Job prospects Civil Engineer in Ontario

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Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "civil engineer" in Ontario or across Canada.

Job opportunities in Ontario

These outlooks were updated on November 29, 2023.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be good for Civil engineers (NOC 21300) in Ontario for the 2023-2025 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to several new positions.
• A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

What Types of Employers Are Out There?

• Leading share employed in architectural, engineering and related services
• Public administration, mainly municipal governments
• Construction

What are the Main Trends Affecting Employment?

• Public-sector infrastructure investments in highways and bridges, stormwater management, and in transit systems
• Population growth, which is resulting in significant levels of new residential construction, especially of condominium developments in various areas of the province

What Skills Do I Need to Succeed?

• In addition to other formal education, employers may require several years of experience working in a particular field of civil engineering and project management skills
• Knowledge of drafting and engineering design software such as AutoCAD or Autodesk Revit is often required
• Generally, ‘engineering’ is a regulated occupation in Ontario. Individuals must be licensed by Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) to practise ‘professional’ engineering in the province
  • An unlicensed engineering graduate can carry out work in the occupation, however a licensed engineer must take responsibility and sign off on the work

What Other Information Will I Find Helpful?

• In general, Bridging Programs are available to assist internationally trained professionals in various fields enter the labour market more quickly in the province
• Engineers may travel to various sites across the province.

Here are some key facts about Civil engineers in Ontario:

• Approximately 24,400 people work in this occupation.
• Civil engineers mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Architectural, engineering and design services (NAICS 5413): 56%
  • Construction (NAICS 23): 14%
  • Local, municipal, regional, aboriginal and other public administration (NAICS 913-919): 7%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 94% compared to 81% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 6% compared to 19% for all occupations
• 80% of civil engineers work all year, while 20% work only part of the year, compared to 63% and 37% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 47 weeks compared to 43 weeks for all occupations.
• 11% of civil engineers are self-employed compared to an average of 15% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 81% compared to 52% for all occupations
  • Women: 19% compared to 48% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: less than 5% compared to 9% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: less than 5% compared to 25% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: less than 5% compared to 8% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 10% compared to 22% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: 53% compared to 24% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: 33% compared to 13% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in Ontario by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology

Labour market conditions over the next 10 years

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "civil engineer" in Ontario or across Canada.

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