Almost two-thirds (63 per cent) of firms providing design, advisory and engineering services for infrastructure and built environment projects are currently experiencing skill shortages, according to Consult Australia’s 2019 skills survey.
Civil engineers, structural engineers and engineering managers are the disciplines most affected by skill shortages in 2019. 45 per cent of firms indicate they do not have enough civil engineers to meet current demands, with 33 per cent for structural engineers and 30 per cent for engineering managers who oversee the delivery of projects.
Chief Executive of Consult Australia, Nicola Grayson, said, “Widespread skill shortages facing professional services firms in the built environment industry is a serious concern.
“They reduce industry’s ability to meet the increasing demands for new infrastructure projects, and can impact jobs and growth opportunities created from these projects in our cities and regions.”
Skills shortages are impacting Sydney and Melbourne the most, and South East Queensland is closely catching up. 55 per cent of firms indicated that Sydney has been a hard location to find employees over the past 12 months, with 40 per cent for Melbourne and 28 per for South East Queensland.
“The significant upswing in infrastructure projects in New South Wales and Victoria is clearly placing significant demands on the industry delivering these projects,” Ms Grayson said.
“We encourage governments to partner with industry to help increase Australia’s capacity and capabilities to meet future infrastructure demands.”
40 professional services firms participated in this year’s survey. These firms collectively employ over 21,000 people throughout Australia.
View Consult Australia’s 2019 skills survey here.
