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ADDRESSING the shortage of engineering skills in Australia will require targeted policies from the government to attract new engineers and retain existing engineers, according to a new report.

The Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Committee was commissioned by the Senate in November 2011 to look at the problem of the engineering skills shortage in Australia. Its report, The Shortage of Engineering and Related Employment Skills, sets out 12 recommendations to the Australian government on the implications of the crisis and how to tackle it.

The committee blamed a gradual cutback in government-run training schemes and the failure of the private sector to fill the gap. Engineering in Australia has a problem not only with a skills gap in the existing workforce, but with difficulties in recruiting candidates for specific vacancies too. The proportion of vacancies filled in 2011 was only 41% and companies are increasingly turning to recruiting from overseas on temporary visas. Engineering graduates are in high demand from other sectors, and are lured away by high salaries. There is also a shortage of women in the sector.

The 12 recommendations include seeking the advice of Australia’s chief scientist on how to develop science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) courses, and promote STEM throughout the states. The government should consult with the Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency to work out why so many people leave the profession after training. It should work with industry to ensure university courses are suitable and extend supported places for domestic students. The government should look at ways to encourage employers to offer both work experience and graduate training programmes, and encourage older engineers and women to remain in, or return to the workforce. Interestingly, it also suggested creating senior technical engineering roles in the Australian public service. This would mean highly qualified engineers could continue to progress in their careers, and ensure the government had the appropriate advice when purchasing engineering infrastructure.

Engineers Australia, which back in March told the committee that the output of engineers needs to double to meet demand from Australia’s resources sector, welcomed the report. The organisation estimates that over the past six years, over 5% of engineering projects did not go ahead due to the skills shortage. CEO Stephen Durkin welcomes the recommendation to introduce a national system of registration for professional engineers but warns that increasing the graduation rate alone would not solve the recruitment problem, saying greater recognition of the importance of engineers is necessary.

He adds: “Engineers Australia is keen to see the federal and state governments maintain internal engineering expertise through workforce planning and career initiatives, and we are pleased that the Committee adopted our recommendation to create senior technical engineering roles across the public service. It is essential that government has the capacity to properly evaluate the viability, safety and value of major engineering projects. Government must be an informed buyer as failure in these projects could be catastrophic.”

IChemE Communications manager Matt Stalker says: “The situation in Australia largely mirrors that of UK chemical engineering a decade ago. That skills shortage has now largely been solved, particularly with regard to the number of students studying chemical engineering at university but it needed industry, academia and IChemE to come together and develop a clear plan. Only by raising public awareness of the career opportunities available to engineering graduates and the key role they play in society will this problem be solved. There is no quick fix.”