Job Offers and 3D Printing: What Are the Major Trends and Developments?

Every year, 3Dnatives takes a look back at the 3D printing job market, to find out what the major trends are for the coming years. To do this, we rely on the job offers published on our Job Board, in French, English, Spanish, Italian and German. And in 2023, there were over 650 such vacancies, 81% of them for permanent contracts. Recruitment is a long-term process, and has been for several years now, proving that companies want to consolidate their teams and are betting on a forward-looking strategy. In terms of profiles, the trend remains constant: the market is looking for technicians, operators and engineers with specific knowledge and skills. 62% of vacancies published call for this type of qualification. Last but not least, the 3D printing software sector has confirmed its place in the job market, with an increasing number of vacancies published over the last three years.

Let’s begin our analysis with something that is slightly less positive: compared to 2022, 2023 was less successful in terms of the number of job offers published (900 versus 668). It has to be said that the market has undergone upheavals in an uncertain economic and political context. Many companies implemented massive redundancy plans, curbed recruitment and preferred to consolidate their gains. As a result, supply was not as plentiful as it was after COVID. But the market remains buoyant, thanks in particular to large companies and end-users who are beginning to invest in additive manufacturing and build up dedicated clusters.

Types of contracts sought after

What Are the Most Sought-After Professions?

Once again this year, jobs in production, design and development were in the greatest demand. These are jobs that call on technical skills and generally involve hardware. Examples include 3D printer operators, production managers, machine designers, etc. The “Maintenance and Support” branch accounts for 14% of published job offers.

Compared to 2022, in 2023, we saw a call for more sales profiles – 13% versus 9% in 2022. As you would expect, these are mainly companies looking for salespeople.

Recruiting Sectors

Once again this year, it’s the additive manufacturing players who have recruited the most – we’re talking here about 3D equipment manufacturers, distributors and printing services. This figure is even higher than for 2022 (41% VS 38%). It’s worth noting that industry in the broadest sense continues to recruit massively, proof that additive manufacturing is a production method that is beginning to make inroads on industrial sites. One example is rail giant Wabtec, which opened a dedicated additive manufacturing center in Tours, France in November 2023, to accelerate the production of metal and plastic parts for its onboard doors and TGVs.

Sectors that recruited the most in 2023

Finally, it’s worth noting that software publishers seem to have an increasingly strong recruitment policy, seeking to beef up their teams to offer more effective modeling, control and printing solutions. It has to be said that there are now many tools available to design for additive manufacturing, not only in terms of CAD, but also production planning, automation and quality control. It’s a market sector we’ll be keeping a close eye on in the years to come!

Overall, despite a drop in supply in 2023, the 3D printing job market remains true to the trends observed over the last 5 years. It remains to be seen whether, this year, companies will further tighten their recruitment policies, or whether, on the contrary, they will broaden their spectrum and go in search of more candidates. In the meantime, if you’re a player looking for profiles in additive manufacturing, don’t hesitate to post your job offers HERE, free of charge.

Download the Full Infographic HERE

What do you think of the additive manufacturing job market? What trends have you seen for job offers in 3D printing? Let us know in a comment below or on our LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter pages! Don’t forget to sign up for our free weekly newsletter here, the latest 3D printing news straight to your inbox! You can also find all our videos on our YouTube channel.

*All Image Credits: 3Dnatives