New Delhi: Thales, a global leader in advanced technologies for Defence, Aerospace and Cyber & Digital, plans to recruit 8,000 people worldwide in 2025 to support the strong growth momentum across its three business segments.
Around 40% of new hires will join engineering roles (including software and systems engineering, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data, etc.), while approximately 25% will join industrial roles (including technicians, operators and industrial engineers). In parallel, more than 4,000 employees will benefit from functional and geographical internal mobility.
In a context marked by interconnected geopolitical crises, a rebound in air traffic and accelerating global connectivity, all of Thales’s businesses are growing and hiring. This builds on the strong momentum established in recent years, with:
- Over 30,000 new hires between 2022 and 2024, including 9,000 in the Defence sector
- Over 8,000 internal mobility moves between 2023 and 2024
- Ten consecutive years during which Thales has hired at least 5,000 people annually.
In 2025, recruitment will take place across all regions of operation, including approximately 3,000 people in France, over 1,000 in the United Kingdom, 500 in the Netherlands, 400 in the United States, 400 in Australia, 300 in Central Europe, 250 in India, 200 in Germany, and 150 in Africa and the Middle East.
Learning Company: Supporting Employees’ Professional Development and Keeping Thales’s Expertise at the Highest Level
For the past three years, Thales has invested in its “Learning company” global skills development programme, delivered by 2,000 internal trainers as well as numerous tutors and mentors. Since 2023, Thales has increased the number of its Academies, which are designed to share knowledge globally. The Group now operates 13 Domain Academies (AI, Cybersecurity, Radar, Naval, Tube, Pyrotechnics, etc.) and 18 Functional Academies (Software, Hardware, Systems, Industry, Bid & Project Management, HR, Finance, Communication, etc.). By the end of 2025, Thales will have more than 35 academies.
The Group has also introduced innovative skills development methods, including a shared competency management system, simulation and virtual reality tools, and hands-on training solutions.
In 2024, 90% of Thales’s global workforce – 72,000 people – took part in skills development activities.
Thales is committed to raising awareness amongst youth about the importance of science and to promoting inclusion and diversity.
Across all countries where it operates, Thales strengthened its outreach efforts in 2024, engaging with more than 150,000 young people and taking part in over 600 events. In France in 2025, the Group plans to host more than 3,000 interns and apprentices, around 25% of whom will go on to be hired on permanent or fixed-term contracts. Nearly 1,500 middle and high school students will also complete observation internships at Thales sites.
Improving gender balance within teams and leadership remains a key priority for the Group. In 2024, women accounted for 30% of new hires worldwide. More than 60% of the Group’s executive Committees included at least four women; Thales is aiming for 75% by 2026.
With the signing of a new Group-wide agreement in 2024 to further promote the inclusion of people with disabilities, Thales is reaffirming its commitment, with an employment rate of nearly 7% in France.
“To support the Group’s growth and performance, recruitment and internal mobility are essential, but we must go further. Giving our teams the opportunity to continuously develop their skills and encouraging them to pass on their expertise to colleagues is both the spirit and the ambition of our ‘Learning company’ programme. Our goal is to support the professional growth of our people and maintain Thales’s expertise at the highest level,” said Clément de Villepin, Senior Executive Vice President, Human Resources, Thales.
