Engineering employment openings in Australia have reached a 10-year high, due to pandemic border restrictions and a scarcity of locally trained engineers.

According to Engineers Australia's latest Australian Engineering Employment Vacancies Report, the number of engineering positions posted grew by 50% in 2021. Despite modest growth in the second half of the year owing to the appearance of the Omicron COVID-19 variation, this was a good year.

With a 67 percent rise in job listings, Queensland led the way, followed by New South Wales (54%), and Victoria (44%).

From July to December 2021, the research looked at vacancy data from the Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business. It discovered that civil engineers were in high demand at this time, which coincided with the Federal Government's infrastructure drive to revive the economy.

Industrial, mechanical, and production engineers were also in great demand, followed by ICT support and test engineers.

Engineer demand has historically been cyclical, as increased infrastructure investment leads to a scarcity of civil engineers. However, given Australia's focus on projects like the Modern Manufacturing Strategy, the demand for engineers will only increase, according to Jane MacMaster FIEAust CPEng, Chief Engineer of Engineers Australia.

She said, "There's also an emphasis on innovation and technology in general." "We live in a time where there isn't a single aspect of existence that isn't reliant on technology, which, in turn, is reliant on engineers."

"I believe the repercussions will be felt very strongly across many industries if we do nothing to solve this enormous skills gap."

This might result in major project delays and ramifications for Australia's strategic ambitions, such as a shortage of people to enable the country's sovereign supply chain capabilities flourish.

"I believe the repercussions will be felt very strongly across many industries if we do nothing to solve this enormous skills gap." FIEAust CPEng Jane MacMaster Engineers Australia Policy Advisor Michael Bell noted that with demand for engineers outstripping supply, actions must be made to prevent the current skills deficit from becoming a long-term issue.

"If nothing is done, we will continue to have a scarcity of engineers, which will eventually convert into a structural shortage," Bell said.

"According to the National Skills Commission, the number of occupations requiring STEM courses, of which engineering is one of the most important, is only going to rise. To meet the need, we'll need to see more engineers come through the pipeline."

Adequate employment for migrant engineers

Engineers who were born outside of Australia make up around 60% of the engineering workforce in Australia. This vital conduit was shut off when the country closed its borders in March 2020.

While restoring international borders might help the present workforce, Bell believes a better answer is required. This includes offering more assistance to migrant engineers who have already arrived in the nation but are having trouble finding work that matches their qualifications.

Engineers Australia discovered that the largest impediments to employment for migrant engineers were related with "local" characteristics after polling over 800 migrant engineers and conducting in-depth interviews with employers and recruiters. The top five barriers mentioned by migratory engineers were all related to not being locally trained, whether it was experience, networks, standards, references, or qualifications.

"We already have a large migrant talent pool." "They're trained engineers with a lot of experience in their own country," Bell explained, "but that experience isn't necessarily recognised here."

"For industry to recognise the capabilities migrant engineers offer, such as diverse ways of thinking, requires a mindset change." At the end of the day, they're engineers who have completed an international training programme... and they satisfy the Australian criteria for an engineer."

"We already have a large migrant talent pool." They're competent engineers, but their skills aren't always valued here." Michael Bell

A lack of local engineering talent

While immigration engineers will always be needed in Australia, the country must also address the domestic skills shortage. Engineers account for only 8.9% of all Australian university graduates. This places the country among the OECD's lowest producers of engineers as a percentage of all graduates.

It's critical to focus on STEM education to inspire more students to pursue engineering degrees and to provide greater support for those who do graduate, according to MacMaster.

"We're working throughout the whole engineering skills supply chain, and that starts in primary school," she added.

"It's also about ensuring that teachers, career advisers, parents, and students understand what engineering is... and the range of prospects available with an engineering profession."

Industry-led initiatives aimed at developing early-career engineers might also encourage graduates to enter — and stay in — the field. This includes improved internship options and graduate programmes for engineering students that compete with those offered by financial institutions and consulting businesses.

"Engineers are problem solvers who think beyond the box. Our ability is recognised in many other fields because we think clearly and analytically, but also artistically," MacMaster added.

"While it's great that engineers can work in any area of the economy, in an era when engineering talents are in high demand, it's important thinking about how we keep engineers in the engineering industry before they leave to work in other fields."

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