Australian engineering job vacancies hit 10-year high

The latest Australian Engineering Employment Vacancies Report from Engineers Australia shows demand for engineers has surged to a 10-year high, fuelling the ongoing skills crisis.

The number of jobs advertised increased 50% nationally in 2021, despite limited growth in the latter part of the year. Queensland saw the biggest growth — up by 67% — followed by New South Wales and Victoria.

While all major states reported increased vacancies for the year, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania recorded negative growth in the second half of the year, corresponding with restrictions in response to outbreaks of the COVID-19 Delta and Omicron variants.

“With an emerging engineering skills shortage exacerbated by COVID-19, an engineering job vacancy rate that continues to skyrocket and an economic recovery hinging on major infrastructure projects, the effective use of all available engineers should be considered a national strategic imperative,” said Engineers Australia CEO Dr Bronwyn Evans. “While some sectors are experiencing a shortage of experienced engineers, it is in the face of an economy-wide oversupply of qualified — but underutilised — migrant engineers. This imbalance must be addressed by policymakers and employers.”

Dr Evans says Engineers Australia research shows there is a significant cohort of migrant engineers already in Australia who have long-term difficulties securing employment appropriate to their experience.

“The number one culprit here is unconscious employer bias. Tapping into this underutilised talent supply offers one means of easing skills shortages,” she said. “The issue is further exacerbated by the chronic challenges in the source of domestic supply and employers not investing enough in graduates.

“The long-term solution involves investment in young people and schools, industry-led development of early-career graduates, and industry- and government-wide understanding of the critical value of the migrant workforce.”

Key statistics from the report include:

• Vacancy numbers remained high relative to the pre-pandemic period
• Civil engineers were most in demand, followed by industrial, mechanical and production engineers.
• Australia: +50% for the year (+4% July to December)
• Victoria: +44% for the year (-6% July to December)
• New South Wales: +54% for the year (+3% July to December)
• Queensland: +67% for the year (+12% July to December)
• Western Australia: +39% for the year (+5% July to December)
• South Australia: +12% for the year (-12% July to December)
• Vacancies recorded in Tasmania, NT and ACT remain consistently low.
   

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Mikael Damkier