Engineers Australia’s election wish list: an extra 60,000 graduates

Engineers Australia has challenged universities to train an extra 60,000 engineers over the next decade to fill skills shortages.

Engineers Australia has warned of skills shortages unless Australia trains 60,000 new engineers over the next decade.

Engineers Australia has challenged universities to train an extra 60,000 engineers over the next decade to fill skills shortages. And it wants taxpayers to pay engineering students to complete mandatory work placements.

In a federal election wish list, Engineers Australia has called for nationally consistent registration of professional engineers, and the creation of a role of Australian chief engineer, along the lines of the Chief Scientist.

Engineers Australia chief executive Romilly Madew called for a target of 60,000 additional engineering graduates by 2035, similar to the federal government’s existing target for the tech sector workforce.

She said Australia relied too heavily on international students and migrant engineers.

“They make an important contribution to the workforce, but increasing global demand for engineering talent means Australia faces tougher competition from other advanced economies,’’ she said.

“Strengthening the pipeline of domestic graduates is necessary to lesson Australia’s dependence on external talent supply.’’

Romilly Madew is Engineers Australia Chief Executive Officer

Engineers Australia acting chief engineer Bernadette Foley said engineering students needed more support to complete their degrees. She recommended alternative pathways into engineering, so school leavers could combine vocational education and training with university study. She also called on the next government to extend financial support for work placements to engineering students who face financial hardship, to ensure they can complete their degree.

The Albanese government has already introduced $319 per week “prac payments’’ to university students during mandatory practicum placements in teaching, nursing or social work.

The rising cost of living is blamed for high drop out rates in university degrees, Engineers Australia states in a report.

“Engineering students, pressured by high living costs and the demands of their qualification, often cannot commit to full-tie study, resulting in lower graduate completion rates,’’ it states.

Engineers Australia president Raj Aseervatham warned that as many as 70,000 engineers are set to retire over the next 15 years.