Engineers Australia has called on the Federal Government to set a national target of 60,000 additional engineering graduates by 2035, to ensure the future workforce can meet demand for skills and innovation.
The graduate target is one of four election priorities announced by Australia’s peak engineering professional body, at the launch of its report, Engineering Tomorrow, at the Western Sydney University Parramatta Engineering Innovation Hub.
As the federal election nears, Engineers Australia National President, Dr Raj Aseervatham, said that the next government needs to take immediate action to strengthen the engineering workforce, which is vital to securing the nation’s future economic prosperity.
“Almost every aspect of our everyday lives in Australia relies on engineers and engineering; such as resilient infrastructure, energy independence, industrial progress, advancements in health technology and sustainability, to name just a few,” Dr Aseervatham said.
“Up to 70,000 engineers are predicted to retire over the next 15 years – so not only do we need to ensure they are replaced, but as population grows and technology advances there will be significant future growth in demand for engineers and other STEM professionals right across the economy.
“To maintain standards of living in Australia and enhance our economic prosperity, rapid action is needed. The government should set a target for 60,000 additional engineering graduates over the next decade.”
Engineers Australia CEO, Romilly Madew, said the target would be similar to that set by the current government for the tech sector workforce.
“An engineering graduate target will signal that this is a national priority that will require collaboration between universities, industry and government bodies to make it happen.”
Australia relies heavily on international students and migrant engineers, and they make an important contribution to the workforce but increasing global demand for engineering talent means Australia faces tougher competition from other advanced economies.
“Strengthening the pipeline of domestic graduates is therefore necessary to lessen Australia’s dependence on external talent supply,” Madew said.
Engineers Australia Acting Chief Engineer, Bernadette Foley, said that achieving the target will require more than simply encouraging an additional 60,000 school leavers to study engineering.
“While we do need to increase the number of undergraduate engineering students, we also will need to make sure they are supported to complete their degree and are not lost to the profession once in industry,” Foley said.
“We also have the opportunity to enable different pathways into the profession. For school leavers, they should be able to choose innovative VET/higher education pathways. For others already in the workforce, we need flexibility so that they can choose engineering building on their experience.”
Engineers Australia would also like the next government to introduce policies aimed at dismantling the barriers to entering the STEM profession, for example extending financial support for work placements to engineering students who face financial hardship, to ensure they can complete their degree.
Another of Engineers Australia’s election priorities is the implementation of all 11 recommendations from the Pathways to Diversity in STEM report 2024.
The Engineering Tomorrow report, which outlines the four key election priorities, can be downloaded here.
