September doesn't come alone. It comes with project closings, new bids, audits, and the pressure to show progress, or not, in terms of the year's goals. For engineering, energy, and infrastructure companies, the second half of the year is the most demanding part of the calendar, and The difference between the teams that come in prepared and those that come in just as they were in January is evident in the results.
The Educa PHAROS 2025 Barometer, Based on an analysis of more than 600,000 registrations in 120 countries, it clearly identifies the areas where companies in these sectors are focusing their investment in training. These are not generic trends: they are concrete responses to real market pressures.
Why is the second half of the year crucial for the engineering, energy, and infrastructure sectors?
The workload in these sectors It is not distributed evenly throughout the year. The last quarter accounts for the largest volume of deliverables: technical certifications, sustainability reporting, contract closings, and regulatory compliance assessments. Reaching that point with Unfilled skill gaps have a direct impact on timelines, quality, and responsiveness before clients and regulatory agencies.
Summer, paradoxically, is the window with the lowest operating pressure for many technical professionals. Taking advantage of this opportunity to close those gaps isn't a luxury; it's the most cost-effective decision of the year.
Training Trends That Will Shape the Second Half of the Year
| Training Trend | Demand (Barometer 2025) | Why It's a Priority in Q3/Q4 | Training at Educa PHAROS |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Applied to Productivity | ↑ Higher growth Tools like ChatGPT and Gemini are leading the way in sign-ups | The automation of operational tasks and improved decision-making result in noticeable differences in efficiency between trained and untrained teams. | View training → |
| Big Data and Data Analysis | ↑ High demand Power BI, Python, and Advanced Excel Among the Most Popular Courses | Project performance analysis, the anticipation of deviations, and management reporting require teams with a genuine ability to work with data. | View training → |
| Cybersecurity for the Entire Organization | ↑ High demand Especially in critical infrastructure and regulated sectors | Threats affect all roles, not just IT. In infrastructure sectors, a data breach has operational, legal, and reputational consequences. | View training → |
| Project Management and Sustainability | → Well-established and growing Priority for Infrastructure and Energy Companies | ESG criteria and the SDGs influence tenders and financing. Q4 is when most companies in the sector conduct their sustainability audits and reporting. | View training → |
AI Applied to Productivity
Artificial intelligence has gone from being a conference topic to becoming aan everyday work tool. In industrial sectors, its practical application—whether to automate repetitive tasks, generate reports, analyze project data, or improve operational decision-making—is generating increasingly apparent differences in efficiency between established teams and teams that are still on the sidelines.
The Educa PHAROS 2025 Barometer confirms that the AI is the skill with the fastest-growing demand for training, especially in terms of its direct impact on team productivity, rather than its technical or programming aspects.
Big Data and Data Analysis
The Data-driven decisions are no longer the exclusive domain of big tech companies. In engineering, construction, and energy, the use of Power BI, Python, or SQL to analyze project performance, anticipate deviations, or prepare progress reports is becoming increasingly demanded by customers and management.
The Barometer identifies this area as one of the fastest-growing, with tools such as advanced Excel and Python leading in enrollment across all sectors analyzed.
Cybersecurity for the Entire Organization
Cybersecurity It is no longer the sole responsibility of the IT department. Exposure to threats such as malware, phishing, or malicious code affects all roles within an organization, and the Critical infrastructure sectors are particularly vulnerable. A security breach in this context has more than just operational consequences: it has legal and reputational consequences.
Project Management and Sustainability
Sustainability has become from the field of corporate marketing to that of project management. ESG criteria, the SDGs, and sustainability reporting requirements are increasingly influencing competitive bidding processes and the financing available for engineering and infrastructure projects. Project managers who don't understand these requirements are leaving opportunities on the table.
How can you tell if your company is ready to tackle the second half of the year?
Three questions can serve as a quick diagnostic tool: Does the team have the technical certifications that next quarter's projects will require? Is there key profiles whose training has not been updated for more than two years in rapidly evolving fields such as AI or cybersecurity? Does the team know the sustainability criteria that customers or bidders will demand in the coming months?
If any of the answers is "no,", Summer is the time to take action.
How can these trends be turned into a corporate training plan?
A training plan effective for the second half of the year It doesn't have to be complicated. The first step is prioritize: Not all gaps have the same impact on the business. The second is allocate time: Asynchronous online training allows professionals to progress at their own pace without interrupting their work. And the third is measure: Define which indicators the training will improve and actually track that improvement, not just the number of hours completed.
The Educa PHAROS 2025 Barometer is available at educapharos.com/barometer/ and it can serve as a useful starting point for aligning training decisions with the market's priorities in each sector.
