Khaberni - The head of the Engineers Association, Engineer Abdullah Asim Gosheh, confirmed that the unemployment rate among engineers reaches 19% according to the association's studies, mostly in traditional specializations that have become saturated or stagnant, compared to a growing trend towards modern specializations such as artificial intelligence and renewable energy, which necessitates a reconsideration in education policies and career guidance to ensure balance between supply and demand.
Gosheh also mentioned that the number of engineers registered with the association has reached more than 200,000, about 175,000 of whom reside within the kingdom, and approximately half of them are committed to paying their annual fees, a proportion that is considered one of the highest globally relative to the population size, as there is one engineer for every forty citizens, according to Al-Ghad newspaper.
He indicated that despite the vital role that the engineering education system plays in supporting economic and social development, the market suffers from several challenges, chiefly, according to Gosheh, a saturation of traditional specializations versus limited job opportunities, especially in the public sector, high unemployment rates, and a gap in technical, digital, and behavioral skills such as communication, teamwork, and innovation.
He stressed the weak alignment of academic programs with economic transformations, as digitization, renewable energy, and industrial innovation impose an urgent update of the curricula in addition to the absence of effective partnerships between academia and industry, which deprives students of quality practical training and the emigration of national talents due to poor salaries and unattractive working conditions.
Modern Trends
The head of the Engineers Association said that the engineering job market is undergoing rapid transformations in line with global trends, where new specializations with high growth opportunities emerge, including environmental engineering and renewable energy to enhance sustainability, mechatronics and robotics engineering to support smart manufacturing, biomedical engineering to keep up with developments in healthcare, and information security and cybersecurity to face digital threats, in addition to industrial engineering and process improvement to meet the requirements of quality and efficiency.
The demand for complementary skills such as digital analysis, critical thinking, adaptive leadership, and technological entrepreneurship is also increasing, according to him.
Based on these transformations, the association recommended students to lean towards future specializations, prominently modern technology through artificial intelligence, data science, information security, and software engineering.
It also recommended studying the specialization of sustainability and energy from renewable energy, environment and water, green building, and interdisciplinary specializations such as biomedical engineering, smart cities, and smart transportation.
Recommendations for Improving Reality
To achieve a balance between education and the job market, Gosheh emphasized the need to realign university specializations with market requirements, reduce admissions in saturated specializations, and enhance practical training through partnerships with the industrial sector, and incorporate practical projects in curricula with the development of digital and soft skills as a core part of academic programs.
According to Gosheh, the association's figures indicate that the number of job seekers is about 1,200 engineers, of which 40% are female engineers, while the demand relatively increases in advanced specializations such as renewable energy engineering, information technology, information security, and artificial intelligence.
The Engineers Association revealed in its latest reports the numerical distribution of various engineering specializations among its members, where electrical engineering topped the list with about 69,072 engineers, followed by civil engineering with 61,252 members.
Mechanical engineering ranked third with 41,831 engineers, while architectural engineering recorded 19,072 members. Chemical engineering reached 10,216 members, while the number of engineers in applied engineering did not exceed 2,061 members.
In sectors associated with natural resources, the statistics showed that the number of engineers working in the fields of mining, geology, and petroleum was only 1,710, a number that reflects the limited interest in this field compared to other specializations.
A Comprehensive Path for Skill Development
In a related context, Gosheh confirmed that the association issued a guiding and analytical report on the reality of the engineering job market, stemming from its role in professional guidance and counseling.
He explained that the report aims to provide in-depth readings and practical recommendations directed at engineering students and recent graduates to support their professional launch, pointing out that this effort was the fruit of fruitful cooperation with the Hussein Technical University, which contributed its significant efforts in accomplishing it.
Gosheh emphasized that the engineering profession is not merely an academic specialization, but represents a comprehensive career path for developing skills and competencies that keep up with the rapid transformations in knowledge, technology, and modern practices.
He added that the job market no longer relies solely on academic achievement but is governed by the supply and demand equation, and is affected by structural factors including the size of job seekers and the diversity of required skills, and the flexibility of competencies in facing continuous changes.
He stressed the necessity of fostering a culture of continuous self-learning, enhancing technical and practical capabilities along with personal and leadership skills, which contributes to enhancing the readiness of engineers and their ability to compete locally, regionally, and internationally.
He also explained that the association, in line with its regulatory and advisory role, works to develop an integrated engineering environment based on efficiency, and relies on active partnership with state institutions, universities, the private sector, and civil society.
He confirmed that the association continues to update training programs and qualifications and link them to the requirements of the local, regional, and global markets, ensuring that engineers keep up with the latest developments and enhance their professional presence.
Aligning Specializations with the Job Market
Gosheh urged students and engineers to align their choice of specializations with their personal interests on one hand, and with the indicators of demand in the job market on the other hand, emphasizing that excellence is not tied to a specific specialization, but to the extent it matches the basic skills imposed by the current professional reality.
He added that some specializations may seem limited in local opportunities, but they hold broad horizons in regional and international markets.
He stressed that engineering is a noble humanitarian profession and a lofty societal mission, where its practitioners bear the responsibility of contributing to building a prosperous and secure future, urging engineers to excel, commit, and be efficient to be pioneers in creating positive change in their country and community.
According to the advisory guide, the global job market is undergoing profound changes due to digital transformation and the fourth industrial revolution, where innovations are accelerating to reshape the professional landscape, generating new jobs while traditional ones disappear.
According to the World Economic Forum report for 2025, it is expected that about 92 million jobs will be eliminated by 2030, in contrast to the creation of 170 million new jobs, reflecting a net increase of 78 million jobs worldwide.
Prominent forecasts indicate that approximately 23% of jobs worldwide will change by 2027 due to developments in artificial intelligence and green energy.
For instance, in the United States, it is expected that about 30% of current work hours will be automated by 2030, reflecting the direct impact of artificial intelligence technologies on the job market.
It is also expected that about 12 million people will need to change their professional paths by 2030, with an increasing need to acquire new skills in areas such as artificial intelligence and data analysis, which imposes on educational and union institutions the development of their programs in line with these changes.
