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Science and Engineering
Science and Engineering Occupations
Employment grew strongly for this occupational group over the five-year period, with above average growth across all occupations excluding technicians. The recent slowdown of outputs and exports from multinational enterprises, including pharma-related manufacturing, may dampen future growth for some of these occupations if this pattern persists. However, the impact of the green agenda (sustainability) means that as industries in Ireland address issues such as sustainable sourcing, circular lifecycles, energy efficiency, and waste minimization, the skills mix of the workforce will also need to evolve, with a continued strong demand for scientists and engineers in order to fully implement these changes. Output from third level education remains strong. Nonetheless, while these numbers are more than sufficient to meet replacement demand and growth, the skills of these graduates are in strong demand across of a wide range of other economic sectors (e.g. education, health, ICT).
Skills shortages:
analytical, process, and medical scientists
engineers (quality control/assurance, process, design, mechanical, electrical, automation)
maintenance/lab technicians