Engineering job vacancies decline by 7%

Engineering job vacancies have declined in recent months, new data from the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations shows.

Since November 2012, engineering job vacancies have declined by 7% across the country, Engineers Australia CEO Stephen Durkin said, with the largest decreases seen in Western Australia and Queensland.

“However, we must be careful to look at the bigger picture,” Durkin said. “There are around 250,000 qualified engineers within Australia and mining is only the sixth-largest employer of the profession, with around 13,500 engineers. While reduced vacancy rates are not positive news, we must be cautious not to overstate the economic implications of these current data.

“Mining and resource projects usually have a very high demand for engineering services during their early planning stages. The need for engineers naturally falls off as the projects reach the day-to-day operation phases, so we will always see some fluctuation in engineering employment across project life cycles in the resource sector.”

A large proportion of Australia’s engineers are employed on infrastructure projects; record infrastructure spending has created a large demand for engineers. Even a small downturn can have a major effect on the workforce, Durkin said, as such a large engineering workforce is employed in infrastructure delivery.

“Coming into the federal election, Engineers Australia is pleased to see that both major parties have recognised the importance of infrastructure to our national success,” Durkin said. “Engineers Australia is a strong supporter of the long-term approach provided by Infrastructure Australia, and we actively support moves by state governments to replicate its success across the country.

“Without the long-term certainty that transparent project planning provides, engineers will either leave the profession or seek work overseas. With engineers in strong demand worldwide, this is a real risk for Australia as we aim to transition from a resource-based economy to a high-tech, high-value economy.”

The Engineering job vacancies - June 2013 report is available here.