The Canadian economy’s “green shift” will create a demand for a new generation of engineers with new areas of expertise, a recent report says.

According to Green Collar Jobs, RBC economists say that as many as 3.1 million Canadian jobs “will be disrupted over the next 10 years as the country transitions toward a Net Zero economy.”

That accounts for as much as 15 per cent of the country’s labour force. The report, released last month, further noted that certain “highly-paid, highly-skilled” positions will face more dramatic changes initially, and engineering will be among the sectors most affected.

“Managers in engineering, architecture, utilities and manufacturing are already seeing over 50% of their tasks shift due to the climate transition — five times that of managers on average,” the report said. “Companies like Vancouver’s Ballard Power Systems [TSX:BLDP], at the forefront of the energy transition, will need engineers trained in the rapidly-evolving technology of hydrogen fuel cells.”

The report estimates that such a demand – if not met with the proper retraining of engineers and the education of engineering graduates – may mean a dramatic labour shortfall in Canadian engineering.

“That shortfall will be more painful in some sectors than others,” the report continued. “For instance, Canada will be short about 7,500 senior managers and 7,300 engineers and physical scientists as demand for these skills soars. As clean electricity grows as a key source of energy, workers with electrical skills will be highly sought after. Overall, by 2030, 98,000 new positions will be created in jobs where skills won’t change but will be in increased demand due to the climate transition.”

Mehran Ahmadi is one of the report’s contributors.

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