In engineering, one of our most important industry-wide initiatives is workforce development.
Here’s the math: in 2022, about 184,000 engineers retired or left the profession. Only 166,000 new graduates came in behind them. That’s a net shortage of 18,000 engineers a year — and, per the ACEC Research Institute’s Workforce Study: Engineering’s Talent Pipeline and Future Demand this is not a one-year blip, it’s a trend line. The gap starts early, in how few students even consider engineering, and it just compounds through college and into the workforce.
This is exactly why ACEC created The Pipeline Project; it is built to address the pipeline with our members. Starting in 2026, ACEC partnered with the ACE Mentor Program of America, a well-established program that pairs students with real engineering professionals, to bring that mentorship model into every state and region where ACEC members operate. The goal isn’t awareness for awareness’s sake. It’s a pipeline: get students in front of the profession early and keep them in it.
The program already has real reach. ACE puts 14,000+ students in front of the industry every year, backed by 5,000+ volunteers across 70+ affiliates nationwide. More than 1,000 ACE alumni go on to join the AEC industry annually. The infrastructure to close this gap already exists and needs more engineering firms to embrace mentoring as way to move the needle.