It wasn’t too long ago when engineering employment was at its peak. It was the time just before the global financial crisis when engineering careers were abundant and promising. Since then boom/bust infrastructure cycles and declining resources investment has led to limited opportunities for Australia’s engineers and graduates. Many have been forced to switch to other professions or leave the country in order to secure work in engineering.
Engineers Australia has been greatly concerned at the contracting engineering job market which has been on the downturn for 29 months straight. With this downturn comes numerous stories of angst from engineers unable to secure work and graduates who are unable to get a foot in the door.
Engineers Australia turned to ABC national television to highlight the parlous state of the profession and warn government the engineering brain-drain could have big consequences once the economy gains momentum.
ABC1 agreed to run a national news story across TV and radio about the contracting engineering jobs market which tied into a bigger story of Australia not producing enough engineers in the long-run.
The story was five weeks in the making, as Engineers Australia endeavoured to line up individuals and companies willing to bring their downturn stories to the fore.
Matt Spierings, a young lab assistant based in Queensland agreed to share his story with ABC. Matt explained how he was unable to find a work placement in his final year of university. Without securing this (unpaid) placement he was unable to graduate from his chemical engineering degree. He instead switched to a career in pathology.
Matt shared his disappointment during this ordeal and how it greatly affected his self-esteem and direction in life.
The Managing Director for Hyder Consulting Australasia, Greg Steele, agreed to speak from an employer’s perspective, telling ABC how the firm had to cut back on graduate employment levels. Hyder Consulting usually take on a number of graduates through a program each year, but due to the state of the industry the past 29 months, they have been forced to scale that right back.
With more than 40 percent of qualified engineers now working in jobs outside of engineering, CEO Stephen Durkin told ABC of the negative implications this will have for the federal government's infrastructure plans. Stephen highlighted the fact engineers looking for work in Australia today face a worse situation than they did during the global financial crisis. Back then there were twice as many available jobs in engineering as there are now. Stephen explained by the time the infrastructure projects from the budget come online there won’t be enough qualified engineers to deliver on them.
To provide a university’s perspective for the news story, Engineers Australia lined up Queensland’s University of Technology Professor and Executive General Manager of the Board of Deans, Doug Hargreaves. Doug agreed that billions set aside for infrastructure in the federal budget will make little difference if there’s a shortage of qualified engineers.
Doug explained the numbers of students wanting work in the profession, and not being able to secure it, is growing – and it has been this way for more than two years now. Most Australian engineers have had to travel to other countries to fulfil a career in engineering.
The news story aired on ABC1 TV Saturday 8 June on the evening news, across 21 locations around the country. A radio version of the story aired on 56 ABC radio stations across the weekend.
The ABC story was an opportunity for Engineers Australia to alert to the significant problems the profession is facing in retaining its qualified engineering professionals. It is these professionals who are required to deliver on Australia’s infrastructure future.
While Engineers Australia is optimistic about the government’s infrastructure plans and supportive of its large investment in infrastructure, we caution high standards of project planning must be applied.
The profession stands ready to work and help government achieve their future infrastructure goals.
Media update - June 2014
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