Job prospects Civil Engineer in Ontario

Green job Help - Green job - Help

Green job - Help

This occupation includes job titles whose primary duties and responsibilities lead to positive environmental outcomes. Job Bank uses a list of occupations that were identified as "green" through a task-based analysis conducted by the United States’ Occupational Information Network (O*NET), which was recognized by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and adapted to the National Occupational Classification (NOC) in Canada. This list may change over time. Learn more.

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

Job opportunities in Ontario

Note: These outlooks were updated on November 29^th, 2023. Learn more about our methodology.

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 Canada.

Learn more