“For around ten years, we have seen the face of employment evolve in the industry, under the effect of a double phenomenon, explains Laetitia Niaudeau, deputy director general of Apec. Between 2009 and 2021, we saw on the one hand an increase in the number of managers (+20%), and on the other hand a decrease in the number of non-managers (-18%). This is explained both by the decline in manufacturing activities and by the need for increasingly specialized and technical skills to cope with energy and digital transformations.”
Needs for executives with technical skills
The 2023 recruitments show this: executive searches by industrial companies mainly focus on technical and scientific professions, such as those of engineers. Among the 15 executive professions most in demand in this sector, those in quality come first, followed by those in methods and industrialization, and professions in industrial production.
Beyond this overall picture, the Apec study shows strong disparities between industrial sectors. It is in the automobile, aeronautics and transport equipment industries – the largest, with 19% of industry executives – that the increase in the executive population is the strongest (+43% between 2009 and 2021) and the highest decline in the non-executive population (- 27%). In 12 years, the management rate has increased from 23 to 37%, the second highest rate in the industry behind electrical and electronic equipment, and identical to that of the pharmaceutical industry.
Big sectoral differences
Two sectors are seeing the number of managers increase significantly and at the same time that of non-managers is maintained – which is rare in the industry: the agri-food industry (+38% of managers between 2009 and 2021) and water and energies (+27%). But the supervision rate remains low in the agri-food industry (9%) while it is high in water and energy (25%).
This increase in the management rate in the industry continued beyond 2021, show the Apec barometers. “The dynamic of executive recruitment was maintained in 2023 and 2024 in industry, while it slowed down in other sectors, testifies Laetitia Niaudeau. The industry restarted later than others after the Covid crisis, it is still catching up. If this level of recruitment is maintained in 2025, therefore beyond a simple time lag, we can say that there is a stronger trend, linked to reindustrialization and the need for specialized skills of companies in the sector .”
Expand the pool by attracting women and young people
Of the 600,600 executives in industry, 28% are women, a rate which has gained 4 points since 2009, but remains much lower than that of all sectors (38%). “The industry must continue its efforts to strengthen its attractiveness among women, who represent a significant pool, and young people, concludes Laetitia Niaudeau. In particular, it must promote the diversity of its professions, which are often little known, to attract profiles who do not spontaneously think of the industry.”
This is one of the goals of Industry Week, which last year mobilized 2.2 million participants around 5,500 events (meetings, factory visits, presence of professionals in schools, etc.) according to the government.
Source: www.usinenouvelle.com
