GCRI · Quantum Technologies
Quantum workforce
Quantum technology needs people who combine physics with engineering, software, cryogenics, photonics and business skills. Demand is growing faster than training programmes, and talent concentrates in a few countries and firms. This page sets out how the quantum workforce is formed, where gaps lie, how skills are measured, and what evidence serves universities, employers and governments building it.
Quantum workforce on the record.
Quantum workforce: how the risk develops.
Research capacity and scarce skills. The dossier below sets out how the risk develops, what is measured, where the data come from, how it is modelled and who decides.
Training is concentrated
Most quantum specialists train in a few research universities. Countries without such programmes rely on recruiting from abroad.
Roles go beyond physics
Building quantum systems needs engineers, technicians, software developers and product staff, not only physicists, and these roles are often overlooked.
Talent is mobile and contested
Researchers move between countries and between academia and industry, and immigration and security rules affect where they can work.
Diversity is limited
The field draws from disciplines with low representation of women and some groups, which narrows the talent pool.
Post-quantum migration tracker.
The screen a team would use to follow this subject: its measures, states and decisions. Names are examples and values are illustrative.
Post-quantum migration tracker
Quantum workforce · Crypto inventory · Wave 2
Migration
- Inventoryall crypto
- Prioritisedata lifetime
- Selectstandard algorithms
- Hybrid deployclassical and PQC
- Testinterop
- Cut overretire
Systems by priority
| Archive signing | RSA-2048 | 29 | ML-DSA hybrid | Piloting |
| VPN gateway | ECDH | 8 | ML-KEM hybrid | Planned |
| Payments HSM | RSA-3072 | 7 | Vendor roadmap | Blocked |
| Web TLS | ECDHE | 3 | Hybrid key exchange | Done |
Progress
Quantum skills are scarce and unevenly spread.
- EnergyCouplingEnergy and materials research compete for the same specialists.What to watchGraduate pipelines
- HealthCouplingMedical physics shares skills with quantum sensing.What to watchCross-training routes
- WaterCouplingSecurity teams in utilities need cryptography skills for migration.What to watchMigration skills in operators
Workforce studies are designed for the Exponential Technology series. The International Year of Quantum (2025) raised attention to education; programmes are listed with their sources.
- Curricula and training evaluations.
- Labour market data for quantum roles.
How quantum workforce is modelled, measured and tested.
The model, its assumptions, its data and its uncertainty, in the form a scientist or engineer would check. Structures follow published methods. The values drawn are illustrative, not findings.
System model
The couplings between the systems in quantum workforce: signs of influence, a reinforcing and a balancing loop, and cross-links where stress jumps.
What is measured, and how well.
Each indicator carries its unit, its cadence, the kind of source behind it and the evidence label a value would carry. No values are shown: a programme supplies them under its own authority.
| Indicator | Unit | Cadence | Source type | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quantum-related degree programmes | count | annual | University programme surveys | REPORTED |
| Quantum job postings | count by role type | quarterly | Job posting data | OBSERVED |
| Graduates in quantum-relevant fields | count | annual | Education statistics | Published statistics |
| Women in quantum research | percent of researchers | per survey | Workforce surveys | REPORTED |
| Vacancies reported hard to fill | percent of vacancies | per survey | Employer surveys | REPORTED |
| Short courses and reskilling places | count | annual | Training provider records | REPORTED |
Where the evidence comes from.
Named public datasets and institutional records, each with its licence class. Sources by agreement are used only under their terms and never republished.
| Source | What it gives | Licence class |
|---|---|---|
| QED-C and industry workforce surveys | Employer needs and hiring difficulties | Public reports, terms to check |
| European Quantum Flagship education and training work | Competence framework and training programmes | Public, EU terms |
| UNESCO Institute for Statistics and national education statistics | Graduates in science and engineering | Open, terms per source |
| Job posting data summaries | Demand for quantum skills | Commercial; public summaries (to check) |
| OECD science and innovation indicators | Research personnel and mobility | Public, OECD terms |
Who decides, and what the evidence serves.
Quantum Technologies prepares evidence. The decisions below are taken by the authorities named, under their own rules, and never by the platform.
| Who decides | The question | Evidence this page serves |
|---|---|---|
| Universities | Which programmes and courses to create | Competence maps; demand analyses |
| Employers | How to train and recruit for quantum roles | Hiring difficulty evidence |
| Governments | How to fund training and manage talent mobility | Supply, demand and mobility evidence |
Outputs this topic produces
- Competence maps of roles beyond physics
- Workforce supply and demand analyses
- Training programme reviews
- Evidence notes on mobility and diversity
What experts ask.
Workforce questions ask who can build, test and govern the technology.
- Which skills are scarcest: quantum physics, hardware engineering, control electronics, software, cryptography or policy?
- Where is research capacity concentrated, and who lacks access?
- How do education pathways, including vocational and technician routes, feed the field?
- How do mobility, visas and research security rules shape the talent pool?
- Is there enough cryptographic expertise to carry out the post-quantum migration across all sectors?
Mechanisms and drivers.
Quantum technology requires depth in several disciplines at once, and its growth has outpaced the rate at which universities produce specialists. Demand comes from academia, industry and government simultaneously, so salaries and opportunities concentrate talent in a few places. The field also depends on technicians and engineers whose skills, such as vacuum, laser and cryogenic work, are often overlooked.
The post-quantum migration creates a separate and broader skills need: many organisations need people who understand where cryptography sits in their systems and how to change it, without needing to understand quantum physics.
How it is studied, and where the methods stop.
| Method or data | What it shows | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Labour market and job posting analysis | Demand by skill and location | Postings are an imperfect proxy for need |
| Education and graduate data | Supply of trained people | Programme labels vary and miss interdisciplinary routes |
| Bibliometrics and patent analysis | Where research capacity sits | Measure outputs, not capacity or quality directly |
| Surveys of employers and researchers | Perceived gaps and barriers | Response bias and small samples |
How it is studied, and what the methods cannot say.
- 01Probability and statisticsFidelity estimation · Testing advantage claims · Analysing patent and investment dataApplied here
- 02Physics and quantum scienceCharacterising qubit noise · Metrology of quantum clocks · Verifying quantum effectsApplied here
- 03Quantum computing, sensing and communicationComparable benchmarking · Technology readiness assessment · Security implications trackingApplied here
Where this page’s references lead.
The bodies and documents this page is read against. Status and editions change; each link goes to the issuing body.
Questions and answers.
What skills does quantum technology need?
Is there a quantum skills shortage?
What is a competence framework?
Do you need a physics doctorate to work in quantum technology?
Why does the cryptographic migration need its own workforce?
Does the platform offer training or credentials?
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