Chemical Industry Talent Trends

Skills Gaps, Cost Pressures, and Global Competition Reshaping Mid-Career Hiring – Chemical Industry Talent Trends 2025

The global chemicals and polymers industry is undergoing one of its most significant workforce transitions in decades. As companies navigate rising energy costs, push to meet sustainability targets, and maintain competitiveness in an increasingly globalised market, the pressure on talent strategies has intensified. Nowhere is this more evident than in the search for mid-career professionals – those with 10–15 years of experience who sit at the intersection of technical depth, operational leadership, and commercial insight.

To understand how organisations are responding to these challenges, Skills Alliance surveyed HR, TA and Business leaders across the industry. The results reveal a sector grappling with skills shortages, budget constraints, shifting regional talent pools, and the urgent need to upskill existing teams. Far from isolated issues, these trends are interconnected and reflective of the structural changes shaping the future of chemical manufacturing and innovation.

The following analysis brings together these insights to highlight the barriers employers face, the regions driving talent availability, and the strategic pivots companies are making as they compete for the next generation of technical leaders.

Macro Headwinds & Hiring Barriers: A Market Under Strain

The chemicals and polymers industry continues to operate under mounting macroeconomic and regulatory pressures. Energy costs remain volatile, competition from lower-cost regions is intensifying, and sustainability legislation is tightening across major markets. Against this backdrop, companies are finding it increasingly challenging to hire mid-career professionals with the 10–15 years of experience needed to run complex processes, lead projects, and guide operational transformation.

When industry participants were asked to identify the biggest barrier to hiring experienced talent, the results revealed a strikingly divided landscape. A 38% plurality pointed to a persistent skills gap – a reflection of how quickly technical, digital, and regulatory requirements are evolving compared with the pace of available workforce development. Many organisations note that while there is a solid supply of early-career professionals, the depth of specialised experience required for mid-senior technical roles is becoming harder to find.

Close behind, 35% of respondents cited cost pressures, highlighting how inflation, energy pricing, and margin compression are reshaping hiring strategies. Companies are being more selective, with some delaying new hires or reallocating budgets toward essential operations rather than bringing on additional expertise. Meanwhile, 18% pointed to global competition, underscoring how talent shortages are not confined to one region- organisations worldwide are competing for the same pool of seasoned specialists. Only 9% selected new regulations, though many noted that changing compliance demands often compound the skills gap rather than stand alone as a barrier.

Taken together, the data shows an industry grappling with a complex mix of structural and economic barriers, each reinforcing the others.

Skills & Experience Gap: A Critical Mid-Career Shortage

Beyond the reasons behind hiring difficulties, the scale of the mid-career talent shortage is becoming increasingly visible. When asked how serious the gap has become in their chemical businesses, 50% of respondents described it as either “very serious” (25%) or “somewhat serious” (25%).

This sentiment reflects several broad trends reshaping the workforce:

• Competition from other technology-driven industries – including energy transition, batteries, advanced materials, and semiconductors – which are drawing talent away with new career paths and higher compensation.
• Declining numbers of chemistry and chemical engineering graduates, particularly in Europe and North America, reducing the long-term pipeline for specialised technical roles.
• Shifting career expectations, as professionals increasingly value flexibility, mobility, and work aligned with sustainability and innovation.

Interestingly, 33% indicated the gap is “not too serious,” and 17% reported no meaningful shortage – a sign that the issue is highly regional and company-specific. Strong internal development programmes, co-op pipelines, or proximity to established talent clusters appear to buffer some organisations from the pain others are feeling acutely.

Regional Talent Sources: A More Global, More Competitive Landscape

As local pipelines tighten, companies are broadening their search for experienced professionals. When asked which regions currently offer the strongest pool of 10–15-year talent, the responses point to a world with two equal centres of gravity: Europe and Asia-Pacific.

• Europe – 35%
• Asia-Pacific – 35%
• North America – 26%
• Other / mixed – 4%

Europe continues to benefit from established chemical clusters, specialised universities, and decades-deep expertise. However, Asia-Pacific’s equal ranking reflects the region’s rapid capacity expansion, investment in advanced manufacturing, and emergence of a deeply skilled workforce – particularly across polymers, petrochemicals, and downstream materials.

North America’s 26% share demonstrates continued strength but also signals increasing pressure, as many companies report challenges related to retirements, labour mobility, and insufficient new graduates.

Cross-border hiring is becoming more common, but respondents point to ongoing challenges: relocation constraints, cultural differences, slower onboarding times, and the risk of losing global talent to competing regions once mobile professionals gain experience.

Talent Strategy Priorities: Upskilling Takes Centre Stage

Given rising costs, intensifying competition, and a shrinking mid-career pipeline, companies are rethinking where to focus their talent investments. When asked to identify their top priority, nearly half selected upskilling:

• Upskilling staff – 45%
• Hiring new talent – 18%
• Retaining key people – 18%
• Cost control – 18%

The emphasis on capability development signals a shift: many organisations now recognise that external hiring alone cannot address the depth and complexity of the talent gap. Instead, building internal capability – whether through cross-training, formal learning programmes, digital upskilling, or leadership development – is becoming the most sustainable path forward.

Hiring, retention, and cost control remain important, but each captured just 18%, suggesting companies are being selective and strategic rather than pursuing broad recruitment pushes. This aligns with the tightening budgets highlighted earlier and reflects a desire to ensure every talent investment directly supports business resilience and growth.

Navigating a Talent Market in Transition

The data reveals an industry at a critical turning point. Skills shortages, rising costs, global competition, and an evolving regional talent map are converging to reshape how chemical and polymer companies build their workforces.

The organisations that adapt successfully will be those that:

• Treat upskilling as a core capability, not a side initiative
• Strengthen global talent pipelines and regional mobility
• Invest in retention and succession for mid-career technical experts
• Balance cost control with targeted capability development
• Build flexible, forward-looking talent strategies aligned with sustainability and innovation demands

The challenges are significant – but so are the opportunities for companies that take a proactive, modernised approach to talent.