French small modular reactor developer Blue Capsule Technology has announced the start of construction of ELISE - a full-size test rig for sodium at high temperatures - at Peyrolles-en-Provence, in collaboration with France's CSTI Groupe.

South Africa’s engineering shortage is well‑documented. The country has far fewer engineers per capita than global benchmarks, and this shortage is visible in infrastructure failures, delayed energy projects, and slow digital transformation.

Below is a breakdown of the engineering skills currently in highest demand.

Civil, Structural & Infrastructure Engineering
These are among the most critically short skills in the country.

Fresh data shows Canada is short 64,000 skilled workers in engineering and technical occupations, creating a major talent gap.  This shortage spans multiple engineering disciplines, driven by infrastructure expansion, clean‑energy investment, and rapid digital transformation.

Below is a structured breakdown of the engineering skills currently in highest demand.

Civil, Structural and Infrastructure Engineering
Canada’s infrastructure boom is creating sustained demand for:

The UK faces one of the largest engineering skills gaps in Europe. 

Demand is being driven by: 

• Major infrastructure projects (HS2, rail upgrades, highways, water networks)
• Energy transition (renewables, grid upgrades, hydrogen, nuclear)
• Defence and aerospace investment
• Digitalisation and automation
• Ageing workforce and retirement rates

Below is a full breakdown of the engineering skills currently in highest demand.

Construction and Infrastructure Engineering

Australia’s labour market continues to experience significant shortages across technical, engineering, healthcare, digital, and trade‑based occupations. The demand is driven by major infrastructure projects, the clean‑energy transition, population growth, and rapid digital transformation.

Below is a breakdown of the most in‑demand engineering skill areas.

Construction and Infrastructure Engineering

New Zealand needs 1,500–2,300 additional engineers every year to meet industry demand, but the country is not producing or attracting enough engineers to fill the gap. This shortage is long‑term and worsening due to low graduate numbers, immigration challenges, and engineers leaving for overseas opportunities.

Civil, Structural and Infrastructure Engineering
These are among the most critically short skills in the country.

The Bill Gates-chaired company's Natrium 345 MWe sodium-cooled fast reactor with a molten-salt-based energy storage system has been accepted into the UK's Generic Design Assessment process.

TerraPower submitted its Generic Design Assessment (GDA) application in October, the first regulatory filing for Natrium technology in a market outside the USA.

Navantia UK has set a target of hiring 500 apprentices by 2030 to support the business’s expansion in shipbuilding, engineering and in supplying the offshore energy industry.

Following its purchase of Harland & Wolff’s assets last year, Navantia UK is investing in building a new generation of industrial skills in three of the UK’s four nations – England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Hinkley Point C has today unveiled its End of Year film, offering a rare glimpse into the work that happens after dark on Britain’s biggest infrastructure project.

In the video, Project Construction Director Rob Jordan takes viewers behind the scenes of the night shift that keeps the site moving 24/7.

14,000 people are working around the clock to deliver Britain’s first nuclear power station in more than 30 years. 4,600 companies from across Britain have also played their part and stand ready to deliver future projects like Sizewell C.

System is one of three fish protection systems, giving Hinkley Point C more fish protection than any other power station in the world, costing £700 million

Successful completion of the testing would mean the project believes further compensation measures should not be required

Sea trials carried out by Swansea University have shown that an acoustic fish deterrent developed for Hinkley Point C is highly effective. The innovative use of ultrasound technology has been shown to keep target fish species away from the power station’s water intakes. 

Linxon has confirmed its long-term commitment to the transformation of Scotland’s transmission network as it officially opens its first office in Scotland.

The new office, located on Bothwell Street, in Glasgow, will serve as a key base for Linxon’s work with Scotland’s two transmission operators, SSEN Transmission and SP Energy Networks.

Ore Energy, the Netherlands-based iron-air long-duration energy storage startup, today announced the successful completion of a grid-connected technical pilot of its 100-hour iron-air energy storage system at EDF Lab les Renardières in Écuelles, France, as part of the European Union's Storage Research Infrastructure Eco-System ("StoRIES") programme. The pilot - among the first of its kind in Europe - demonstrated that the company's iron-air LDES technology is able to deliver multi-day energy storage in a real-world utility environment.