Electricians Ranked Among Most Future-Proof Jobs as Demand Surges

Electricians Ranked Among Most Future-Proof Jobs as Demand Surges

Last Updated: 2026-05-29T05:02:04.858-04:00

An April 2026 report from the construction scheduling platform Planera found that electricians have only a 14% risk of their jobs being automated. This low risk, coupled with a growing demand for their skills, makes it a secure profession. The report highlights that the need for electricians is increasing due to aging infrastructure, the expansion of EV charging networks, and the transition to new energy sources. The report also notes the irony that AI data centers, which are driving automation, require electricians for their construction and maintenance, making the profession "as future-proof as a job can get."

The study, which analyzed over 55 manual professions, found that emergency services have the lowest average automation risk at 11%, followed by social services at 12%, and healthcare at 16%. In contrast, industries with more repetitive and process-driven work have a much higher risk of automation, such as agriculture (89%), production (82%), and utilities (81%).

Other jobs with low automation risk include emergency medical technicians (7%), firefighters (9%), healthcare social workers (12%), and police officers (13%). The report used employment data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey from May 2024 and automation risk estimates from a machine learning model trained on O*NET job attribute data.

In other news, students from the Chariho Career and Technical Center's Electrical Technology class visited ProSystems Integration, an automation company in Westerly, to learn about career opportunities in industrial automation. The company's owner, John Brunelle, and his son Jesse, an engineer and Chariho alumnus, gave the students a tour of the facility and explained the various systems they design for a wide range of industries, from medical tubing to food production.

Jesse Brunelle, who graduated from the program two years ago, said he wanted to expose current students to the industrial side of the electrical industry, which he felt was not covered in-depth during his time in the program. He noted that while the technology is constantly changing, the machinery itself has not, and the industry is in need of young talent who are proficient with computers and new technologies.

The class instructor, Ryan Northup, said the field trip provided students with a real-world application of what they are learning in the classroom and could inspire them to pursue a career in industrial automation.

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