Shortage of Australian Engineers?

[sdz]

The Australian National Engineering Taskforce (ANET) was launched last week in Melbourne. ...
Its aim is to work with industry and government to develop a national solution to address the engineering skills shortage in Australia.

Back in the seventies when I graduated the institution of engineers was talking about a shortage of engineers. Since then I have lived through a few economic cycles and I have found that while there may be too few engineers in parts of the cycle there are too many in other parts.

It's really hard to believe there is a shortage of engineers when you've been made redundant, out of work for four months, and no prospects in sight. It was only last year that an agent was telling me that he knew of several engineers driving taxis.

Nor is this just a problem for contractors. I was on salary and lost my job along with a whole room full of other people. And why not when engineers are just a commodity you can hire when the next project comes along?

 

[rscassar]

I lot of people have lost their jobs over the course of the last 2 years. Myself included.

 

[csd72]

Yes, this topic has been discussed before in the EA magazines and in other fora.

I think the conclusion is that there is a lack of 'cheap and easy' engineers rather than a lack of engineering graduates.

If the engineering salaries were more competitive then the losses of graduates to other industries would be much less. Look at the second reference below on page 107 regarding how many people are listed as working as 'other'.

There is also a significant number of foreign and older engineers that do not fall into the cheap or easy category who find it hard to get engineering emplyment.

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1521527

http://www.engineersmedia.com.au/journals/aaee/pdf/AJEE_16_2_Trevelyan.pdf