The global technology sector is facing a critical talent shortage that could slow the pace of innovation. According to the latest Manpower report, Global Engineering World of Work Outlook 2026, the semiconductor sector alone will need to attract one million additional workers by 2030 to meet demand for integrated circuits. Another key challenge is the “silver tsunami” — the mass retirement of experienced employees. Over the next decade, as much as 20% of experienced talent may leave the global labour market.
The rapid development of digital technologies has made semiconductors a strategically important resource. At the same time, demand for skilled workers in the sector is growing faster than companies’ ability to recruit and develop them. By 2030, the industry will need around one million additional specialists worldwide, while current shortages are expected to include more than 100,000 engineers in Europe and more than 200,000 in the Asia-Pacific region. The situation is particularly difficult for specialist and senior specialist roles, which require both advanced technical skills and operational experience.
The “Silver Tsunami” and the Future of Talent
One of the main challenges is the “silver tsunami”, meaning the mass retirement of experienced workers. Over the next decade, up to 20% of the global workforce may leave the labour market. The problem is deepened by a mentoring crisis — as many as 57% of employees have never received support from more experienced colleagues. To preserve continuity of skills, companies must focus on developing engineering talent, including by activating women in the labour market and moving away from recruitment based solely on degrees in favour of skills-based hiring, particularly in areas such as digital twin modelling and proficiency in working with AI.
As Tomasz Walenczak, General Manager of ManpowerGroup, points out, Poland is an important hub in the global semiconductor supply chain, mainly in R&D, chip design and software development.
“In Poland, we have strong engineering and software competencies, as well as a well-developed electronics sector. At the same time, due to the increasing globalisation of the labour market, we are competing for the same experts as the United States, the Nordic countries and Germany. Companies are competing not only with salaries, but also with projects, development opportunities and the working environment. In practice, this means that the outflow of experienced specialists is a real risk for companies in Poland, and employers must fight to retain them. From the labour market perspective, it is also crucial that the current talent shortage already concerns experienced engineers. Building competencies at this level takes around five to ten years. However, to benefit from the boom in the semiconductor industry, we need to scale up education and attract experienced workers from abroad,” adds the head of ManpowerGroup.
Pressure on Energy and Infrastructure
Global power demand from data centres is estimated to double by 2030, making electrical engineering one of the most sought-after professions in the world. In the coming years, global energy demand is expected to grow by more than 3.5% annually on average, forcing intensive development of electricity generation from renewable energy sources, natural gas and nuclear power.
According to Marta Szymańska, specialization leader and labour market expert at Manpower, the scale of investment in digital and energy infrastructure is directly affecting the labour market.
“The dynamic development of data centres, which are the foundation of AI growth, is already generating millions of jobs, yet as many as 58% of operators have difficulty filling technical roles. At the same time, growing demand for energy, driven among other things by transport electrification and the rapid increase in demand from digital technologies, is leading to the accelerated creation of specialised engineering roles in areas such as power systems, energy efficiency and grid management. As a result, the largest employment increases are now concentrated in infrastructure segments covering transmission, energy generation and optimisation of energy use, which account for as much as 75% of new jobs created as part of the energy transition,” the expert adds.
A New Approach to Productivity
In the face of shortages of resources and skilled personnel, the industry must look to technology and sustainable planning for support. One response to these challenges is the model of the “technology-augmented engineer”, in which AI-based task automation can increase productivity by as much as 30–40%. At the same time, as the sector moves away from a linear model towards a circular economy, it is responding to growing pressure on raw materials and the scale of waste, which could reach 3.4 billion tonnes by 2050. This is not only an environmental challenge, but also a labour market driver, as demand grows for engineers and specialists developing sustainable solutions.
“The very nature of engineering work is also changing. In sectors most exposed to the impact of artificial intelligence, the role is evolving from execution towards design and integration. The engineer is becoming an architect of solutions, capable of using digital technologies to build more complex systems. Automation is gradually eliminating routine tasks while significantly increasing demand for higher-order skills such as data analysis, systems design and integration of technological solutions. In practice, this means shifting the centre of gravity from operational work to strategic work, where the key factor is the ability to combine engineering, digital and business knowledge,” Szymańska adds.
About the Report
The Global Engineering World of Work Outlook 2026 report, prepared by Manpower, analyses seven key trends that will shape the global engineering labour market by 2030.
