerpt from our Country Career Guide for Germany:
Germany
Engineering: Employment Outlook
Engineering is one of Germany’s greatest strengths. It is the largest industrial sector and accounts for 24% of industrial revenue. Out of 75 top automotive suppliers in the world, 15 are German.
The country is a manufacturing powerhouse, home to giants such as Siemens, BMW Group and ThyssenKrupp.
The automotive industry, in particular, is a dominant force in the economy and employs many engineers. This includes high-tech automotive products such as autonomous driving vehicles, for which Germany is a world leader.
The automotive industry is not the only avenue for engineers. There are also thriving pharmaceutical, construction, medical device, chemical, plastics, aerospace and energy sectors – all of which need engineers.
In addition, there are also specialized sectors such as electric and electronic equipment and mechanical engineering.
Occupations in civil and structural engineering and in mechatronics are listed prominently in the Federal Employment Agency’s Skilled Labor Shortage Analysis.
Industrial occupational groups with the most vacancies this year are:
- Logistics
- Mechatronics, energy and electrical
- Mechanical and automotive engineering
- Metal production/processing/construction
- Vehicle and transport equipment manufacturing
Industrial activity is concentrated in the states of Baden-Württemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia, where more than 1,600 production facilities operate.
Foreign engineers must have their qualifications verified to hold the job title of ‘engineer’ or ‘consulting engineer.’ Recognition in Germany provides more information.
Areas of Job Promise
Engineering, IT and health care are the sectors that suffer from talent shortages the most. Engineers are needed as a result of the country’s infrastructure development projects and its digital transformation.
To tackle the shortage, the government is working with IT companies on education initiatives to attract young people to fields such as STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).
At the same time, the government is working on increasing the work quality for people in these sectors (such as better salaries or promoting a better work-life balance) and on enhancing women, older people and migrants’ participation into the workforce.
The engineering roles that experience the major shortages are:
- Mechanical engineers
- Construction engineers
- Electrical engineers
- Automechanics
- Autoelectricians
Mechatronics
Mechatronics engineers – those who work with smart technologies and have expertise in mechanics, electronics and computer software – are in high demand, especially in the medical technology, automotive and electrical industries.
Automotive
German cars are known for their technical innovation, product quality and safety. The automotive industry employs over 750,000 workers.
The industry’s transformation is ongoing, and there is a strong emphasis on innovation. More than 60% of R&D growth in Europe was generated by the German motor vehicles sector. One-third of worldwide automotive R&D spending was made by German original equipment manufacturers.
One important future trend in the industry is electric car battery production. Volkswagen is part of a consortium of companies that this year launched a trial of vehicles with bi-directional charging capabilities – technology that allows unused energy to flow back into the grid.
Top auto manufacturers include:
- Volkswagen Group
- Daimler
- BMW Group
- Porsche
- Audi
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