Electric, Autonomous Vehicles Expected to Create 100,000 Skilled Jobs

Dramatic changes in the automotive industry are likely to generate tens of thousands of jobs over the next decade-plus, according to a newly released study.

But the analysis from Boston Consulting Group and Detroit Mobility Lab noted that trend is also likely to make the current shortage of highly skilled workers worse.

The report projected that 20% of vehicles will feature hybrid or plug-in electric powertrains by 2030, and that 10% would feature partially autonomous or self-driving capabilities.

Those technologies — including the addition of smart infrastructure systems — are expected to create more than 100,000 skilled jobs in a burgeoning U.S. “mobility industry.” But analysts noted that 30,000 of those jobs would require engineers with degrees in computer-related fields.

The report noted that companies in many evolving industrial sectors already have difficulty attracting or retraining highly skilled workers, and that demand will be heightened due to the fact that new mobility engineers will need to be fluent not only in math and physics, but also in machine learning, data science, and robotics.

Analysts stressed that companies need to begin planning for industry changes immediately — and that those plans should consider the metro areas that are likely to churn out high numbers of in-demand engineers in the coming decade.

The addition of autonomous trucking and drone technologies, they noted, could push the projected number of new engineering jobs even higher.

“Those that delay could find it difficult to compete,” Boston Consulting Group senior partner Xavier Mosquet said in a statement.

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