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THE ENGINEERING PROFESSION
A Statistical Overview, Seventh Edition, 2010

THE ENGINEERING PROFESSION
A Statistical Overview, Seventh Edition, 2010
Andre Kaspura
THE ENGINEERING PROFESSION; A Statistical Overview, Seventh Edition 2010
The Engineering Profession, A Statistical Overview, Seventh Edition, 2010

ISBN 978-0858259553
Author: Andre Kaspura
 Institution of Engineers Australia 2010
All rights reserved. Other than brief extracts, no part of this publication may be reproduced in
any form without the written consent of the publisher. The report can be downloaded at
www.engineersaustralia.org.au
National and International Policy

Engineers Australia
11 National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600
Tel: 02 6270 6555
Fax: 02 6273 4200
Email: policy@engineersaustralia.org.au
CONTENTS
1 THE ENGINEERING PROFESSION AND STATISTICAL MEASUREMENT
1.1 The Purpose of the Statistical Handbook 1
1.2 The Engineering Profession 1
1.3 Methodology 2
1.4 Outline of the Statistical Handbook 4
2 UNIVERSITY COURSES IN ENGINEERING

2.1 Engineers Australia’s Role 6
2.2 Year 12 School Participation in Mathematics and Science 6
2.3 Commencements 9
2.4 Overall Enrolments 14
2.5 Completions 17
2.6 Engineering Completions Compared to Other Disciplines 20
3 NEW ENTRY LEVEL ENGINEERS

3.1 The Engineering Profession in Australia 22
3.2 Three Year Degrees in Engineering 23
3.3 Four Year Degrees in Engineering 24
3.4 Double Degrees in Engineering 26
3.5 Unknown Duration 27
3.6 Engineering Degree Completions 27
3.7 Completion of Associate Degrees and Diplomas 29
3.8 The Potential Flow of Graduates to the Engineering Profession 30
4 SKILLED MIGRATION
4.1 Skilled Migrants and the Recognition of Engineering Qualifications 33
4.2 Permanent Migration 34
4.3 Temporary Migration 37
5 OTHER CHARACTERISTICS OF ENGINEERS

5.1 Introduction 39
5.2 Responsibility Levels 39
5.3 Age 40
5.4 Work Experience 42
5.5 Salary Packages 44
5.6 Graduate Commencing Salaries 48
6 WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT ENGINEERING SKILLS SHORTAGES?

6.1 Introduction 50
6.2 The Base Line for Evaluation of Skill Shortages 50
6.3 Survey Evidence 53
6.4 Relative Skills Shortage Index 56
6.5 Surrogate Measures of Supply and Demand 57
CONTENTS i
LIST OF TABLES
CHAPTER 2
Table 2.1 Participation in Mathematics in Australia 7
Table 2.2. Year 12 Science Participation in Australian Schools 8
Table 2.3 Students Commencing Australian University Engineering and Related
Technology Courses, by Domicile 10
Table 2.4 Students Commencing Australian University Engineering and Related
Technology Courses, by Gender 10
Table 2.5 Domestic Students Commencing Australian University Engineering and
Related Technology Courses 11
Table 2.6 Overseas Students Commencing Australian University Engineering and
Table 2.7 Students Enrolled in Australian University Engineering and Related
Technology Courses, by Domicile 15
Table 2.8 Students Enrolled in Australian University Engineering and Related
Technology Courses, by Gender 15
Table 2.9 Domestic Students Enrolled in Australian University Engineering and
Related Technology Cours 16
Table 2.10 Overseas Students Enrolled in Australian University Engineering and
Table 2.11 Students Completing Awards in Engineering and Related
Technologies from Australian Universities, by Domicile 18
Table 2.12 Students Completing Awards in Engineering and Related
Technologies from Australian Universities, by Gender 18
Table 2.13 Domestic Students Completing Awards in Engineering and Related
Technologies from Australian Universities 19
Table 2.14 Overseas Students Completing Awards in Engineering and Related
Technologies from Australian Universities 19
CHAPTER 3
Table 3.1 Domestic Students CompletingThree Year Bachelors Degrees in
Engineering, By Engineering Discipline 23
Table 3.2 Domestic Students Completing Four Year Bachelors Degrees in
Engineering, By Engineering Discipline 25
Table 3.3 Domestic Students Completing Four Year Double Degree Programs
In Engineering, By Engineering Discipline 26
Table 3.4 Domestic Students Completing Bachelors Degrees in Engineering
Of all Durations, by Engineering Discipline 27
Table 3.5 Students Completing AQF Diplomas and Advanced Diplomas in Engineering
From Australian TAFE Colleges, by Engineering Discipline 29
Table 3.6 University Completions of Associate Degrees, Diplomas and Advanced
Diplomas in Engineering 30
Table 3.7 The Potential Flow of New Graduates to the Engineering Profession 31
CHAPTER 4
Table 4.1 Immigration of Engineers to Australia 34
Table 4.2 Immigration of Civil Engineers to Australia 35
Table 4.3 Immigration of Electrical and Electronic Engineers to Australia 35
Table 4.4 Immigration of Mechanical and Production Engineers to Australia 36
Table 4.5 Immigration of Mining and Materials Engineers to Australia 36
Table 4.6 Immigration of Engineering Technologists to Australia 36
Table 4.7 Immigration of Other Engineers to Australia 37
CONTENTS iii
CHAPTER 5
Table 5.1 The Mean Age of Private Sector Engineers 40
Table 5.2 The Mean Age of Public Sector Engineers 40
Table 5.3 The Mean Ages of Engineers in Australia 41
Table 5.4 Mean Years of Work Experience of Private Sector Engineers 42
Table 5.5 Mean Years of Work Experience of Public Sector Engineers 42
Table 5.6 Mean Salaries of Private Sector Engineers (2007-08 Prices) 44
Table 5.7 Mean Salaries of Public Sector Engineers (2007-08 Prices) 44
Table 5.8 Mean Graduate Engineering Commencing Salaries 48
CHAPTER 6
Table 6.1 Unemployment Rates for Qualified Engineers in the 2006 Population Census 51
Table 6.2 Unemployment Rates for Engineering Education Specialisations in 2006 52
Table 6.3 An Overview of Engineering Skills Shotages Since 2006 53
Table 6.4 Recruiting Problems Experienced as a Result of Engineering Skills
Shortages 54
Table 6.5 Consequences of Engineering Skills Shortages 54
Table 6.6 New Graduate Relative Skills Shortage Index 56
Table 6.7 Relative Skills Shortage Index foe Engineering Disciplines 56
CONTENTS
Page iii
LIST OF FIGURES
CHAPTER 2
Figure 2.1 Year 12 Participation in Mathematics in Australia 7
Figure 2.2 Year 12 Participation in Physics and Chemistry in Australia 8
Figure 2.3 The Trend in Domestic and Overseas Student Commencements in
Bachelors Degrees 12
Figure 2.4 The Gender Composition of Domestic Commencements in
Bachelors Degrees 12
Figure 2.5 The Trend in Domestic and Overseas Coursework Masters Degree
Commencements 13
Figure 2.6 The Distribution of Domestic Bachelors Commencements In Engineering
And Related Technologies Between Jurisdictions 13
Figure 2.7 The Distribution of Overseas Students Commencing Courses in
Engineering and Relate Technologies Across Jurisdictions 14
Figure 2.8 Domestic Engineering & Related Technologies Course Completions as
Shares of Domestic Course Completions in All Disciplines 20
Figure 2.9 Engineering and Related Technologies Completions by Overseas
Students as a Share of all Overseas Completions 21
CHAPTER 3
Figure 3.1 Completions of Bachelors Degrees in Engineering since 2001 28
Figure 3.2 Engineering Specialisations Among Completions of Bachelors Degrees 28
Figure 3.3 The Potential Flow of New Graduates to the Engineering Profession 31
CHAPTER 4
Figure 4.1 Engineers Migrating to Australia by Visa Type 34
Figure 4.2 Domestic Engineering Bachelors Completions Compared to Permanent
And Temporary Migration of Engineers 37
CHAPTER 5
Figure 5.1 The Mean Ages of Australian Engineers 41
Figure 5.2 Mean Years of Work Experience of Private Sector Engineers 43
Figure 5 3 Mean Years of Work Experience of Public Sector Engineers 43
Figure 5.4 Comparing Private and Public Sector Engineers Level 1 Salary Packages 45
Figure 5.9 Comparing Private and Public Sector Salary Packages for
Engineer Above Level 5 47
Figure 5.10 Engineering Graduate Salaries relative to Average Ordinary Earnings 48
CHAPTER 6
Figure 6.1 Unemployment Rates for Qualified Engineers in 2006 51
Figure 6.2 Engineering Skills Shortages in Australia for Different Responsibility Levels 55
Figure 6.3 Engineering Skill Shortages by Discipline 55
Figure 6.4 Forecasting Engineering Construction Compared to Corresponding
Growth in New Domestic Graduates 57
THE ENGINEERING PROFESSION AND STATISTICAL MEASUREMENT iv

1. THE ENGINEERING PROFESSION AND
STATISTICAL MEASUREMENT
1.1 The Purpose of the Statistical Handbook

Engineers and engineering have been vital contributors to Australia’s prosperity and lifestyle.
In the future, engineers will be called upon to help resolve water shortages, to improve the
quality and environmental integrity of the built environment, to assist adaptation to cope with
Australia’s changing climate and to implement the energy, transport and industrial changes
necessary to avoid catastrophic climate change. This Statistical Overview aims to provide a
range of information relavent to the engineering profession in Australia to assist policy
development and planning on matters involving the profession.
1.2 The Engineering Profession

Engineers Australia is the peak body for the engineering profession in Australia. The
engineering profession comprises occupations, vocations and careers in which specialised
knowledge is directed to useful and economical ends1. The activities of the profession involve
people, money, materials, machines and energy in combinations that are infinitely variable2.
The engineering profession is engaged in an extraordinary variety of occupations and is not

limited to particular occupations3. A common misconception is to think about the engineering
profession as limited to specific jobs that typically include “engineering” in job titles.
Engineering occupations are the starting point for many engineering careers and many
engineers prefer long careers in them. However, as society has developed, the demand for
engineering skills and expertise4 has widened to encompass new areas. Engineering now
comprises a wide range of career paths, including traditional engineering occupations,
research and design, construction, distribution and production, management and
administration, university and TAFE teachers, information technology and in the defense
forces.
Following some experience in an engineering occupation, career progression involves the

choices familiar to all professions and walks of life, with inevitable moves to new jobs offering
greater challenges and higher remuneration. For the individuals concerned, the move from
one job to the next is often a seamless progression, but for statisticians working with formal
classification systems, serious difficulties arise because job nomenclature changes and
engineering expertise is practiced in different ways. Job titles typical in an engineering career
include “Civil (or Mechanical or Electrical etc) Engineer”, “Engineering Manager”, “Project
Manager”, “Design Manager”, “Operational Planner”, “Quality Manager”, “Executive Director”
and “Group General Manager”5. These are all recognised in the statistical classification
1 nd
Adapted from Joseph W Barker, McGraw Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 2 Ed, New York,
1993, pp409-10
2
Op cit
3
For an analysis of the US situation see The Education and Employment of Engineering Graduates, Engineering
Workforce Project Report No 1, Abt Associates, for the National Science Foundation, June 2004,
www.abtassociates.com
4
See for example Department of Education, Science and Training, Science, Engineering and Technology Skills
Audit, July 2006, www.dest.gov.au
5
See the description of engineering responsibility levels, how they are connected to qualifications and experience
and the associated job titles in APESMA, Professional Engineer Remuneration Survey Report, December 2007,
pp8-9, www.apesma.asn.au
THE ENGINEERING PROFESSION AND STATISTICAL MEASUREMENT 1

system used by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, but often users limit their attention the
first group of occupations.
Past Editions of this Statistical Overview have examined the distinction between the number
of individuals in Australia holding engineering qualifications and the engineering profession
using pre-designed statistical tables from the Population Census provided by the Australian
Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on a consultancy basis. The ABS has now made available a
flexible facility to analyse Census statistics (Tablebuilder) and this has been used to
undertake a more extensive and robust profile of engineers and the engineering profession in
Australia published6 separately. Accordingly, this Edition of the Statistical Overview does not
repeat the Chapter 2 of past Editions.
1.3 Methodology
In Australia the engineering profession is organised into three occupational groups according
to the educational qualifications held and the professional experience of individuals. The
groups are:
• Professional Engineers apply lifelong learning, critical perception and engineering

judgment to the performance of engineering services. Professional Engineers
challenge current thinking and conceptualise alternative approaches, often engaging
in research and development of new engineering principles, technologies and
materials. Professional Engineers apply their analytical skills and well developed
grasp of scientific principles and engineering theory to design original and novel
solutions to complex problems. Professional Engineers exercise a disciplined and
systemmatic approach to innovation and creativity, comprehension of risks and
benefits and use informed professional judgment to select optimal solutions, justify
and defend these selections to clients, colleagues and the community. Professional
Engineers require at least the equivalent of the competencies in a four year Bachelors
degrees in engineering.
• Engineering Technologists exercise ingenuity, originality and understanding in
adapting and applying technologies, developing related new technologies or applying
scientific knowledge within their specialised environment. The education, expertise
and analytical skills of Engineering Technologists equip them with a robust
understanding of the theoretical and practical application of engineering and technical
principles. Within their specialisation, Engineering Technologists contribute to the
improvement of standards and codes of practise, and the adaptation of established
technologies to new situations. Engineering Technologists require at least the
equivalent of the competencies in a three year Bachelors degree in engineering.
• Engineering Associates apply detailed knowledge of standards and codes of practice
to selecting, specifying, installing, commissioning, monitoring, maintaining, repairing
and modifying complex assets such as structures, plant, equipment, components and
systems. The education, training and experience of Engineering Associates equip
them with the necessary theoretical knowledge and analytical skills for testing, fault
diagnosis and understanding the limitations of complex assets in familiar operating
situations. Engineering Associates require at least the equivalent of the competencies
in an Associate degree in engineering or a diploma or advanced diploma in
engineering from a university or TAFE college.
All data available from the ABS are classified according to standard classification systems
described on the ABS web-site. Education statistics are classified according to the Australian
Standard Classification of Education (ASCED). ASCED differentiates between fields of
6
Engineers Australia, Engineers and the Engineering Profession in Australia: A Profile from the 2006 Population
Census, 2010, www.engineersaustralia.org.au

education and levels of education. So far as level of education is concerned, Bachelors

Honours degrees are treated as notionally of four years duration and Bachelors Pass
degrees are notionally treated as between three and six years duration7. This means that in
ABS census and other data collections, no distinction is drawn between Professional
Engineers and Engineering Technologists. However, because the ABS data are organised
around the AQF framework, separate data for Engineering Associates can be obtained.
There is also an important issue that involves the “fields” dimension for the main element of
the classification dealing with engineering, ASCED 03 Engineering and Related
Technologies. This is one of 12 broad fields of education identified in ASCED and covers all
the accepted fields of engineering education. The issue is that ASCED 0311 Geomatic
Engineering is treated as an engineering field of education instead of a separate profession,
surveying. By including surveying with engineering, the numbers of engineering graduates is
overstated. In the past, the extent of this problem was unknown, but as a result of tailored
data request to the ABS and to the organisations from which education statistics were
sourced, separation between engineering and surveying graduates is now possible for large
amounts of data. Unfortunately, resource limitations and some data limitations mean that the
problem persists in some cases.
The University statistics in Chapter 3 were obtained from the Department of Education,
Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) and the TAFE statistics in Chapter 4 from
the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER). Both agencies use the
ASCED classification system. DEEWR data were obtained for commencing students,
students currently studying and completing students. These statistics are provided for
ASCED 03 Engineering and Related Technologies and thus include ASCED 0311 Geomatic
Engineering or surveying. However, entry level completions data for Australian universities
were obtained in more detailed form and it was possible to separate Geomatic Engineering
from mainstream engineering. Unlike the ABS, DEEWR was also able to separate
completions of three year degrees, four year degrees and degrees longer than four years
(mainly double degrees).
All educational qualifications in Australia are classified according to the Australian Standard
Classification of Qualifications framework (AQF). This ensures that equivalent qualifications
are treated consistently. This is particularly important in respect to the qualifications for
Engineering Associates. Some universities offer Associate degrees and Diplomas and
Advanced Diplomas in Engineering. But, the main body of potential Engineering associates
graduate from Australia’s Tertiary and Further Education (TAFE) system. Statistics on TAFE
graduations are available from 2002 onwards, one year less than for university statistics, and
use different rounding and randomizing for privacy reasons.
The terminology used generally are the terms used by the agencies collecting the statistics
reported. When there is a need to relate statistical desciptions to terms used by engineering
organisations this is done appropriately.
In the Sixth and earlier Editions of the Statistics Handbook time series statistics before and a
change in classification systems in 2001 were combined. Relevant caveats applying to the
discontinuity in the series in the year of the change were explained. This continuity was
relatively minor at aggregate level but quite important at disaggregated levels. In this Edition
sufficient statistics have been collected using current classifications for most time series
purposes and the use of pre-2001 statistics has been discontinued. Readers interested in
earlier statistics are referred to the Sixth Edition of the Statistical Overview.
As was the case in the Sixth Edition, only aggregate Australia wide data are presented here,
except for a few examples to illustrate distributional issues. Users who require data on the
7
ABS, Australian Standard Classification of Education, 2001, p40, www.abs.gov.au

engineering profession at State and/or Territory level can obtain this from the Supplement to
the Statistical Handbook available from the Engineers Australia web-site8.
Finally, a comment on data and resource availability is required. The availability of data freely
on the internet has improved significantly in recent years. Each of the agencies (DEEWR.
ABS, NCVER and the Department of Immigration and Citizenship) from which data were
obtained for the Statistical Overview provide large amounts of data in this way. However, in
most cases, the data required for useful analyses of engineers and engineering require a
more detailed level of disaggregation than generally available on the web. In most cases
disaggregated statistics are obtainable, but on a fee for service basis. Resource constraints
mean that improvements in statistics requires an incremental approach over time. The main
improvement in this round is the result of investment in the ABS Tablebuilder facility. This
process will continue so that over time, continuous improvement is achieved.
1.4 Outline of the Statistical Handbook

This Statistical Overview comprises primarily flow statistics relevant to the supply of
engineers. A separate publication now deals with a comprehensive analysis of statistics on
engineers and the engineering profession using 2006 Population Census. This means that
Census statistics are no longer included in the Statistical Overview.
Chapter 2 deals with the education of engineers beginning with the potential pool of
candidates for engineering courses in senior high schools and the flow of students through
different stages of university courses in Engineering and Related Technologies. Only
university statistics are covered because TAFE statistics on commencements and total
enrolments are not available and for the reason explained above about what is included in
Engineering and related technologies. TAFE completions statistics are covered in chapter 4.
The Tables in chapter 2 clearly distinguish domestic students, who are able to directly move
into the Australian labour force and overseas students who can only join the Australian
labour force after successfully negotiating immigration formalities. The Chapter includes a
limited comparison between trends in Engineering and Related Technologies and other
disciplines.
Chapter 3 focuses on the potential flow of new graduates in engineering to the labour market.
This comprises domestic engineering course completions and the focus is on completions of
Bachelors Degrees of different durations, Associate Degrees and Diplomas and Advanced
Diplomas in engineering. Some new graduates do not immediately join the labour market but
continue on to higher education, both in Australia and overseas, some new graduates leave
Australia to work overseas and some choose occupations unrelated to their engineering
studies. At this stage statistics on these different routes are not available in consistent form
and further work is necessary.
The domestic supply of new engineering graduates has not been able to keep pace with
increases in the demand for engineers in recent years. Government policies to deal with
shortages have increased the number of new fully funded engineering places in universities
and TAFEs and through the immigration of suitably qualified engineers. Chapter 2 covers the
former and Chapter 4 covers the changes in migrant engineers from permanent and
temporary migration. Permanent visas entries are differentiated according to whether
applicants were on-shore or off-shore. On-shore applicants are likely to include a significant
number of overseas student completing Bachelors and Coursework Masters Degrees. Off-
shore applicants are also likely to include some with Australian engineering qualifications, but
these applicants have spent some time back in their country of origin before seeking a visa to
come to Australia.
8
www.engineersaustralia.org.au/resources-and-library/resources-and-library-home.cfm

Chapter 5 looks at several characteristics of engineers using survey data from the
remuneration surveys undertaken by the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists
and Managers, Australia (APESMA). This survey has been running for over two decades and
offers the opportunity to consider how the average age, work experience and salary
packages of engineers have changed for different experience categories. These statistics
relate only to Professional Engineers.
Ideally, the adequacy of engineers in the Australian labour market should be investigated
using consistent statistics for the supply of, and demand for, engineers in the different
circumstances in engineers are employed. Unfortunately, this is not possible with the
statistics presently available in Australia. Limitations include differences in definitions and
classification systems, the ways in which some data are gathered and the need to use data
designed to meet other needs9. As is often the case, what is available determines what is
possible. Despite the difficulties, the statistics in this Handbook build a useful narrative
describing the engineering profession in Australia.
Chapter 6 complies a range of statistics on the adequacy of engineering numbers. Direct

evidence on the shortage of engineers from the Population Census in 2006 is reported as
well as alternative indirect or surrogate approaches for subsequent years. Surrogate
measures have important limitations, but when considered together and in conjunction with
the direct evidence from the Census, they provide useful confirmation of anecdotal
information available to Engineers Australia and other organisations.
The most important information gap relates to the retirement of engineers from the labour
market. Census statistics show that the age structure of qualified engineers is older than the
age structure of the equivalently qualified individuals in Australian workforce. The age
structure for the engineering profession is dicotomous with higher shares in the oldest age
groups but also higher shares in some of the younger age groups. Retirement patterns for
engineers requires more research and the first step is an Engineers Australia retirement
intentions survey. The results of this work will be available later in 2010.
9
In the USA data on engineering and science professionals are collected in several inter-related and purpose
designed surveys undertaken by the National Science Board, see National Science Board, Science and
Engineering Indicators, 2008, www.nsf.gov . This is a different methodological approach to the Australian data
collection.

2. UNIVERSITY COURSES IN ENGINEERING
2.1 Engineers Australia’s Role

In Australia, accreditation of undergraduate engineering programs is the responsibility of
Engineers Australia. Accreditation ensures academic institutions consistently meet national
and international benchmarks, and engineering graduates of an accredited program are
assured membership with Engineers Australia at the relevant career grade, and may enjoy
reciprocal privileges by equivalent professional bodies, both in Australia and overseas. Full
details of the accreditation process and of accredited courses are available on the Engineers
Australia web site10.
2.2 Year 12 School Participation in Mathematics and

Science
This section looks at new data from a recent Report by the Australian Council for Educational
Research (ACER) on the participation of Australian students in science, mathematics and
technology11 and builds on statistics presented in earlier editions of the Overview. In
particular, science statistics are more specific than in the past but mathematics statistics are
an update on those reported by by Barrington12. The ACER Report looks at an updated
categorisation of mathematics courses that incorporated new subjects and other changes
made in recent years13.
The three levels of mathematics identified were:
• Advanced mathematics; typically taken by students planning to proceed to tertiary

studies that require the strongest mathematics preparations such as engineering,
actuarial studies, mathematics and the physical sciences.
• Intermediate mathematics; typically taken by students who plan to proceed to tertiary
studies which require significant but not extensive mathematical preparation such as
science, medicine, economics and commerce.
• Fundamental mathematics; typically taken as a final year subject but not suitable as a
mathematical foundation for tertiary studies.
Table 2.1 shows the number of year 12 students studying advanced, intermediate and
fundamental mathematics since 2001 and Figure 2.1 illustrates the trends in this Table..
A key conclusion, from Barrington, noted in earlier Editions was that the proportion of year 12
studying advanced and intermediate mathematics has fallen. The ACER statistics confirm
this conclusion as shown in Figure 3.1. In 2001, 26,216, or 13.9% of year 12 students
studied advanced mathematics but, by 2007, the number had fallen to 22,999 and the share
to 11.6%. A similar change took place in intermediate mathematics with numbers falling from
65,323 in 2001 to 60,723 in 2007 and shares falling from 34.7% to 30.6% respectively.
Conversely, both the numbers and shares of students undertaking other levels of
mathematics have both increased.
10
www.engineersaustralia.org.au/education
11
John Ainley, Julie Kos and Marina Nicholas, Participation in Science, Mathematics and Technology in
Australian Education, ACER Research Monograph No 63, August 2008, www.acer.edu.au
12
Frank Barrington, Participation in Year 12 Mathematics across Australia 1995-2004, 2006, ICE-EM
Publications, University of Melbourne
13
Ainley et al, p29
UNIVERSITY COURSE IN ENGINEERING 6

TABLE 2.1
YEAR 12 PARTICIPATION IN MATHEMATICS IN AUSTRALIA
LEVEL 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

ADVANCED
Number 26216 26350 27096 27873 25144 23997 22999
Percent 13.9 13.6 14 14.4 12.9 12.2 11.6
INTERMEDIATE
Number 65323 63933 63923 63167 64203 62071 60723
Percent 34.7 33 33 32.7 33.1 31.6 30.6
OTHER LEVELS
Number 79644 83047 83023 83020 81771 84122 92044
Percent 42.3 42.9 42.9 43 42.1 42.8 46.4
Source: Ainley, Kos and Nicholas, ACER, 2008
FIGURE 2.1: YEAR 12 PARTICIPATION IN MATHEMATICS IN AUSTRALIA

50
45
40
35
%
30
25
ADVANCED
INTERMEDIATE
20 OTHER LEVELS
15
10
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
In the past, the mathematics background of students commencing engineering was relatively
homogeneous. Most were expected to have advanced school mathematics, but the declining
proportion of year 12 student with advanced level mathematics has meant that universities
have considered programs to upgrade student mathematics understanding. The greater
diversity of mathematics backgrounds accepted by universities and ways to deal with this by
different universities was recently examined by the Carrick Institute to better inform educators
to facilitate a more concerted national effort14.
Table 2.2 shows the trends in year 12 participation in science subjects since 2001. Figure 2.2
puts the trends for physics and chemistry into a longer term context.
Physics and chemistry are both important enabling subjects for engineering courses. Table
2.2 shows that the number of year 12 students studying chemistry has increased from
33,554, or 17.8% in 2001 to 35,697, or 18.0% in 2007. But as Figure 2.2 shows, this recent
change leaves the share of students taking chemistry well below long term trends. In 1976,
14 st
Philip Broadbridge and Simi Henderson, Mathematics Education for 21 Century Engineering Students,
sponsored by the Carrick Institute, Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute, March 2008, www.amsi.org.au

28.6% of year 12 students studied chemistry and this share fell continuously to a minimum of
17.1% in 2002..
TABLE 2.2
YEAR 12 SCIENCE PARTICIPATION IN AUSTRALIAN SCHOOLS
SUBJECT 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Students enrolled
BIOLOGY 47744 47770 48532 48774 48807 49245 48964
CHEMISTRY 33554 33105 34074 35230 35734 35490 35697
PHYSICS 31016 30552 31141 31588 29506 28730 28931
PSYCHOLOGY 14670 15037 15824 16386 16982 18124 16858
GEOLOGY 1888 1809 1865 1956 2070 1883 1684
OTHER 14713 14650 14617 13823 13421 13532 16386
Percent of Year 12 cohort
BIOLOGY 25.4 24.7 25.1 25.2 25.1 25.1 24.7
CHEMISTRY 17.8 17.1 17.6 18.2 18.4 18.1 18.0
PHYSICS 16.5 15.8 16.1 16.3 15.2 14.6 14.6
PSYCHOLOGY 7.8 7.8 8.2 8.5 8.7 9.2 8.5
GEOLOGY 1.0 0.9 1.0 1.0 1.1 1.0 0.8
OTHER 7.8 7.6 7.5 7.2 6.9 6.9 8.3
Percent of original Year 8 cohort
BIOLOGY 18.6 18.5 18.9 19.1 18.9 18.7 18.4
CHEMISTRY 13.1 12.8 13.3 13.8 13.9 13.5 13.4
PHYSICS 12.1 11.8 12.1 12.4 11.4 10.9 10.8
PSYCHOLOGY 5.7 5.8 6.2 6.4 6.6 6.9 6.3
GEOLOGY 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.6
OTHER 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.4 5.2 5.1 6.1
Source: Ainley, Kos and Nicholas, ACER, 2008
FIGURE 2.2: YEAR 12 PARTICIPATION IN PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY IN

AUSTRALIA
24
CHEMISTRY
23 PHYSICS
22
21
20
%
19
18
17
16
15
14
1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
In physic, the recent statistics in Table 2.2 are a continuation of the long term trend. In 1976,
27.5% of year 12 students studied physics but by 2007 this had fallen to 14.6%.

Engineering competes with many other disciplines for year 12 students with advanced
mathematics and physics and chemistry backgrounds. The demands for professional skills in
science, mathematics, medicine, accounting and engineering have increased significantly in
line with the growth of the Australian economy. The trends discussed above indicate that this
increasing demand confronts a declining pool of eligible year 12 graduates.
2.3 Commencements
This Section looks at commencements in Engineering and Related Technologies university
courses. Tables 2.3 to 2.4 show these statistics in different forms. Table 2.3 looks at
commencements by course level and domicile, drawing the distinction between domestic and
overseas commencements from 2001 to 2008. Table 2.4 highlights the gender composition
of commencements. Tables 2.5 and 2.6 look at domestic and overseas commencements in
more detail. All four Tables look at the level of course commenced15.
Overall commencements in Engineering and related Technology courses increased from

19,304 in 2001 to 23,271 in 2008, an increase of 3,967 or 20.6%. This increase was in two
parts. Domestic student commencements increased from 14,024 in 2001 to 14,680 in 2008,
having first fallen to 13,580 in 2005. The increase was 656, or 4.7% of the 2001 figure.
Another way to view this is that the increase in domestic commencements was 16.5% of the
overall increase. The remaining 3,311 increase in commencements came from overseas
students. This was an increase of 62.7%.
Between 2007 and 2008 domestic student commencements fell by 2.1% from 15,002 to
14,680 while overseas student commencements increased by 3.8% from 8,278 to 8,591.
Domestic commencements in doctoral programs fell (-3.9%), increased in research masters
programs (14.5%), increased in coursework masters programs (9.4%), increased in other
postgraduate programs (9.9%) and increased in bachelors programs (2.2%) but fell sharply
in associate degree and diploma programs (-69.0%) and in other undergraduate courses (-
56.3%).
Nearly all the domestic increase in bachelors degrees were men. Women commencements
in bachelors degrees were at their highest in 2001 (1,638) but fell to 1,257 by 2005. Since
then numbers have steadily recovered but 2008 commencements (1,597) were still below the
2001 figure. Domestic men commencements in bachelors degrees had fallen to 8,574 in
2004 and have grown steadily to 9,697 in 2008, but the increase between 2007 and 2008
was the first substantive increase above the 9,432 commencements recorded in 1997.
Over 81% of overseas student commencements were in coursework masters and bachelors
degrees, repeating the pattern of previous years. The number of commencements in
coursework masters degrees increased marginally from 2,528 to 2,552. However, there was
a sharp fall in overseas student commencements in bachelors degrees from 4,289 in 2007 to
2,552 in 2008. This was the lowest figure this decade by a significant margin. In contrast to
previous years doctorate degree commencements increased sharply from 431 in 2007 to 573
in 2008. There are now more overseas doctorate commencements than domestic. Overseas
female commencements continued to increase strongly.
15
Most course levels are self explanatory but some are not. Other post-graduate programs include preparatory
courses for higher awards, post-graduate certificates and post-graduate diplomas. Associate Degrees and AQF
Diplomas include associate degrees, advanced AQF Diplomas and AQF Diplomas. Other under-graduate
includes enabling courses and various under-graduate certificates.

TABLE 2.3
STUDENTS COMMENCING AUSTRALIAN UNIVERSITY ENGINEERING
AND RELATED TECHNOLOGIES COURSES, BY DOMICILE
DOMESTIC STUDENTS
LEVEL 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
DOCTORAL 534 614 615 687 550 486 519 499
RESEARCH MASTERS 324 366 322 347 292 257 234 268
COURSEWORK MASTERS 798 1007 1007 964 876 943 1031 1128
OTHER POSTGRADUATE 1093 998 1106 1017 1092 1039 955 1050
BACHELORS 10786 10278 10089 9910 9920 10288 11051 11294
ASSOCIATE DEGREE & DIP's 252 335 295 294 420 439 694 215
OTHER UNDERGRADUATE 237 573 599 523 430 480 518 226
TOTAL 14024 14171 14033 13742 13580 13932 15002 14680
OVERSEAS STUDENTS
DOCTORAL 237 226 257 264 272 361 431 573
BACHELORS 3374 3859 4280 3936 3778 3854 4289 4463
TOTAL 5280 6314 7783 7436 7300 7247 8278 8591
ALL STUDENTS
DOCTORAL 771 840 872 951 822 847 950 1072
BACHELORS 14160 14137 14369 13846 13698 14142 15340 15757
TOTAL 19304 20485 21816 21178 20880 21179 23280 23271
Source: Data provided by DEEWR
TABLE 2.4
STUDENTS COMMENCING AUSTRALIAN UNIVERSITY ENGINEERING
AND RELATED TECHNOLOGIES COURSES, BY GENDER
MEN
LEVEL 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
DOCTORAL 596 658 699 750 659 650 754 792
BACHELORS 11966 11998 12231 11857 11772 12097 12983 13376
TOTAL 16230 17283 18561 18027 17718 17849 19544 19251
WOMEN
DOCTORAL 175 182 173 201 163 197 196 280
BACHELORS 2194 2139 2138 1989 1926 2045 2357 2381
TOTAL 3074 3202 3255 3151 3162 3330 3736 4020
ALL STUDENTS
DOCTORAL 771 840 872 951 822 847 950 1072
BACHELORS 14160 14137 14369 13846 13698 14142 15340 15757
TOTAL 19304 20485 21816 21178 20880 21179 23280 23271

TABLE 2.5
DOMESTIC STUDENTS COMMENCING AUSTRALIAN UNIVERSITY ENGINEERING
AND RELATED TECHNOLOGIES COURSES
MEN
LEVEL 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
DOCTORAL 406 472 492 537 437 378 418 380
BACHELORS 9148 8792 8667 8574 8663 8913 9460 9697
TOTAL 11824 12046 12014 11806 11704 11891 12744 12242
WOMEN
DOCTORAL 128 142 123 150 113 108 101 119
BACHELORS 1638 1486 1422 1336 1257 1375 1591 1597
TOTAL 2200 2125 2019 1936 1876 2041 2258 2438
ALL DOMESTIC STUDENTS

DOCTORAL 534 614 615 687 550 486 519 499
BACHELORS 10786 10278 10089 9910 9920 10288 11051 11294
TOTAL DOMESTIC STUDENTS 14024 14171 14033 13742 13580 13932 15002 14680
TABLE 2.6
OVERSEAS STUDENTS COMMENCING AUSTRALIAN UNIVERSITY ENGINEERING
AND RELATED TECHNOLOGIES COURSES
MEN
LEVEL 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
DOCTORAL 190 186 207 213 222 272 336 412
BACHELORS 2818 3206 3564 3283 3109 3184 3523 1597
TOTAL 4406 5237 6547 6221 6014 5958 6800 4927
WOMEN
DOCTORAL 47 40 50 51 50 89 95 161
BACHELORS 556 653 716 653 669 670 766 784
TOTAL 874 1077 1236 1215 1286 1289 1478 1582
ALL OVERSEAS STUDENTS

DOCTORAL 237 226 257 264 272 361 431 573
BACHELORS 3374 3859 4280 3936 3778 3854 4289 2381
TOTAL 5280 6314 7783 7436 7300 7247 8278 6509

FIGURE 2.3: THE TREND IN DOMESTIC AND OVERSEAS STUDENT

COMMENCEMENTS IN BACHELORS DEGREES
18000
16000
14000
12000
NUMBERS
10000
OVERSEAS
8000 DOMESTIC
6000
4000
2000
0
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Figure 2.3 illustrates the trends in domestic and overseas commencements in bachelors
degrees. This clearly shows the fall in domestic commencements to 2004 while overseas
commeements kept total commencements relatively steady. From 2005 onwards, both
domestic and overseas commencements began to increase and in 2007 and 2008 total
commencements recorded successive historical record levels.
FIGURE 2.4: THE GENDER COMPOSITION OF DOMESTIC

COMMENCEMENTS IN BACHELORS DEGREES
12000
10000
8000
NUMBER
6000 WOMEN
MEN
4000
2000
0
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Figure 2.4 ilustrates the gender composition of domestic commencements in bachelors

degrees, the main entry level qualification for the engineering profession. In 2001, the
proportion of women was 15.2% but then steadily fell to 12.7% in 2005. The share recovered
to 14.4% in 2007, but in the latest year has contracted to 14.1%.
Figure 2.5 illustrates the rapid expansion in commencements in coursework masters degrees
in engineering. The number of domestic commencements has been relatively steady with
some annual movements. Most of the expansion in these courses is due to increasing
overseas student numbers. Commencements peaked in 2003 and then fell until 2006. In the

last two years shown, commencements have resumed their earlier growth but overall
numbers are still somewhat below their peak.
FIGURE 2.5: THE TREND IN DOMESTIC AND OVERSEAS COURSEWORK

MASTERS DEGREE COMMENCEMENTS
4500
4000
3500
3000
NUMBERS
2500
OVERSEAS
2000 DOMESTIC
1500
1000
500
0
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
FIGURE 2.6: THE DISTRIBUTION OF DOMESTIC BACHELORS

COMMENCEMENTS IN ENGINEERING AND RELATER TECHNOLOGIES
BETWEEN JURISDICTIONS
4000
3500
3000
2500
NUMBER
2000
1500
1000
500
0
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
NSW VICTORIA QUEENSLAND WA SA TASMANIA NT ACT
Figure 2.6 illustrates the distribution of bachelors degree commencements between States
and Territories. The highest level of commencements was in Victoria in 2001. This level of
domestic commencements has yet to be repeated in any jurisdiction. Victorian and New
South Wales commencements fell until 2005 and then began to increase. In the case of New
South Wales this increase continued to 2008 and this State now has the highest level of
domestic commencements. Victorian commencements increased in 2006 and 2007, but fell
away in 2008. Queensland commencements were relatively static until 2004 and have
increased each year since. Commencements in Western Australia have steadily increased
each year. South Australian commencements show no obvious trend. The remaining
jurisdictions have quite small commencement levels.
Figure 2.7 illustrates the trend in overseas student commencements in engineering courses
of all levels. Annual figures show some fluctuations but it is evident that the largest numbers
of overseas students are in Victoria, followed by New South Wales. Queensland

commencements grew in the first 3 years shown but have fallen away since. Apart from
Victoria, the greatest changes have been in Western and South Australia where
commencements have increased significantly and the numbers in both States have
exceeded those in Queensland since 2005. The remaining jurisdictions once again have very
small numbers.
FIGURE 2.7: THE DISTRIBUTION OF OVERSEAS STUDENTS

COMMENCING COURSES IN ENGINEERING AND RELATED
TECHNOLOGIES ACROSS JURISDICTIONS
3500
3000
2500
NUMBERS
2000
1500
1000
500
0
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
NSW VICTORIA QUEENSLAND WA SA TASMANIA NT ACT
2.4 Overall Enrolments

This Section looks at statistics on total student numbers in Australia’s engineering schools.
These statistics provide an insight into the overall workload for engineering schools and
change in resource requirements to cope with the numbers of students in the “education
pipeline”. Tables 2.7 to 2.10 provide the total enrollment statistics corresponding to the
commencement statistics Tables 2.3 to 2.6.
In 2008, there were 73,496 students enrolled in engineering courses, an increase of 4,207, or
6.1% over 2007. Numerically, domestic and overseas student enrollments were equal, but
proportionally domestic enrolments increased by 4.3% while overseas enrolments increased
by 10.4%. Since 2001, overall enrollments increased by 14,910, or 25.4%. About 71% of this
increase was from overseas students whose numbers increased by 90.4% compared to
9.2% for domestic students.
Enrollments in doctorate degrees increased from 4,340 in 2007 to 4,554 in 2008, an increase
of 4.9%. Since 2001 the increase in these students has been 1,309, or 40.3%. Three-
quarters of this increase came from overseas students.
The overall enrolment trend for research masters degrees was static with annual fluctuations.
However, this comprised two parts. Domestic enrolments trended downwards and this was
largely offset by a rising trend in overseas enrolments.
Enrolments in coursework masters degrees more than doubled between 2001 and 2008 from
3,799 to 7,690. There were increase in both domestic and overseas student enrollments but
thrre-quarters of the increase came from overseas students. Domestic enrolments increased
from 1,773 in 2001 to 2,764 in 2008, an increase of 55.9% and overseas student enrolments
increased from 2,900 in 2001 to 4,926 in 2008, an increase of 143.1%.

TABLE 2.7
STUDENTS ENROLED IN ENGINEERING & RELATED TECHNOLOGIES COURSES, BY DOMICILE
DOMESTIC
LEVEL 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
DOCTORAL 2551 2620 2838 3001 2999 2935 2917 2847
BACHELORS 38828 38711 38443 37821 37109 37622 39057 40690
TOTAL 46890 47572 47787 47304 46523 47232 49121 51225
OVERSEAS
DOCTORAL 694 754 861 984 1111 1264 1423 1707
BACHELORS 8382 9248 10206 10761 11161 11471 12541 13863
TOTAL 11696 13409 16104 17325 18219 18297 20168 22271
ALL STUDENTS
DOCTORAL 3245 3374 3699 3985 4110 4199 4340 4554
BACHELORS 47210 47959 48649 48582 48270 49093 51598 54553
TOTAL 58586 60981 63891 64629 64742 65529 69289 73496
TABLE 2.8
STUDENTS ENROLED IN ENGINEERING & RELATED TECHNOLOGIES COURSES, BY GENDER
MEN
LEVEL 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
DOCTORAL 2549 2675 2943 3156 3265 3315 3400 3492
BACHELORS 39920 40438 41056 41141 41094 41899 44016 46530
TOTAL 49290 51254 53777 54507 54704 55370 58573 61879
WOMEN
DOCTORAL 696 699 756 829 845 884 940 1062
BACHELORS 7290 7521 7593 7441 7176 7194 7582 8023
TOTAL 9296 9727 10114 10122 10038 10159 10716 11617
ALL STUDENTS
DOCTORAL 3245 3374 3699 3985 4110 4199 4340 4554
BACHELORS 47210 47959 48649 48582 48270 49093 51598 54553
TOTAL 58586 60981 63891 64629 64742 65529 69289 73496

TABLE 2.9
DOMESTIC STUDENTS ENROLED IN ENGINEERING & RELATED TECHNOLOGIES COURSES
MEN
LEVEL 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
DOCTORAL 1989 2058 2239 2365 2364 2314 2287 2208
BACHELORS 32932 32872 32769 32405 31994 32553 33759 35116
TOTAL 39588 40242 40545 40290 39754 40425 42052 43648
WOMEN
DOCTORAL 562 562 599 636 635 621 630 639
BACHELORS 5896 5839 5674 5416 5115 5069 5298 5574
TOTAL 7302 7330 7242 7014 6769 6807 7069 7577

DOCTORAL 2551 2620 2838 3001 2999 2935 2917 2847
BACHELORS 38828 38711 38443 37821 37109 37622 39057 40690
TOTAL 46890 47572 47787 47304 46523 47232 49121 51225
TABLE 2.10
OVERSEAS STUDENTS ENROLED IN ENGINEERING & RELATED TECHNOLOGIES COURSES
MEN
LEVEL 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
DOCTORAL 560 617 704 791 901 1001 1113 1284
BACHELORS 6988 7566 8287 8736 9100 9346 10257 11414
TOTAL 9702 11012 13232 14217 14950 14945 16521 18231
WOMEN
DOCTORAL 134 137 157 193 210 263 310 423
BACHELORS 1394 1682 1919 2025 2061 2125 2284 2449
TOTAL 1994 2397 2872 3108 3269 3352 3647 4040

DOCTORAL 694 754 861 984 1111 1264 1423 1707
BACHELORS 8382 9248 10206 10761 11161 11471 12541 13863
TOTAL 11696 13409 16104 17325 18219 18297 20168 22271

Enrolments in bachelors degrees increased from 47,210 in 2001 to 54,553 in 2008, an

increase of 7,343, or 15.6%. Domestic enrollments in bachelors degrees increased by 1,862
over this period, but this change was in two parts. From 2001 to 2006 domestic enrolments
fell by 1,206 to 37,622. By 2008 domestic enrolments had increased by 3,068 to produce a
smaller net change over the full period. Overseas student enrolments in bachelors degrees
increased steadily each year from 8,382 in 2001 to 13,863 in 2008, an increase of 65.4%. In
2008, overseas students accounted for a quarter of all enrolments in bachelors degrees.
Enrolments in associate degrees and diploma courses almost trebled between 2001 and
2008 from 716 to 2,776. There were strong increases in both domestic and overseas
students. In 2001 684 domestic students were enrolled in these courses. Until 2005 numbers
fluctuated annually but no discernible trend emerged. Since then numbers have increased
strongly to 1,899 in 2008. In 2001, only 32 overseas students were enroled in associate
degrees and diploma courses. Numbers increased most years, plateauing out at about 877 in
the last two years.
Proportionally, overall enrolments of men and women increased by about one quarter.
Enrolment of domestic women increased from 7,302 in 2001 to 7,577 in 2008, an increase of
275, or 3.8%. Enrolment of domestic women fell steadily to 6,769 in 2005 before recovering
in subsequent years. This pattern was repeated in enrolments in bachelors degrees. In 2001,
these were 5,896 but fell to 5,069 in 2006 to then rise to 5,574 in 2008. Enrolment of
overseas women increased strongly from 1,994 in 2001 to 4,040 in 2008. The increase of
2,046 accounted for over 88% of the increase in the enrolment of women in engineering
courses. In contrast to domestic women, overseas women increased enrolments in bachelors
degree each year and by 2008 accounted for 44% of women enrolled in this key entry level
degree.
2.6. Completions
This Section looks at completions of engineering and related technologies courses. Tables
2.11 to 2.14 use the same format to present the final element of the education pipeline.
In 2008, 13,801 engineering and related technologies courses were completed, an increase
of 799, or 6.1% over 2007. Since 2001, completions have increased by 28.9%. Post-
graduate courses accounted for one third of 2008 completions.
Completion of doctorates increased from 421 in 2001 to 697 in 2008, an increase of almost
two-thirds. Both domestic and overseas completions increased, with growth in the latter
particularly strong. Research masters degree completions were static other than annual
fluctuations with much more variability among overseas completions than domestic
completions.
A key area of growth has been completions of coursework masters degrees. In 2001, there
were 1,552 completions, increasing by 1,325 by 2008, an increase of over 85%. Most of this
increase came from overseas completions. Domestic completions showed no clear trend, but
overseas completions increased from 916 in 2001 to 2188 in 2008 to account for over 38% of
that year’s overseas course completions. Post graduate course completions were 22.7% of
domestic course completions in 2008 compared to 47.7% for overseas students.
Course completions for women increased between 2001 and 2008, but nearly all the
increase was among overseas women. Course completions for domestic women were static
with fluctuations in the range 1,260 to 1,290 and a single peak of 1,307 in 2003. Domestic
women completed an increasing number of doctorates and other higher degrees, but the
numbers of bachelors degree completions have fallen. In 2008, the proportion of overseas
women completions was a third higher than the proportion of domestic women completions.

TABLE 2.11
STUDENTS COMPLETING AWARDS IN ENGINEERING & RELATED
TECHNOLOGIES FROM AUSTRALIAN UNIVERSITIES, BY DOMICILE
DOMESTIC
LEVEL 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
DOCTORAL 324 382 422 423 453 488 520 513
BACHELORS 6061 5721 5831 5980 5680 6026 5793 6046
TOTAL 7851 7683 7835 8174 7577 7984 7945 8125
OVERSEAS
DOCTORAL 97 99 109 151 185 208 251 184
BACHELORS 1658 1748 1997 2220 2396 2343 2290 2582
TOTAL 2855 3150 4099 4563 5214 4872 5057 5676
ALL STUDENTS
DOCTORAL 421 481 531 574 638 696 771 697
BACHELORS 7719 7469 7828 8200 8076 8369 8083 8628
TOTAL 10706 10833 11934 12737 12791 12856 13002 13801
TABLE 2.12
STUDENTS COMPLETING AWARDS IN ENGINEERING & RELATED
TECHNOLOGIES FROM AUSTRALIAN UNIVERSITIES, BY GENDER
MEN
LEVEL 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
DOCTORAL 339 401 419 462 511 563 617 541
BACHELORS 6407 6177 6465 6799 6690 6966 6774 7194
TOTAL 8875 9007 9894 10611 10601 10734 10811 11369
WOMEN
DOCTORAL 82 80 112 112 127 133 154 156
BACHELORS 1312 1292 1363 1401 1386 1403 1309 1434
TOTAL 1831 1826 2040 2126 2190 2122 2191 2432
ALL STUDENTS
DOCTORAL 421 481 531 574 638 696 771 697
BACHELORS 7719 7469 7828 8200 8076 8369 8083 8628
TOTAL 10706 10833 11934 12737 12791 12856 13002 13801

TABLE 2.13
DOMESTIC STUDENTS COMPLETING AWARDS IN ENGINEERING & RELATED
TECHNOLOGIES FROM AUSTRALIAN UNIVERSITIES
MEN
LEVEL 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
DOCTORAL 261 317 333 335 357 390 410 389
BACHELORS 5034 4753 4847 5005 4732 5062 4938 5158
TOTAL 6552 6425 6528 6887 6311 6728 6680 6832
WOMEN
DOCTORAL 63 65 89 88 96 98 110 124
BACHELORS 1027 968 984 975 948 964 855 888
TOTAL 1299 1258 1307 1287 1266 1256 1265 1293

DOCTORAL 324 382 422 423 453 488 520 513
BACHELORS 6061 5721 5831 5980 5680 6026 5793 6046
TOTAL 7851 7683 7835 8174 7577 7984 7945 8125
TABLE 2.14
OVERSEAS STUDENTS COMPLETING AWARDS IN ENGINEERING & RELATED
TECHNOLOGIES FROM AUSTRALIAN UNIVERSITIES
MEN
LEVEL 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
DOCTORAL 78 84 86 127 154 173 207 152
BACHELORS 1373 1424 1618 1794 1958 1904 1836 2036
TOTAL 2323 2582 3366 3724 4290 4006 4131 4537
WOMEN
DOCTORAL 19 15 23 24 31 35 44 32
BACHELORS 285 324 379 426 438 439 454 546
TOTAL 532 568 733 839 924 866 926 1139

DOCTORAL 97 99 109 151 185 208 251 184
BACHELORS 1658 1748 1997 2220 2396 2343 2290 2582
TOTAL 2855 3150 4099 4563 5214 4872 5057 5676

The key source of growth for new entrants to the engineering profession in Australia is
domestic completions of bachelors degrees and associate degrees and diplomas in
engineering. In 2001, bachelors completions were 6,061. This figure trended down in an
irregular fashion to 5,680 in 2005 before increasing to 6,046 in 2008. The numbers of
associate degree and diploma completions is much smaller and showed a similar pattern.
Chapter 3 examines these figures in greater detail, looking at course duration and area of
specialisation.
2.6 Engineering Completions Compared to Other

Disciplines
This Section considers a limited comparison between completions of engineering and related
technologies bachelors and coursework masters degrees to corresponding completions in
other disciplines. The intention is to provide some insight into the scale of engineering
education in the overall context of university education. Figure 2.8 shows the trends in the
proportions of engineering completions for the levels of education covered in the Tables
above. Figure 2.9 shows the corresponding trends for overseas student completions.
The trend in the proportion of engineering and related technologies completions in all
university completions (black line) has been downwards, falling from 5.5% in 1996 to 4.8% in
2007 and 2008. The trend for bachelors degree completions (red line) lies above the trend
line for overall completions, but followed a similar trend, falling from 6.1% in 1996 to 5.4% in
2007 before increasing to 5.8% in 2008.
FIGURE 2.8: DOMESTIC ENGINEERING AND RELATED TECHNOLOGIES

COURSE COMPLETIONS AS SHARES OF CORRESPONDING
COMPLETIONS IN ALL DISCIPLINES
14.0
12.0
10.0
8.0
%
6.0
4.0
2.0
0.0
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
DOCTORATES MASTERS BY RESEARCH MASTERS BY COURSEWORK
OTHER POSTGRADUATE BACHELORS ASSOCIATE DEGREE & DIPLOMA
ALL QUALIFICATIONS
The proportion of engineering doctoral (dark blue line) and research masters (light blue line)
degree completions were twice as high as for bachelors degrees, suggesting a strong
attraction to research higher degrees among domestic engineers. In contrast, domestic
engineers are much less attracted to coursework masters programs (light green line) where
the trend line lies substantially below the overall completions and bachelors completions
trends.
While overseas student completions figure strongly in the Tables discussed above, Figure
2.9 shows that when taken in the context of university education generally, the issue does
not assume quite the same proportion. Domestic engineering completions in 2008 were 4.8%

and overseas completions were higher at 6.4%, but the scale of this difference is not great
when considered this way.
Much the same pattern prevails for the trends in coursework masters and bachelors degree
completions where the trend lines are almost superimposed on the trend in overall overseas
completions. In other words, there are slightly more overseas completions than domestic
completions and the trend lines in both cases have been falling suggesting that engineering
completions are not as strong as in the past.
FIGURE 2.9: ENGINEERING AND RELATED TECHNOLOGIES

COMPLETIONS BY OVERSEAS STUDENTS AS A SHARE OF ALL
OVERSEAS COMPLETIONS
40.0
35.0
30.0
25.0
20.0
%
15.0
10.0
5.0
0.0
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
DOCTORATES MASTERS BY RESEARCH MASTERS BY COURSEWORK
BACHELORS ALL QUALIFICATIONS
The trend lines for overseas completions of doctorates and research masters degrees are
particularly interesting. The trend for doctorates has been falling irregularly over time and in
2008 was 13.0% down from 21.0% in 1996. However, in 2008 domestic doctoral completions
were very similar to 1996 at around 11%. Domestic research masters completions fluctuated
about 12% but the proportion of engineering research masters degrees in overall overseas
completions has increased. In 1996 it was 21.6% and by 2008 it had plateaued out at 30.2%.

3. NEW ENTRY LEVEL ENGINEERS
3.1 The Engineering Profession in Australia

This Chapter looks more closely at the domestic entry level completions discussed in Tables
2.11 to 2.14, together with corresponding statistics from Tertiary and Further Education
(TAFE) Colleges, to establish the potential flow of qualified engineers to the engineering
profession. The focus is on entry level qualifications because this is what determines the
minimum engineering competencies offered by an individual. Post-graduate qualifications
add to the competencies of existing engineers. Only domestic completions are considered
because these graduates have the capacity to directly join the Australian labour market.
Overseas graduates have the potential to do so but must first successfully obtain the
necessary immigration visa.
The way that the engineering profession is organised was described in some detail in section
1.3. The educational qualifications required for entry into the three levels of the profession
are the focus for this chapter. To reiterate they are:
• Engineering Associate; two year (full time equivalent) engineering qualification

(Associate Degrees, AQF Diplomas and Advanced Diplomas)
• Engineering Technologist; three year (full time equivalent) university degree in
engineering
• Professional Engineer; four year (full time equivalent) university degree in engineering
DEEWR, using a different statistics file, are able to provide disaggregations of the bachelors
degree completions shown in Tables 2.11 to 2.14 into bachelors degrees of three years, four
years, greater than four years full time equivalent duration. In somes cases, DEEWR were
unable to establish course duration from statistical returns submitted by universities. There
were two examples of this problem, one in 1996 and another in 2005. Bachelors degrees
with duration greater than four years are typically double degrees based on a four year
engineering degree. No information on the second field of education is available, but,
anecdotally, the most common ones are thought to be science, mathematics,
economics/finance and law. There are some small discrepencies between the statistics in
this chapter and chapter 2 due to the different data file used and to some miscoding where
engineering double degrees were allocated to the secondary field rather than engineering.
Graduations in different engineering specialisations is highlighted. In principle, the more

disaggregated the statistics the better the focus on specialisation. However, a quirk of the
statistics is that the university returns to DEEWR use “general” categories so excessively that
at the most disaggregated level understanding trends becomes impossible. Instead,
disaggregation is limited to 4-digit level to optimise the situation.
Statistics on TAFE completions were obtained from the National Centre for Vocational
Education Research (NCVER). These statistics were arranged in the same way as the
university statistics. However, because these statistics are from a completely different
collection, different statistical protocols apply.
University and TAFE graduation statistics are combined, despite these problems, to establish
time series for graduates capable of joining the engineering profession. Many do, but some
travel overseas, others undertake post-graduate studies and some react to labour market
incentives and accept positions in non-engineering occupations.
NEW ENTRY LEVEL ENGINEERS 22

3.2 Three Year Degrees in Engineering

Table 3.1 shows the numbers graduating from three year (full time equivalent) bachelors
degrees in engineering from 2001 to 2008. These graduates have the competencies to
become Engineering Technologists.
TABLE 3.1
DOMESTIC STUDENTS COMPLETING THREE YEAR BACHELORS DEGREES IN ENGINEERING, BY
ENGINEERING DISCIPLINE
MEN
ASCED SPECIALISATION 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
0300 Engineering & Related Technologies 66 59 64 62 56 59 44 53
0301 Manufacturing Engineering & Technology 18 14 3 3 5 4 4 0
0303 Process & Resource Engineering 43 27 32 18 42 64 16 20
0305 Automotive Engineering & Technology 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0307 Mechanical & Industrial Engineering & Technology 34 49 30 21 29 34 8 17
0309 Civil Engineering 14 13 7 19 40 39 28 17
0313 Electrical & Electronic Engineering & Technology 124 106 102 110 159 203 127 108
0315 Aerospace Engineering & Technology 79 102 111 110 154 175 138 165
0317 Martime Engineering & Technology 2 3 4 2 6 1 2 1
0399 Other Engineering & Technology 109 102 96 96 92 100 108 91
TOTAL 489 475 449 441 583 679 475 472
0311 Geomatic Engineering 42 65 75 48 23 22 16 17
TOTAL INCLUDING GEOMATIC ENGINEERING 531 540 524 489 606 701 491 489
WOMEN
0317 Maritime Engineering & Technology 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0
TOTAL 88 77 75 76 133 131 99 127

TOTAL 577 552 524 517 716 810 574 599
Source: Data supplied by DEEWR
In 2008, there were 599 graduates from three year bachelors degrees in engineering, an
increase of 25, or 4.4% over 2007. With the exception of two years (2005, 716 and 2006,
810) graduate numbers have been in the mid 500’s. In 2008, 21.2% of graduates were
women.
The three largest areas of specialisation were:

• Aerospace Engineering and Technology with 204 (34.1%) graduates in 2008. This
specialisation has experienced strong growth since 2001.
• Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Technology with 132 (22.0%)
graduates in 2008. This level of graduates is much lower than the figures recorded in

2005 (215) and 2006 (244). These results largely explain the high numbers of three
year graduates in those years.
• Other Engineering and Technology with 100 (16.7%) graduates in 2008. This
group includes Environmental and Biomedical engineers as well as a catch-all
remainder category.
There are comparatively small numbers of graduates in several important engineering

specialisations. There were 28 Process and Resource Engineering graduates. This group
includes chemical engineers, materials engineers and mining engineers. There were 29
Mechanical and Industrial Engineering and Technology graduates. As well as mechanical
engineers, this group includes production engineers and industrial engineers. Finally, there
were 28 Civil Engineering graduates.
In 2008 there were 28 surveying graduates. Surveyers are included in Engineering and
Related Technology and overstate the number of engineers in Tables 2.11 to 2.14.
3.3 Four Year Degrees in Engineering

Table 3.2 shows the numbers of four year (full time equivalent) bachelors degree graduates
in engineering from 2001 to 2008. These graduates have the competencies to become
Professional Engineers.
In 2008, there were 3,986 graduates from four year bachelors degrees, an increase of 237,
or 6.3% over 2007. To put these figures into context, there were almost as many (3,951)
graduates in 2001. Numbers fell steadily to a minimum of 3,246 in 2005 before rising to the
present level.
Women graduate numbers have steadily fallen since 2001. In that year, 669, or 16.9% of
graduates were women. In 2008, there were 494 women graduates, almost identical to the
previous year, but their share had fallen by one quarter to 12.4%.
The largest specialisations are:

• Civil Engineering, (includes civil engineers, structural engineers, transport engineers
and ocean engineers) had 803 graduates in 2008, an increase of 150, or 23.0% over
2007. This group of engineers made up 20.1% of four year graduates in 2008. In
2001, graduate numbers were 725 but fell sharply to record a minimum of 489 in
2005. Since then there have been increases each year.
• Other Engineering and Technology had 735 graduates in 2008. This group
includes environmental engineers (92), biomedical engineers (30) with the remainder
in general categories. Graduate numbers increased by 148, or 25.2% over 2007 but
numbers similar to 2008 were recorded in 2006 (720) and 2001 (701).
• Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Technology had 740 graduates in
2008. This was a fall of 140, or 15.9% from the 880 graduates in 2007. This group
includes electrical engineers (228), electronic engineers (125), computer engineers
(120), communications technologies (33) with the remainder in general categories. In
2001 there were 1,147 graduates in this group. Numbers increased to a peak of 1,291
in 2004 and have fallen each year since.
• Mechanical and Industrial Engineering and Technology had 660 graduates in
2008, an increase of 46, or 7.5% over 2007. Annual fluctuations have been relatively
large but there appears to have been a falling trend during the early years of the
period shown resulting in a low point of 482 graduates in 2005. There have been
increases each year since. Most graduates were mechanical engineers (622) with a
small number of industrial engineers.
• Process and Resource Engineering had 479 graduates in 2008, an increase of 34,
or 7.6% over 2007. There were 542 graduates in 2001 but this fell to a low point of

325 in 2005 before increasing to present levels. This group includes chemical
engineers (259), mining engineers (104) and materials engineers (41).
•
TABLE 3.2
DOMESTIC STUDENTS COMPLETING FOUR YEAR BACHELORS DEGREES IN ENGINEERING, BY
MEN
TOTAL 3282 3203 3178 3185 2748 3060 3259 3492
WOMEN
TOTAL 669 636 648 607 498 506 490 494

TOTAL 3951 3839 3826 3792 3246 3566 3749 3986
There were relatively large numbers of aerospace engineers (210) and relatively large
numbers of graduates in Engineering and Related Technologies (307), a general engineering
category. Automotive engineering (22) and maritime engineering had very small numbers.
The pattern of specialisation among women graduates is not noticeably different to that for
men. There were 143 surveying graduates in 2008 that were included in the statistics in
chapter 2.
3.4 Double Degrees in Engineering

Table 3.3 shows the numbers graduating from bachelors degrees over 4 years in
engineering. These degrees are typically double degrees, combining a 4 year degree in

engineering with a degree in another field. These graduates have the competencies to
become Professional Engineers.
TABLE 3.3
DOMESTIC STUDENTS COMPLETING FOUR YEAR DOUBLE DEGREE PROGRAMS IN ENGINEERING, BY
MEN
TOTAL 1078 895 1046 1213 1064 1192 1065 1082
WOMEN
TOTAL 238 211 231 250 243 286 247 247

TOTAL 1316 1106 1277 1463 1307 1478 1312 1329
In 2008, the two largest group of graduates were in general engineering categories; 469 in
Engineering and Related Technologies and 243 in Other Engineering and Technology. In the
latter category there were 17 environmental engineers and 10 biomedical engineers. The
remaining graduates in these categories are “general” engineers.
Very few surveyors undertake double degree studies and the their inclusion in Engineering
and Related Technology makes very little difference for double degrees.
3.5 Unknown Duration

DEEWR statistics show that in 1996 there were 238 bachelors degree in engineering
completions where the duration was not provided in statistical returns and in 2005 there were
248 cases. It is believed that the majority of these degrees are 4 year bachelors degrees in

engineering but this cannot be unambiguously verified. For statistical purposes they are
included in the 4 year totals covered below.
3.6 Engineering Degree Completions

Table 3.4 consolidates the statistics for completions of Bachelors degrees in engineering
shown in Tables 3.1 to 3.3 into a combined overview. In 2008, there were 5,914 completions,
279 or 5.0% more than in 2007. Although the number of completions was the highest on
record, it was only 70 more than 2001. While this is encouraging, it is not sufficient to suggest
that that the trend is changing from static to increasing.
TABLE 3.4
DOMESTIC STUDENTS COMPLETING BACHELORS DEGREES IN ENGINEERING OF ALL DURATIONS, BY
ENGINEERING DISCIPLINES
MEN
TOTAL 4849 4571 4673 4839 4599 4931 4799 5046
WOMEN
TOTAL 995 924 954 933 918 922 836 868

TOTAL 5844 5495 5627 5772 5517 5853 5635 5914
Source: Data supplied by DEWR

FIGURE 3.1: COMPLETIONS OF BACHELORS DEGREES IN ENGINEERING

SINCE 2001
7000
MALES FEMALES
6000
5000
NUMBERS
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Figure 3.1 illustrates the trend in Bachelors degree in engineering, highlighting gender
differences. The number of female completions was over 900 until 2006 and less since. In
the earlier period, the female share varied between 15.8% and 17% but is now down to
14.7%.
FIGURE 3.2: ENGINEERING SPECIALISATIONS AMONG COMPLETIONS OF

BACHELORS DEGREES
7000
6000
5000
OTHER
MARITIME
AEROSPACE
NUMBERS
4000
ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC
CIVIL
MECHANICAL
3000
AUTOMOTIVE
PROCESS & RESOURCE
2000 MANUFACTURING
GENERAL
1000
0
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Figure 3.2 illustrates the composition of completions of Bachelors degrees in engineering by

specialisations. A key change is the fall in the number of electrical and electronic engineering
completions from 1,727 in 2001 to 1,076 in 2008. The growth in “general’ engineering from
357 completions in 2001 to 830 in 2008 is also quite conspicuous. Many engineering
specialisations that have been the subject of skills shortages discussions (civil, mechanical,
process and mining) show static trends with relatively large annual fluctuations.
Process and resource engineering, that includes chemical, materials and mining engineers,
has had completions in the mid to high 600’s except for a low of 494 completions in 2005.
Mechanical and industrial engineering completions were highest in 2001 and have been in

the 700’s in most years except lows of 593 and 686 in 2005, and 2006 respectively. Civil
engineering numbers fell steadily from 899 in 2001 to 656 in 2005 but have now responded
to the strong demand for civil engineers.
3.7 Completions of Associate Degrees & Diplomas

The majority of diploma and advanced diploma courses in engineering are taught in the
TAFE system, but some courses, including associate degrees and diplomas, are taught by
universities. This section combines completions statistics from both sources to consider the
trends for the Engineering Associate component of the engineering team.
TABLE 3.5
STUDENTS COMPLETING AQF DIPLOMAS AND ADVANCED DIPLOMAS IN ENGINEERING FROM
AUSTRALIAN TAFE COLLEGES, BY ENGINEERING DISCIPLINE
MEN
ASCED SPECIALISATION 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
0301 Manufacturing Engineering & Technology 505 410 615 520 473 559 342
0303 Process & Resource Engineering 55 85 105 110 75 92 127
0305 Automotive Engineering & Technology 0 10 10 40 24 65 146
0307 Mechanical & Industrial Engineering & Technology 610 640 770 513 420 432 556
0309 Civil Engineering 135 130 170 220 304 309 346
0313 Electrical & Electronic Engineering & Technology 1110 1220 975 1015 1080 1093 1092
0315 Aerospace Engineering & Technology 105 100 95 100 84 87 86
0317 Maritime Engineering & Technology 140 125 60 45 85 116 116
0399 Other Engineering & Technology 205 130 105 335 416 317 157
TOTAL 2865 2850 2905 2898 2961 3070 2968
0311 Geomatic Engineering 120 80 65 75 62 107 95
TOTAL INCLUDING GEOMATIC ENGINEERING 2985 2930 2970 2973 3023 3177 3063
WOMEN
TOTAL 430 410 445 555 595 670 651
TOTAL
TOTAL 3295 3260 3350 3453 3556 3740 3619
Notes: 1. Data rounded to nearest 5 by provider and, with note 2, totals will not sum.
2. # Data for 2007 is preliminary and may be updated later.
Source: National VET Provider Collections, 2002-07, NCVER
Table 3.5 shows TAFE diploma and advanced diploma completions in the same format as
used for university statistics. The statistics begin in 2002, one year later than university
statistics, this is the commencement year for the NCVER collection. University statistics are
compiled from accountability returns to DEEWR as part of university funding arrangements,
and this process has a large bearing on the generally high quality of the statistics. TAFE
statistics are collected by NCVER for research purposes. The quality of these statistics and

collection protocols reflects the procedures of State and Territory TAFE agencies. There are
always difficulties when statistics from different sources are aggregated, but this is
unavoidable to build the overview required.
The distribution of specialisations among TAFE completions reflects the particular emphasis
followed in different jurisdictions. In NSW, the largest discipline is Mechanical and Industrial
Engineering, with Electrical and Electronic Engineering the second largest. In Victoria, the
dominant discipline by a large margin is Manufacturing Engineering. In Queensland the
strongest group is ASCED 0399 Other Engineering, in Western Australia, Electrical and
Electronic Engineering is the strongest.
In 2008, there were 3,619 TAFE graduates with a diploma or advanced diploma in
engineering compared to 3,740 in 2007, a fall of 121 or –3.2%. Completions had slowly
increased from 2001 and overall were 324 or 9.8% higher.
Almost one third of TAFE completions are in electrical and electronic engineering. In 2008
there were 750, or 20.7% completions in manufacturing engineering, 615, or 17.0% of
completions in mechanical engineering and 405, or 11.2% of completions in civil engineering.
Remaining completions were widely spread across several areas of specialisation.
In 2002, 13.1% of TAFE engineering completions were females. This share remained static
until 2004 when it began to increase steadily. By 2008, the female proportion had increased
to 18%, much higher than for Bachelor degree completions.
TABLE 3.6
UNIVERSITY COMPLETIONS OF ASSOCIATE DEGREES, DIPLOMAS
AND ADVANCED DIPLOMAS IN ENGINEERING
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

MEN 162 176 141 115 134 106 213 269
WOMEN 5 10 15 9 7 8 72 78
TOTAL 167 186 156 124 141 114 285 347
Table 3.6 shows university completions of associate degrees, diplomas and advanced
diplomas in engineering. Overall numbers have been relatively small, too small to sustain
meaningful disaggregation into engineering specialisations. Numbers fell to 114 in 2006, but
in the last two years have shown strong increases. In 2008, there were 347 completions.
3.8 The Potential Flow of Graduates to the Engineering

Profession
Table 3.7 summarises the potential flow of new engineering graduates to the engineering
profession from all teaching institutions. Figure 3.3 illustrates the main trends.
In 2008, there were 9,880 new engineering graduates who could potentially join the
engineering profession. Fom 2002 to 2004, numbers fluctuated around 9,000 but since then
have increased each year.
Other than two years, 2005 and 2006, the flow of potential engineering technologists has
been quite low, accounting for only about 6%. The flow of potential engineering associates
reflects the trend in TAFE graduations. The increases in recent years have meant that the
share of this group has increased from 38.2% to 40%. The flow of potential professional
engineers also showed recent increases after a period of decline from 2002 to 2005. In 2002,

the flow of potential professional engineers was 55.6% but by 2008 this had fallen to 53.8%,
reflecting the increase in TAFE graduates.
TABLE 3.7
THE POTENTIAL FLOW OF NEW GRADUATES TO THE ENGINEERING PROFESSION
MEN
POTENTIAL FLOW TO 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Engineering Officer (University) 176 141 115 134 106 213 269
Engineering Officer (TAFE) 2810 2850 2905 2898 2961 3070 2968
Engineering Technologist 473 449 441 583 679 475 472
Professional Engineers 4098 4224 4398 4016 4252 4324 4574
Total 7557 7664 7859 7631 7998 8082 8283
WOMEN
Total 1339 1358 1362 1475 1525 1578 1597
ALL DOMESTIC ENTRY LEVEL GRADUATES

TOTAL 8886 9082 9061 9188 9523 9660 9880
Source: Statistics supplied by DEEWR and NCVER
FIGURE 3.3: THE POTENTIAL FLOW OF NEW GRADUATES TO THE

ENGINEERING PROFESSION
12000
PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS
ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGISTS
ENGINEERING OFFICERS
10000
8000
NUMBERS
6000
4000
2000
0
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
There is a presumption that the labour market destination of engineering graduates will be
engineering occupations that belong to the engineering profession. In reality, while this nexus
is stronger in engineering than in many other disciplines, the demand for engineers has
increased in many non-traditional occupations and a proportion of engineering graduates
respond to normal labour market incentives and accept occupations where it is unlikely they

will practise engineering. Some graduates begin careers in traditional engineering profession
occupations and then move into non-traditional occupations later in their career. Others move
directly into non-traditional areas. These developments have broadened the demand for
engineers while the supply of new engineering graduates has at best increased slowly and
only in recent years.
Some new engineering graduates are likely to pursue higher degree studies on a full time
basis and so will not be available to the labour market until they complete their chosen
course. Graduate Careers Australia16 has estimated that the proportion of new graduates
involved ranges between zero (for mining engineers) and 13.3% for chemical engineers.
Although one cannot rely on a single year’s figures, the proportions moving into full time
further education seem to be smaller for specialisations where skill shortages are greatest
(Other engineers 13.8%; Chemical 13.3%; Electronic 11.4%; Aeronautical 11.4%; Electrical
10.0%; Mechanical 6.2%; Civil 5.2% and Mining zero).
16
Graduate Careers Australia, Graduate Destinations 2007, The Report of the Graduate Destinations Survey,
www.graduatecareers.com.au

4. SKILLED MIGRATION
4.1 Skilled Migration and the Recognition of Engineering

Qualifications
Skilled migration has been the Australian Government’s main response to the shortage of
skilled engineers. Historically, immigration policies have favoured migrants coming to
Australia on permanent off-shore visas. From 2001, this changed and a new category of
permanent visas, namely permanent on-shore visas, came into practice. From 2003-04
onwards, skilled migration has been supplemented by temporary 457 visas that require
holders to return to their home countries after a specified period. Holders of temporary 457
visas may apply for permanent on-shore visa entry.
Applicants for permanent off-shore and on-shore visas are required to have their
qualifications assessed by an assessment authority designated by the Department of
Immigration and Citizenship prior to submitting a visa application. For engineering, Engineers
Australia is the main designated assessing authority and assessment is conducted in line
with the qualifications and competencies required for the three occupational categories of the
engineering profession.
Engineering qualifications can be recognised through two distinct pathways17:
• Qualifications may treated as accredited qualifications if they are:

Australian qualifications;
Accredited under the Washington Accord which is an agreement between
international engineering accreditation bodies18 to recognise the equivalence
of each others undergraduate qualifications for Professional Engineers (the
equivalent of an Australian four year bachelors degree);
Accredited under the Sydney Accord which is an agreement between
international engineering accreditation bodies19 to recognise the equivalence
of each others undergraduate educational qualifications for Engineering
Technologists (the equivalent of an Australian three year bachelor degree).
• Qualifications that are not accredited can be recognised through a competency
assessment process in which applicants are asked to demonstrate that their
engineering knowledge and skills meet the competency standards for the engineering
occupational category they intend their visa application to relate to. These
competency standards are available on Engineers Australia’s web-site.
All applicants applying to have their engineering qualifications recognized who are not native
English speakers and who are not holders of an Australian engineering bachelors, masters or
doctoral degree are required to provide evidence that their English language competence
satisfies at least Band 6 in speaking, listening, reading and writing English of the International
English Language Testing System20.
17
18
The signatories to the Washington Accord are Canada, Hong Kong SAR, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa,
the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Australia.
19
The signatories to the Sydney Accord are Canada, Hong Kong SAR, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, the
United Kingdom and Australia.
20
www.ielts.org
SKILLED MIGRATION 33
Engineers who come to Australia on temporary 457 visas do not have their qualifications
assessed by an assessment authority. Provided that their visa application is accompanied by
an employer’s acceptance of their qualifications, this is deemed sufficient support to fill the
position offered by the employer. In the event that the holder of a 457 temporary visa wishes
to apply for a permanent migration visa, their qualifications will need to be assessed in the
same way as all other applications for permanent migration.
4.2 Permanent Migration

In 2008-09, permanent migration of engineers to Australia was a record high. As Table 4.1
shows, in that year 5,204 engineers migrated to Australia on permanent visas, an increase of
792 or 18.0% over 2007. Since 2000-01, the annual permanent migration intake has more
than trebled.
TABLE 4.1
IMMIGRATION OF ENGINEERS TO AUSTRALIA
YEAR PERMANENT PERMANENT TOTAL TEMPORARY OVERALL

OFF-SHORE ON-SHORE PERMANENT 457 VISA TOTAL
2000-01 1240 31 1271 0 0
2001-02 1140 271 1411 0 0
2002-03 1447 451 1898 0 0
2003-04 1420 952 2372 1250 3622
2004-05 1732 1800 3532 1810 5342
2005-06 2312 1629 3941 2970 6911
2006-07 1980 2140 4120 3510 7630
2007-08 2503 1909 4412 4580 8992
2008-09 2746 2458 5204 4210 9414
Source: To 2003-04 Birrell, Sheridan and Rapson; since 2004-05 and 457 data
Department of Immigration and Citizenship
FIGURE 4.1: ENGINEERS MIGRATING TO AUSTRALIA BY TYPE OF VISA

5000
PERMANENT OFF-SHORE
4500
PERMANENT ON-SHORE
TEMPORARY 457 VISA
4000
3500
3000
NUMBERS
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09
Both permanent off-shore and permanent on-shore visa numbers have increased
substantially (see Figure 4.1). In 2008-09, off-shore visa numbers were 2,746, an increase of
243 or 9.7% over the previous year. Since 2000-01, annual entrants under this visa category
have increased from 1,240, or over 120% a year. There were 2,458 on-shore visa entrants in
2008-09 compared to 1,909 in the previous year, an increase of 28.8%. Activity under this
visa category has experienced extraordinary growth since 2000-01, demonstrating a growing
inter-dependence between migration policies and the export of education services.
The statistics for permanent migration visas in Table 4.1 can be directly compared to
domestic completions because these occupations required an educational qualification
equivalent to an Australian Bachelors degree in engineering. Comparison is made awkward
by migration statistics being for financial years and education statistics for calendar years.
The convention used is to compare calendar statistics to the first part of the corresonding
financial year; thus 2008 education statistics are compared to 2008-09 migration statistics.
This comparison is shown in Figure 4.2 and shows that permanent migration has added an
increasing component to Australia’s domestic completions of degree qualified engineers and
by 2008, had added another 88% to the 5,914 domestic Bachelors degree completions.
TABLE 4.2
IMMIGRATION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS TO AUSTRALIA

2000-01 237 3 240 na na
2001-02 220 44 264 na na
2002-03 266 67 333 na na
2003-04 226 129 355 190 545
2004-05 260 187 447 330 777
2005-06 456 239 695 580 1275
2006-07 504 305 809 750 1559
2007-08 660 261 921 1190 2111
2008-09 702 442 1144 1040 2184
TABLE 4.3
IMMIGRATION OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS TO AUSTRALIA

2000-01 236 2 238 na na
2001-02 200 36 236 na na
2002-03 212 68 280 na na
2003-04 248 163 411 210 621
2004-05 310 311 621 310 931
2005-06 370 390 760 530 1290
2006-07 335 703 1038 710 1748
2007-08 605 614 1219 700 1919
2008-09 701 784 1485 800 2285
TABLE 4.4
IMMIGRATION OF MECHANICAL AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERS TO AUSTRALIA

2000-01 222 4 226 na na
2001-02 162 31 193 na na
2002-03 257 74 331 na na
2003-04 279 144 423 350 773
2004-05 349 233 582 440 1022
2005-06 442 267 709 770 1479
2006-07 435 487 922 740 1662
2007-08 627 432 1059 1020 2079
2008-09 737 517 1254 700 1954
TABLE 4.5
IMMIGRATION OF MINING AND MATERIALS ENGINEERS TO AUSTRALIA

2000-01 45 0 45 na na
2001-02 48 4 52 na na
2002-03 36 5 41 na na
2003-04 46 13 59 140 199
2004-05 49 15 64 210 274
2005-06 52 18 70 320 390
2006-07 57 25 82 400 482
2007-08 59 91 150 490 640
2008-09 64 110 174 560 734
TABLE4.6
IMMIGRATION OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGISTS TO AUSTRALIA

2000-01 117 4 121 na na
2001-02 157 36 193 na na
2002-03 185 41 226 na na
2003-04 181 140 321 100 421
2004-05 257 262 519 160 679
2005-06 343 165 508 250 758
2006-07 209 148 357 310 667
2007-08 154 181 335 360 695
2008-09 133 158 291 410 701
TABLE 4.7
IMMIGRATION OF OTHER ENGINEERS TO AUSTRALIA

2000-01 383 18 401 0 0
2001-02 353 120 473 0 0
2002-03 491 196 687 0 0
2003-04 440 363 803 260 1053
2004-05 507 792 1299 360 1659
2005-06 649 550 1199 520 1719
2006-07 440 472 912 600 1512
2007-08 398 330 728 820 1548
2008-09 409 447 856 700 856
FIGURE 4.2: DOMESTIC ENGINEERING BACHELORS COMPLETIONS

COMPARED TO PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY MIGRATION OF
ENGINEERS
16000
TEMPORARY VISAS
14000 PERMANENT ON-SHORE
PERMANENT OFF-SHORE
DEGREE COMPLETIONS
12000
10000
NUM,BERS
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Tables 4.2 to 4.7 show that the growth of permant visas was particularly strong in three
engineering specialisations. In 2008-09, the largest intake was electrical and electronic
engineers with 1,485 or 28.5% of the intake; there were 1,254 mechanical and production
engineers, or 24.1% of the intake; and there were 1,144 civil engineers, or 22% of the intake.
Mining and materials engineers with 174 were a relatively minor share of the intake, as were
engineering technologists with 294. Other engineers, including chemical engineers
accounted for 856 permanent migrants.
4.3 Temporary Migration

Since 2003, a growing number of engineers have come to Australia under temporary 457
migration visas. In 2008-09, 4,210 migrant engineers came to Australia covered by this visa
class. This was a fall of 370, or -8.1% compared to 2007-08, but was still 700, or 19.9%
higher than in 2006-07.
The entry of migrant engineers under permanent visas did not appear to be influenced by the
global financial crisis. However, there were indications that employers adjusted their intakes
of temporary migrant engineers in line with economic conditions. The number of temporary
civil engineers fell from 1,190 in 2007-08 to 1,040 in 2008-09 and the number of temporary
mechanical and production engineers fell sharply from 1,020 in 2007-08 too 700 in 2008-09.
However, the number of temporary electrical and electronic engineers increased from 700 in
2007-08 to 800 in 2008-09; the number of temporary mining and materials engineers
increased from 490 in 2007-08 to 560 in 2008-09 while the number of temporary engineering
technologists increased from 360 to 410. At this stage, the 2008-09 statistic for other
engineers is not known.
Figure 4.2 shows that migrant engineers, both permanent and temporary, now exceed
domestic completions of Bachelors degrees in engineering by a significant margin. In 2007-
08, the combined total of permanent and temporary migrant engineers was 3,357 higher than
domestic completions and migrants were 61.5% of new engineers in that year. In 2008-09,
the combined total of migrant engineers exceeded domestic completions by 3,700 and
migrants were 61.4% of new engineers.
5. OTHER CHARACTERISTICS OF ENGINEERS
5.1 Introduction
The purpose of this Statistical Overview is to assemble statistics from as many sources as
possible to shed light on the size and characteristics of the engineering workforce. This
Chapter considers several characteristics describing engineers including, age, work
experience and salaries. Statistics on these matters are not available from official sources
and the statistics used here statistics are from the Association of Professional Engineers,
Scientists and Managers, Australia (APESMA)21 surveys of engineering salaries. These
surveys have been conducted since 1974 and use a random sample drawn from members of
APESMA and Engineers Australia22. The statistics differentiate between engineers in the
private and public sectors, as well as between engineers at different points in their careers.
While quartile statistics are available, here the focus is on mean statistics that for most
purposes provides useful insights.
5.2 Responsibility Levels

APESMA defines 6 responsibility levels, with five specifically differentiated by degree of
experience and competences and the sixth senior to these23. The responsibility levels are:
• Level 1 Professional Engineer; this is the graduate engineer entry level. The
engineer undertakes engineering tasks of limited scope and complexity in offices,
plants, in the field or in laboratories under the supervision of more senior engineers.
• Level 2 Professional Engineer; this level recognizes the experience and
competence gained as a Level 1 Engineer. At this level engineers have greater
independence and less supervision, but guidance on unusual features is provided by
engineers with more substantial experience.
• Level 3 Professional Engineer; this level requires the application of mature
engineering knowledge with scope for individual accomplishment and problem solving
that require modification of established guides. Original contributions to engineering
approaches and techniques are common. This level outlines and assigns work,
reviews it for technical accuracy and adequacy and may plan, direct, coordinate and
supervise other professional and technical staff.
• Level 4 Professional Engineers; this level requires considerable independence in
approach with a high degree of originality, ingenuity and judgment. Positions’
responsibilities often include independent decisions on engineering policies and
procedures for overall programs, provision of technical advice to management,
detailed technical responsibility for product development and the provision of
specialized engineering systems and facilities and the coordination of work programs,
21
APESMA, Professional Engineer Remuneration Survey Reports, December 1997 to 2007, www.apesma.asn.au
22
A subsidiary of Engineers Australia, Engineers Media, also conducts a salaries survey, but this commenced in
2004 and does not provide a time series of sufficient length. This survey samples businesses that hire engineers
rather than individuals and has provided useful data on engineering skill shortages. See
www.engineersmedia.org.au
23
APESMA, op cit, December 2007, pp8-9
OTHER CHARACTERISTICS OF ENGINEERS 39

administrative function, directing several professional and other groups engaged in

inter-related engineering responsibilities or as an engineering consultant. This level
independently conceives programs and problems to be investigated and participates
in their resolution within existing organizational operating and management
arrangements. Typical reporting line is to senior management.
• Above Level 5 Professional Engineer; this level is not separately defined by
APESMA, but is used for engineering senior management positions including,
Managing Director, Chief Executive Officer and Group General Manager.
The APESMA data are available for the past 30 years, but only the past decade is covered in
this Overview. APESMA statistics relate to Professional Engineers only and do not cover
Engineering Technologists and Engineering Associates.
5.3 Age
The mean age of private sector engineers in each of the responsibility levels is shown in
Table 5.1. Table 5.2 shows the corresponding statistics for public sector engineers.
TABLE 5.1
THE MEAN AGES OF PRIVATE SECTOR ENGINEERS
YEAR LEVEL 1 LEVEL 2 LEVEL 3 LEVEL 4 LEVEL 5 > LEVEL 5

1997 25.0 31.0 36.0 41.0 43.0 47.0
1998 25.0 29.0 36.0 42.0 43.0 46.0
1999 26.0 29.0 36.0 42.0 44.0 45.0
2000 25.0 30.0 36.0 42.0 44.0 46.0
2001 26.0 29.0 35.0 42.0 43.0 48.0
2002 25.8 30.3 35.6 43.3 43.2 46.9
2003 26.0 29.7 35.3 42.9 43.9 46.3
2004 26.5 30.5 36.4 42.4 42.3 48.9
2005 25.2 29.5 36.3 43.8 43.9 47.1
2006 25.1 29.4 37.8 44.3 46.6 48.5
2007 24.7 28.1 37.4 44.6 47.5 50.8
2008 24.9 29.5 37.6 45.3 48.3 50.5
2009 24.3 29.8 39.0 44.2 49.6 51.6
Source: APESMA, Professional Engineer Remuneration Survey Reports
TABLE 5.2
THE MEAN AGES OF PUBLIC SECTOR ENGINEERS

1997 27.0 38.0 42.0 45.0 46.0 49.0
1998 27.0 35.0 42.0 46.0 47.0 49.0
1999 29.0 36.0 42.0 45.0 48.0 49.0
2000 28.0 37.0 42.0 47.0 48.0 49.0
2001 29.0 37.0 41.0 47.0 48.0 50.0
2002 29.2 39.7 41.5 47.2 48.2 50.0
2003 28.4 37.3 42.5 47.4 49.0 51.1
2004 28.2 39.3 40.4 46.5 47.2 50.7
2005 27.1 38.1 42.5 47.2 47.1 52.2
2006 27.0 33.4 42.6 47.4 50.5 52.2
2007 25.4 33.7 43.8 47.7 49.1 53.6
2008 26.5 34.6 41.7 48.6 49.7 53.8
2009 25.9 35.2 42.3 48.0 51.9 55.1

In general, private sector engineers are younger at each resonsibility level than public sector
colleagues. Although there are frequent annual fluctuations, the pattern in both sectors is one
of remarkable stability within responsibility levels.
However, over time more engineers have moved into higher responsibility levels leading to
an increase in average age. The average age for each sector was estimated as a population
weighted average across responsibility levels and the sectoral averages obtained were
similarly weighted and combined to estimate the average age for the two sectors combined.
Table 5.3 shows the average age of private sector, public sector and all engineers combined
since 1997. The trends in this Table are illustrated in Figure 5.1.
TABLE 5.3
THE MEAN AGES OF ENGINEERS IN AUSTRALIA
YEAR PRIVATE SECTOR PUBLIC SECTOR ALL ENGINEERS

1997 35.6 42.2 38.7
1998 35.9 42.6 38.3
1999 36.4 42.4 38.3
2000 36.9 43.6 39.0
2001 36.5 42.8 38.8
2002 37.4 43.8 40.3
2003 37.5 43.7 40.2
2004 37.9 43.0 40.2
2005 38.2 43.9 40.7
2006 40.3 45.0 42.1
2007 39.3 44.4 41.3
2008 40.7 44.9 42.4
2009 39.8 44.9 41.8
FIGURE 5.1: THE MEAN AGES OF AUSTRALIAN ENGINEERS

46.0
44.0
42.0
AGE IN YEARS
40.0
38.0
36.0
34.0
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
PRIVATE PUBLIC ALL ENGINEERS
At the beginning of the period shown, the average age of private sector engineers was about
6½ years younger than public sector engineers, but in recent years this gap has reduced and
is now about 5 years, still a significant difference. The average age of both sectors combined

has been increasing over time, but a slow down in this change has been evident in recent
years. This is an important outcome in the light of the large numbers of migrant engineers
joining the Australian labour market. Present arrangements in the migration system favours
younger engineers, especially those aged under 34 years.
5.4 Work Experience

The key differences between the responsibility levels described above, was acquiring higher
level competencies and this is strongly associated with work experience. Table 5.4 shows the
average years of work experience of private sector engineers for the various responsibility
levels since 1997. The trends in this Table are illustrated in Figure 5.2. The corresponding
statistics for public sector engineers are shown in Table 5.5 and illustrated in Figure 5.3.
TABLE 5.4
MEAN YEARS OF WORK EXPERIENCE OF PRIVATE SECTOR ENGINEERS

1997 1.8 7.4 12.6 17.0 19.9 24.0
1998 1.8 5.4 11.8 18.2 20.1 22.7
1999 2.2 5.8 12.5 18.2 20.6 22.1
2000 1.7 6.0 12.6 17.8 20.1 22.8
2001 2.4 5.5 11.7 18.1 19.8 24.2
2002 2.8 6.8 11.9 19.3 19.4 23.7
2003 2.4 6.2 11.4 18.8 19.7 23.7
2004 3.4 6.9 12.5 18.8 18.8 26.1
2005 2.0 5.9 12.3 19.6 19.7 24.0
2006 1.6 5.6 13.8 20.2 23.1 24.8
2007 1.6 4.7 13.5 20.2 23.9 28.0
2008 1.6 6.0 13.4 21.0 24.3 26.5
2009 1.5 5.6 14.8 20.2 26.5 28.5
TABLE 5.5
MEAN YEARS OF WORK EXPERIENCE OF PUBLIC SECTOR ENGINEERS

1997 3.0 13.7 17.6 21.3 22.9 26.1
1998 2.6 11.1 17.3 22.2 23.2 25.4
1999 5.1 11.6 18.2 21.0 24.4 25.6
2000 4.9 12.8 18.0 23.3 24.4 26.6
2001 5.8 12.5 17.2 22.9 24.4 26.8
2002 5.8 15.3 17.7 23.5 24.6 26.6
2003 4.6 13.0 18.2 23.3 25.1 28.3
2004 4.5 15.0 16.3 22.6 23.8 27.7
2005 4.5 14.1 17.9 23.2 23.4 28.4
2006 2.5 8.6 17.3 23.1 26.9 29.2
2007 1.7 8.7 19.1 24.0 25.0 29.9
2008 2.4 10.1 17.1 24.3 26.5 31.3
2009 1.8 9.4 17.2 23.2 27.9 32.5
On average private sector engineers have fewer years of work experience than public sector
engineers at each level of responsibility. Annual fluctuations are relatively high but in both
sectors the trends in work experience for levels 1 and 2 have been relatively constant,
although in recent years there has been some evidence of lesser years of experience in

these grades in the public sector. This could be a response to skill shortages in the public
sector. One response to skills shortages is to hire individuals with less work experience than
was the case in the past. In most cases, a requirement of public sector employment is
Australian citizenship and this means that public sector access to the large crop of younger
migrant engineers who have come to Australia in recent years may be delayed by the time it
takes individuals to obtain citizenship. This is not an issue in the private sector and may be
part of the explanation for the flat trends in these grades.
FIGURE 5.2: AVERAGE YEARS OF WORK EXPERIENCE OF PRIVATE

SECTOR ENGINEERS
30.0
25.0
20.0
YEARS
15.0
10.0
5.0
0.0
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
LEVEL 1 LEVEL 2 LEVEL3 LEVEL4 LEVEL 5 LEVEL 5+
FIGURE 5.3: MEAN YEARS OF WORK EXPERIENCE OF PUBLIC SECTOR

ENGINEERS
35.0
30.0
25.0
20.0
YEARS
15.0
10.0
5.0
0.0
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
LEVEL 1 LEVEL 2 LEVEL 3 LEVEL 4 LEVEL 5 > LEVEL 5
In the private sector, the average work experience in responsibility levels 3 and above has
been increasing. There are similar trends in the public sector, but for level 4 and above. The
most likely explanation for these trends is the aging of the engineering workforce as
explained in the previous section. Because skilled migration favours younger engineers, the
influence of skilled migration is more likely to be evident for lower responsibility levels given
the statistics in the Tables are from 1997. Skilled migration may have an ameliorating impact
on the rising trends discussed,but more information is necessary to separate this from the
dominant aging impact. Similarly, there does not appear to be any evidence that skill
shortages have led to more rapid movements to the more senior responsibility levels.

5.5 Salary Packages

This section looks at the salary packages paid to engineers and how they have changed in
real terms and compared to movements in average adult ordinary time earnings. Statistics for
salary packages were obtained from the December APESMA salary survey and deflated
using the implicit GDP deflator from the Australian national accounts. The base year for the
deflator is 2007-08 and this is a revision from previous editions of the Statistical Overview
where 2006-07 was used as base.
TABLE 5.6
MEAN SALARIES OF PRIVATE SECTOR ENGINEERS (2007-08 PRICES)

1997 57230 78145 93774 110544 147605 212029
1998 61376 76780 95583 118168 151968 219771
1999 60788 77283 96723 120931 150439 206670
2000 63348 80233 98505 125527 150469 246993
2001 65861 77345 96812 124740 148211 222054
2002 62620 80439 100485 132090 148609 224861
2003 61771 78557 96727 124719 152640 217849
2004 61735 75306 93911 126221 145324 223202
2005 62439 78241 93058 124673 145006 241373
2006 62965 80953 101439 136116 165579 235870
2007 66833 81624 105127 138192 175511 270455
2008 65431 87172 105801 141744 172233 247411
2009 73064 85389 111291 146837 189862 237062
Source: APESMA, Professional Engineer Remuneration Survey Report
and ABS, Australian National Accounts, Cat No 5206.0
TABLE 5.7
MEAN SALARIES OF PUBLIC SECTOR ENGINEERS (2007-08 PRICES)

1997 57601 73972 89183 104556 131962 190378
1998 60419 77987 94219 110184 138021 185364
1999 62566 79124 95166 110986 166730 200048
2000 61437 83561 96655 117028 136054 239549
2001 67845 83665 97763 117472 141018 208354
2002 67293 85079 96832 117704 141172 188510
2003 65553 83477 95968 119905 142563 185726
2004 63267 81720 92324 116492 138337 181459
2005 64122 82336 91671 117928 134891 192243
2006 66406 88487 96374 116529 139753 201675
2007 64242 86334 99761 120155 144587 178492
2008 66436 83240 97019 117741 142147 186714
2009 68163 90509 105054 126143 152123 217809
and ABS, Australian National Accounts, Cat No 5206.0
Table 5.6 shows the value of real salary packages for private sector engineers and Table 5.7
shows the corresponding statistics for the public sector. The significance of these statistics is
drawn out in Figures 5.4 to 5.9. These illustrations compare the trends in the ratios of private
and public sector salary packages to average adult ordinary time earnings for the 6
responsibility levels to consider whether the differences between engineering salaries and
average earning have changed and to highlight the impact of skills shortages. For this

comparison, average adult ordinary times earnings were annualised and adjusted to include
statutory superannuation.
FIGURE 5.4: COMPARING PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTOR ENGINEERS

LEVEL 1 SALARY PACKAGES
1.50
1.40
1.30
RATIO TO AWE
1.20
PRIVATE L1
PUBLIC L1
1.10
1.00
0.90
0.80
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
FIGURE 5.5: COMPARING PRIVATE AND PUBLIC ENGINEERS LEVEL 2

SALARY PACKAGES
2.00
1.90
1.80
1.70
RATIO TO AWE
1.60
1.50 PRIVATE L2
PUBLIC L2
1.40
1.30
1.20
1.10
1.00
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Figure 5.4 shows that the significant difference between public and private sector level 1
salary packages has eroded over time. Public sector salary packages have fallen in relation
to average adult ordinary time earnings (AWE) and are now more-or-less on par with them.
Private sector salary packages rose in relation to AWE until 2001 and then fell until 2004.
About this time engineering skills shortages were being felt in the Australian economy and
private sector salary packages began to rise in relation to AWE and from 2007 onwards
exceeded public sector packages.
Figure 5.5 compares level 2 engineers salary packages. There was a similar fall in the trend
for public sector engineer level 2 salary packages,but the private sector trend was more
ambivalent with the changes shown more compatible with periodic fluctuations than any clear
cut trend.

FIGURE 5.6: COMPARING PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTOR ENGINEER

2.40
2.20
2.00
RATIO TO AWE
1.80
PRIVATE L3
PUBLIC L3
1.60
1.40
1.20
1.00
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

2.70
2.50
2.30
RATIO TO AWE
2.10 PRIVATE L4
PUBLIC L4
1.90
1.70
1.50
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
The characteristics of the trends for engineer level 3 salary packages in Figure 5.6 are
comparable to those for level 1 in Figure 5.4. Public sector salary packages fell in
comparison to AWE and in the private sector after falling until 2005, there has been an
increase in salary package relativities for the period when skills shortages were evident. This
trend reversed in 2009 in line with responses to the global financial crisis.
Figure 5.7 and 5.8 shows the trends for engineer level 4 and level 5 salary packages
respectively. There were strong falls in public sector salary package relativities, but a similar
pattern to other grades in the private sector. From 2005 onwards, private sector salary
packages increased relative to AWE, peaking at 2.3 times AWE for level 4 and at over 2.8
times AWE for level 5. The impact of the global financial crisis is evident in the 2009 for level
4 but did not appear to impact level 5.


4.00
3.80
3.60
3.40
RATIO TO AWE
3.20
3.00 PRIVATE L5
PUBLIC L5
2.80
2.60
2.40
2.20
2.00
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
FIGURE 5.9: COMPARING PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SALARY PACKAGES FOR

ENGINEERS ABOVE LEVEL 5
5.50
5.00
4.50
RATIO TO AWE
4.00 PRIVATE ABOVE 5

PUBLIC ABOVE 5
3.50
3.00
2.50
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Above level 5 the pattern was different. Public sector salary package relativities fell until 2007
when a recovery was evident. Private sector salary package relativities fluctuated above 3.5
times AWE until 2004 when they began to increase. The increase continued until 2007 and
was followed by two years of falls, suggesting that at the most senior levels, the impact of the
global financial crisis may have been felt earlier.
In general, private sector salaries are likely to be more responsive to labour market
conditions than public sector salaries, which involve more institutional factors. The above
illustrations suggest that public sector salaries have moved in a counter-intutive way at a time
of engineering skill shortages. There is some evidence of private sector salaries increasing in
response to skill shortages, but this evidence is not sufficiently strong to be conclusive.

5.6 Graduate Commencing Salaries

An important factor attracting students to study engineering is the starting salaries they can
aspire to. Table 5.8 shows the real value of graduate engineer starting salaries in constant
2007-08 prices since 1997. Figure 5.10 illustrates the trends in this Table.
TABLE 5.8
MEAN GRADUATE ENGINEERING COMMENCING SALARIES
YEAR MEN WOMEN ALL

1997 40101 38517 39682
1998 39803 40561 39912
1999 41269 40683 41163
2000 46343 42466 45257
2001 46823 46475 46736
2003 47364 48898 47838
2003 51627 48093 50629
2004 51537 51015 51392
2005 53616 53765 53638
2006 58313 57122 57969
2007 58951 62618 61741
2008 63679 69554 64627
2009 73799 70750 73241
Source: APESMA, Professional Engineer Remuneration
Survey Reports
FIGURE 5.10: ENGINEERING GRADUATE SALARIES RELATIVE TO

AVERAGE ORDINARY EARNINGS
1.20
MULTIPLE OF AVERAGE EARNINGS
1.15
1.10
1.05
1.00
0.95
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2003 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
MEN WOMEN ALL
The statistics reported above are from the APESMA salary surveys to maintain consistency
with the salaries statistics discussed in the previous section. To establish how engineering
salaries compare to equivalent starting salaries in other disciplines, one needs to turn to
statistics from the Graduate Careers Australia24. Over the past decade engineering
24
Graduate Careers Australia, GradStats, December 2008, www.gradstatsonline.com.au

graduates have typically commanded the 4th highest starting salaries. In 2008, they were the
3rd highest, exceeded only by dentistry and optometry.
The trends shown above should be seen against this background. Since 2005, engineering
graduate starting salaries have increased strongly in real terms and in relation to AWE. In
2009, real salaries increased by 13.3% over the previous year following a 4.7% real increase
the year before. For most of the period since 1997, engineering graduate starting salaries
have fluctuated about 5% above AWE. Since 2005, this margin has increased and in 2009
was 15% above AWE.

6. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT ENGINEERING
SKILL SHORTAGES?
6.1 Introduction
Until the onset of the global financial crisis it was widely acknowledged that Australia had a
shortage of skilled engineers. This is despite the difficulties involved in formally substantiating
this situation. The evidence available was from surveys of employers, from indirect or
surrogate measures, from strong immigration statistics and anecdotal information from
employers and from members of Engineers Australia. The normal lag in the availability of
official statistics has clouded the situation. Engineers Australia believes there are indications
that during the course of 2010 shortages of skilled engineers will re-emerge as a serious
constraint to infrastructure development and the development of Australia’s exports of
commodities. This chapter considers the available evidence to support this view.
6.2 The Base Line for Evaluation of Skills Shortages

Most macroeconomic labour market policy is based on statistics from ABS Labour Force
Survey. Because this source is a survey it has limitations when the survey population is
disaggregated for occupational analysis because standard error problems are quickly
encountered. Alternative disaggregated statistics are not generally available.
In this section, statistics from the 2006 Population Census are used to define a benchmark
against which surrogate information for later years can be compared. Late in 2009, the ABS
released the 2006 Population Census Tablebuilder facility. Tablebuilder enables users to
design cross-tabulations from the census databases to focus on particular issues25.
Tablebuilder was used to estimate the qualified engineers labour force and its two
components, employed and unemployed engineers. A broad approach to qualified engineers
was used and included all individuals in the economy holding formal qualifications in
engineering at diploma, advanced diploma, bachelors degree or higher qualifications.
In the 2006 Population Census there were 305,931 individuals in Australia who held an
engineering qualification. There were 184,151 individuals with degrees or higher
qualifications in engineering and 121,780 individuals with diplomas, advanced diplomas or
associate degrees in engineering. A substantial number were not in the labour force. There
were 27,529 individuals with degrees or higher and 28,611 individuals with diploma
qualifications in this category. Many were retired from the labour force, but 5,655 were in full
time education. There were 5,079 women qualified engineers aged between 20 and 49 years
in this category, including 1,263 in full time study.
The labour force comprises individuals who are employed and individuals who are
unemployed but actively looking for employment. In 2006, the labour force of qualified
engineers was 249,791 of whom 156,622 held degrees or higher and 93,169 individuals held
diploma level qualifications. There were 242,425 qualified engineers employed (151,977
degrees and 90,448 diplomas) and 7,366 qualified engineers unemployed (4,645 degrees
and 2,721 diplomas). Table 6.1 shows the unemployment rates for qualified
25
The material in this section draws on a forth-coming Engineers Australia publication “Engineers and the
Engineering Profession In Australia; A Profile from the 2006 Population Census”. Tablebuilder cross-tabulations
will occasionally produce small differences in totals because not all individuals responding to the Census answer
all questions fully and/or accurately.
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT ENGINEERING SKILL SHORTAGES? 50

engineers in Australia and in each of the States and Territories. Figure 6.1 illustrates the
statistics in Table 6.1.
TABLE 6.1
UNEMPLOYMENT RATES FOR QUALIFIED ENGINEERS IN THE 2006 POPULATION CENSUS (%)
JURISDICTION DEGREE DIPLOMA ALL

QUALIFIED QUALIFIED QUALIFICATIONS
NSW 3.34 3.09 3.25
VICTORIA 3.39 3.57 3.46
QUEENSLAND 2.12 2.30 2.20
SOUTH AUSTRALIA 3.47 3.11 3.33
WESTERN AUSTRALIA 1.88 2.14 1.98
TASMANIA 1.94 3.75 2.94
NT 0.44 0.98 0.73
ACT 2.10 1.51 1.89
OTHER AREAS 0.00 0.00 0.00
AUSTRALIA 2.97 2.92 2.95
Source: ABS, 2006 Population Census Tablebuilder
FIGURE 6.1: UNEMPLOYMENT RATES FOR QUALIFIED ENGINEERS IN 2006

DEGREE QUALIFIED DIPLOMA QUALIFIED ALL QUALIFICATIONS
4.00
3.50
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE (%)
3.00
2.50
2.00
1.50
1.00
0.50
0.00
In 2006, the unemployment rate for qualified engineers in Australia was 2.95% compared to
5.24% for the general work force. There was little difference between the unemployment rate
for degree qualified individuals (2.97%) and diploma qualified individuals (2.92%). The
highest unemployment rate for qualified engineers was in Victoria (3.46%), two-thirds the
unemployment rate for the economy, and the lowest in the Northern Territory (0.73%). The
two jurisdictions at the leading edge of minerals and commodities developments, Western
Australia and Queensland recorded rates of 1.98% and 2.20% respectively. The
unemployment rates shown in Table 6.1 provide unambiguous evidence that in 2006 there
was an acute shortage of qualified engineers in Australia.
The pool of unemployed qualified engineers can be disaggregated into 4,868 individuals born
overseas and 2,498 individuals born in Australia. The unemployment rate for migrant
qualified engineers with degrees was 1.95% and and the unemployment rate for Australian
born qualified engineers was 1.0%. Among the migrant unemployed, 3,410 were degree
qualified and 1,458 were diploma qualified with unemployment rates of 2.18% and 1.56%
respectively. Thus while there are more unemployed overseas born qualified engineers than

Australian born qualified engineers, the unemployment rates for overseas born individuals
are consistent with shortages of qualified engineers.
TABLE 6.2
UNEMPLOYMENT RATES FOR ENGINEERING EDUCATION SPECIALISATIONS IN 2006
SPECIALISATION DEGREE DIPLOMA ALL LABOUR

QUALIFIED QUALIFIED QUALIFICATIONS FORCE
Engineering & Related
Technologies NFD 2.53 2.64 2.56 106,148
Manufacturing Engineering 4.42 4.77 4.52 1616
Rest of Manufacturing Engineering 4.66 5.42 5.29 4030
Chemical Engineering 3.11 6.58 3.29 5829
Mining Engineering 1.79 1.65 1.75 3877
Materials Engineering 3.05 2.37 2.85 4384
Rest of Process & Resource Engineering 3.95 3.21 3.56 3621
Automotive Engineering 4.92 2.17 2.66 338
Rest of Automotive Engineering 0.00 5.50 5.45 220
Mechanical Engineering 3.13 2.88 3.02 18573
Industrial Engineering 5.10 3.37 4.52 1218
Rest of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering 4.76 4.49 4.50 844
Construction Engineering 3.67 0.00 3.67 381
Structural Engineering 2.66 3.34 2.92 1334
Building Services Engineering 0.00 0.00 0.00 22
Water & Sanitary Engineering 0.00 0.00 0.00 72
Transport Engineering 3.72 0.00 3.72 215
Geotechnical Engineering 2.36 0.00 2.36 127
Ocean Engineering 0.00 0.00 0.00 16
Rest of Civil Engineering 2.46 2.34 2.43 20336
Electrical Engineering 3.05 2.48 2.85 17484
Electronic Engineering 4.06 3.34 3.74 7110
Computer Engineering 4.32 7.26 4.84 3860
Communications Technologies 6.49 3.54 5.05 5547
Rest of Electrical & Electronic Engineering 5.61 2.93 3.59 21397
Aerospace Engineering 2.18 2.37 2.22 1618
Aircraft Maintenance Engineering 0.00 2.31 2.31 1428
Aircraft Operations 3.09 2.85 2.91 8843
Rest of Aerospace Engineering .. 0.71 1.21 580
Maritime Engineering 5.43 2.27 2.93 1501
Rest of Maritime Engineering 3.33 3.67 3.60 3582
Environmental Engineering 3.76 6.12 3.86 1087
Biomedical Engineering 4.60 0.00 4.28 421
Rest of Other Engineering 4.64 1.24 2.44 2130
ALL SPECIALISATIONS 2.97 2.92 2.95 249,789
Source: ABS, 2006 Population Census Tablebuilder
Table 6.2 looks at unemployment rates for engineering education specialisation. An

alternative to education specialisations are the occupations that engineers are employed in.
However, to be in an occupation means that an individual is by definition employed. Thus this
is not a viable alternative to consider the labour market circumstances of engineers and
educational specialisations are used instead. Table 6.2 provides statistics for the majority of
ASCED 6- digit engineering classifications. In the main the labour market destination for
engineering educational specialisations is linked to occupations that depend on these skills.
Thus, most mechanical engineers in Table 6.2 are likely to hold occupations with strong
mechanical engineering connections even though occupation titles may vary. The main
exception in Table 6.2 is civil engineering where the specific specialisations identified are in
the minority and most civil engineers come from the group “rest of civil engineering”.
The significance of Table 6.2 is that most engineering education specialisations in 2006 had
unemployment rates well below the unemployment rate for the Australian labour force as a
whole (5.24%). The few exceptions, highlighted in yellow, have unemployment rates at about
or above the national rate. They include diploma level engineers in the rest of manufacturing
engineering category, diploma level chemical engineers, diploma level automotive engineers,
diploma level computer engineers, degree level engineers in communications technologies,
degree level engineers in the rest of electrical and electronic engineering category, degree
level maritime engineers and diploma level environmental engineers. Most groups are
relatively small in size, including the degree component of the rest of electrical and electronic

engineers (5,281). Diploma level engineers in this group in contrast had a low unemployment
rate.
Since 2006, there has been strong growth in the Australian economy, especially in those
areas of the economy in which engineers are employed. Growth in the supply of engineers to
meet demand has come from the flow of new domestic graduates holding entry level
qualifications, full time students resuming labour market activity after completing higher
education courses and overseas engineers entering Australia under permanent and
temporary migrant visas. As well, some of the 2006 pool of unemployed qualified engineers
may have found employment.
6.3 Survey Evidence

In the absence of definitive time series statistics on whether the supply of engineers is
sufficient to meet the demand for engineers, a useful approach is to survey the views of
employers who hire large numbers of engineers. Since 2006, Engineers Australia has
included a range of questions relating to skills shortages in the annual engineering salaries
survey undertaken by its subsidiary company Engineers Media26. This survey uses a different
approach to the APESMA survey that was used in chapter 5. APESMA surveys individual
engineers and the results are suited to the analysis of engineers characteristics undertaken.
The Engineers Media survey is directed to businesses that employ engineers, in many cases
large number of them. Survey respondents are business owners or human relations
managers who are best able to reflect on the adequacy of numbers.
TABLE 6.3
AN OVERVIEW OF ENGINEERING SKILLS SHORTAGES SINCE 2006
SURVEY SECTOR OF NUMBER OF EXPERIENCED DID NOT EXPERIENCE

YEAR ECONOMY EMPLOYERS SHORTAGES (%) SHORTAGES (%)
2006 PRIVATE 138 68 32
PUBLIC 61 85 14
TOTAL 199 73 27
2007 PRIVATE 122 76 24
PUBLIC 20 70 30
TOTAL 142 75 25
2008 PRIVATE 196 72 28
PUBLIC 38 79 21
TOTAL 234 73 27
2009 PRIVATE 152 51 49
PUBLIC 41 63 37
TOTAL 193 53 47
Source: Engineers Australia Surveys
Table 6.3 shows an overview of survey results since 2006. The survey is administered in
December each year. During this period, the Australian economy experienced strong
economic growth, which then was impacted by the global financial crisis. These impacts
began to be felt in 2008 and were widespread during 2009. The key question that Table 6.1
deals with is “has your company experienced professional engineer skill shortages over the
past 12 months?”
In the first 3 years shown in the Table, over 70% of companies reported that they had
experienced professional engineer skill shortages during the preceding year. These results
confirmed anecdotal information from Engineers Australia members. In the 2009 survey 53%
of companies reported they had experienced professional engineer skill shortages.
26
Engineers Media, Engineers Australia Salary and Benefits Survey, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009,
www.bookshop.engaust.com.au

Shortages remained more acute in the public than in the private sector but the patterns were
very similar. These results show that skill shortages were eased by global economic
conditions, but remained significant for half of companies surveyed.
TABLE 6.4
RECRUITING PROBLEMS EXPERIENCED AS A RESULT OF ENGINEERING SKILLS SHORTAGES (%)
SURVEY SECTOR Longer recruiting Could not recruit Recruited different Paid higher than Could not recruit Other
YEAR period than normal required skill set skill set for retraining expected salary at all
2006 PRIVATE 66 82 19 50 39 3
PUBLIC 65 83 17 29 58 0
TOTAL 66 82 18 42 46 2
2007 PRIVATE 65 82 29 60 42 2
PUBLIC 57 71 21 43 29 0
TOTAL 64 80 28 58 40 2
2008 PRIVATE 48 75 26 42 34 7
PUBLIC 70 67 10 20 53 3
TOTAL 52 74 23 38 37 5
2009 PRIVATE 48 72 20 35 29 5
PUBLIC 61 71 20 22 44 7
TOTAL 51 72 20 32 32 5
TABLE 6.5
CONSEQUENCES OF ENGINEERING SKILLS SHORTAGES (%)
SURVEY SECTOR Minor irritation but Moderate problem. Major problem incl Did not proceed
YEAR no monetary issues Some monetary issues project delays & costs with available project
2006 PRIVATE 16 44 34 6
PUBLIC 4 31 60 6
TOTAL 12 39 43 6
2007 PRIVATE 9 39 44 9
PUBLIC 21 50 29 0
TOTAL 10 40 42 7
2008 PRIVATE 18 42 32 8
PUBLIC 3 50 37 10
TOTAL 16 43 33 8
2009 PRIVATE 31 45 26 9
PUBLIC 22 34 39 5
TOTAL 21 43 28 8
Table 6.4 shows how companies have adjusted recruitment practises to cope with the
difficulties experienced. Despite the change in economic conditions, the pattern of reactions
has not changed greatly over time. In 2009, 51% of companies took longer than normal to
recruit engineers; 72% of companies could not recruit the required skill set; 20% of
companies recruited a different skill set and then retrained recruits; 32% of companies paid
higher than expected salaries; and 32% of companies could not recruit at all. The 2009
results reflect the unfavourable economic conditions immediately after the global financial
crisis.
Table 6.5 shows the consequences for companies who experienced engineering skills
shortages. This table shows some changes reflecting economic times. More companies
reported that the consequences were minor irritations with no monetary implications than in
the past; the proportion of companies experiencing moderate consequences involving some
monetary issues was remarkably stable; fewer companies experienced major problems
involving project delays and cost increases than in the past; but a significant proportion of
projects did not proceed due to the shortages.

FIGURE 6.2: ENGINEERING SKILLS SHORTAGES EXPERIENCED FOR

DIFFERENT RESPONSIBILITY LEVELS
2006 2007 2008 2009
80
70
60
% OF RESPONDENTS
50
40
30
20
10
0
LEVEL 1 LEVEL 2 LEVEL3 LEVEL 4 LEVEL 5
FIGURE 6.3: ENGINEERING SKILL SHORTAGES BY DISCIPLINE

2006 2007 2008 2009
90.0
PROPORTION of RESPONSES (%)
80.0
70.0
60.0
50.0
40.0
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
Electrical Mechanical Civil Electronics, Structural Environmental Mining Chemical
Computer etc
Figure 6.2 illustrates the pattern of engineering skills shortages experienced by responsibility
level. In 2009, fewer companies reported skill shortages for engineers grades 1, 2 and 5.
Grade 1 comprises engineers at the beginning of their careers and grade 2 comprises
engineers with some, but still limited, experience; while grade 5 typically comprises senior
executives. However, shortages of engineers grade 3 were relatively stronger than in the
past and shortages of engineers grade 4 were as strong as there were prior to the global
financial crisis.
Figure 6.3 illustrates the distribution of engineering skills shortages across engineering
disciplines. Consistent with the statistics in Table 6.2, all disciplines experienced lesser
shortages than in the past, but none-the-less the specific discipline shortages experienced by
companies remained comparatively high. No engineering discipline was reported to be in
surplus. The highest shortages were in the key mainstream disciplines of civil engineers,
mechanical engineers electrical engineers and structural engineers.

6.4 Relative Skills Shortage Index

The relative skills shortage index provides an insight into how new engineering university
graduates are faring in the labour market compared to their colleagues in 23 other
disciplines. The index measures the relationship between the number of engineering
graduates looking for full time work and the number of graduates in total looking for full time
work. Over time the economy moves cyclically. During tight economic conditions all
graduates are likely to have an easier time in finding a job. Conversely, when the economy is
experiencing difficulties, all graduates are likely to experience difficulties finding jobs.
At any point in time some disciplines may experience greater or lesser difficulties in finding
jobs irrespective of general economic circumstances. This is the basis of the relative skills
shortage index. When engineering graduates experience precisely the same conditions in
finding a job as all graduates, the index is set at 100. When engineering graduates
experience greater difficulties in finding jobs than all graduates, that is, engineers are in
relative surplus, the index is above 100. When engineering graduates experience fewer
difficulties in finding jobs, that is, they are in relative shortage, the index is below 100. The
degree of difference from 100 measures the intensity of the relative surplus or shortage.
TABLE 6.6
NEW GRADUATE ENGINEERS RELATIVE SKILLS SHORTAGE INDEX
YEAR ENGINEERS SEEKING ALL GRADUATES SEEKING RELATIVE SKILL

FULL TIME WORK (%) FULL TIME WORK (%) SHORTAGE INDEX
1999 14.3 19.2 74.5
2000 10.4 16.4 63.4
2001 12.6 17.0 74.1
2002 16.0 18.7 85.6
2003 14.6 19.9 73.4
2004 14.6 20.3 71.9
2005 12.6 19.1 66.0
2006 9.3 17.6 52.8
2007 8.6 15.5 55.5
2008 7.0 14.8 47.3
2009 13.2 20.8 63.5
Source: Estimated from statistics in Graduate Careers Australia, GradStats
TABLE 6.7
RELATIVE SKILLS SHORTAGES INDEX FOR ENGINEERING DISCIPLINES
YEAR Aeronautical Chemical Civil Electrical Electronic Mechanical Mining Other

1999 45.3 91.7 49.0 51.0 79.2 112.5 57.3 80.2
2000 30.5 70.1 43.3 37.2 49.4 85.4 92.1 103.0
2001 133.5 92.4 44.7 50.6 64.1 82.9 82.9 115.3
2002 91.4 57.8 47.6 89.3 135.3 98.9 48.7 88.2
2003 80.9 62.3 28.6 89.9 133.2 64.3 29.6 68.3
2004 116.7 77.8 17.2 95.1 109.9 71.9 16.7 70.0
2005 57.1 88.5 22.5 66.5 113.6 55.0 6.3 68.6
2006 65.9 95.5 26.1 45.5 77.3 57.4 0.0 42.6
2007 51.0 89.0 14.2 65.2 84.5 53.5 8.4 52.9
2008 70.9 63.5 18.2 54.7 73.6 41.2 0.0 51.4
2009 103.8 82.7 26.9 74.5 104.3 66.3 37.0 53.4
Source: Estimated from statistics in Graduate Careers Australia, GradStats

Table 6.6 shows the relative skills shortage index for engineers from 1999 to 2009. The index
shows that there was a relative skills shortage for new engineering graduates throughout this
period. Bear in mind that the unemployment rates in the Table were measured about 4
months after students completed their qualifications. The relative shortage was at its peak in
2008 when the index was 47.3. As the impacts of the global financial crisis were felt during
2009 the index eased to 63.5%. This result is consistent with the survey information
discussed in the previous section.
Although the relative skills shortage has been below 100 since 1999 for engineers as a
group, this is not the case when the statistics are disaggregated into engineering disciplines.
This information is shown in Table 6.7. The defintions for engineering disciplines are ones
adopted by Graduate Careers Australia and do not necessarily line up with the ASCO or
ANZSCO classification systems used by the ABS.
Table 6.7 shows that embedded in an overall relative engineering skills shortage between
1999 and the present are periods of relative surplus for some engineering disciplines. The
two notable disciplines are aeronautical engineering and electronic engineering. The latter
category includes computer engineering in addition to electronic engineering. The major
engineering disciplines that have figured in recent skills shortage experience were in
shortage throughout the period shown (mechanical from 2000).
6.5 Surrogate Measures of Supply and Demand

This approach uses surrogates for the demand for, and supply of, engineers to approximate
engineering skills shortages or surpluses relative to the baseline discussed in section 6.2.
The baseline is the unemployment rate for qualified engineers in the 2006 Population
Census. This was 2.95%, low compared to the general unemployment rate at the time
(5.24%).
FIGURE 6.4: FORECASTED ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION COMPARED TO

CORRESPONDING GROWTH IN NEW DOMESTIC GRADUATES
NEW DOMESTIC GRADUATES ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION (June 2010)
200.0
180.0
160.0
INDEX (BASE YEAR 2005-06)
140.0
120.0
100.0
80.0
60.0
40.0
20.0
0.0
2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
The surrogate measure for the demand for engineers was the Construction Forecasting
Council’s estimates for engineering construction27. Actual ABS statistics are used up to and
including 2008-09 and projections beyond then. The methodology used to obtain these
projections is described on the Council’s web-site. These statistics were converted from
27
www.cfc.acif.com.au , June 2010

monetary form to an index number with 2006-07 as base in line with the Census. The blue
line in Figure 6.4 shows the index for the surrogate measure for the demand for engineers
until 2017-18.
The surrogate measure for the supply of engineers was the flow of domestic graduates
holding acceptable engineering qualifications. Actual figures were used until 2008 and
projections, based on the average growth between 2002 and 2008, for remaining years. To
line up calendar year and financial year statistics, calendar years were aligned to the first half
of financial years. These figures were also converted into index numbers with the same base
as engineering construction. The red line in Figure 6.4 shows the index for the surrigate
measure for the supply of engineers.
It is clear from Figure 6.4 that there is a growing gap between these surrogate measures for
the demand for and supply of engineers. This gap will need to be filled either by more rapid
growth in domestic graduations of engineers or through expanded skilled migration.


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THE ENGINEERING PROFESSION

A Statistical Overview, Seventh Edition, 2010

The Engineering Profession, A Statistical Overview, Seventh Edition, 2010

National and International Policy

2 UNIVERSITY COURSES IN ENGINEERING

3 NEW ENTRY LEVEL ENGINEERS

5 OTHER CHARACTERISTICS OF ENGINEERS

6 WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT ENGINEERING SKILLS SHORTAGES?

THE ENGINEERING PROFESSION AND STATISTICAL MEASUREMENT iv

1.1 The Purpose of the Statistical Handbook

1.2 The Engineering Profession

The engineering profession is engaged in an extraordinary variety of occupations and is not

Following some experience in an engineering occupation, career progression involves the

THE ENGINEERING PROFESSION AND STATISTICAL MEASUREMENT 1

• Professional Engineers apply lifelong learning, critical perception and engineering

THE ENGINEERING PROFESSION AND STATISTICAL MEASUREMENT 2

education and levels of education. So far as level of education is concerned, Bachelors

THE ENGINEERING PROFESSION AND STATISTICAL MEASUREMENT 3

1.4 Outline of the Statistical Handbook

THE ENGINEERING PROFESSION AND STATISTICAL MEASUREMENT 4

Chapter 6 complies a range of statistics on the adequacy of engineering numbers. Direct

THE ENGINEERING PROFESSION AND STATISTICAL MEASUREMENT 5

2.1 Engineers Australia’s Role

2.2 Year 12 School Participation in Mathematics and

The three levels of mathematics identified were:

• Advanced mathematics; typically taken by students planning to proceed to tertiary

UNIVERSITY COURSE IN ENGINEERING 6

LEVEL 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

FIGURE 2.1: YEAR 12 PARTICIPATION IN MATHEMATICS IN AUSTRALIA

UNIVERSITY COURSE IN ENGINEERING 7

SUBJECT 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

FIGURE 2.2: YEAR 12 PARTICIPATION IN PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY IN

UNIVERSITY COURSE IN ENGINEERING 8

Overall commencements in Engineering and related Technology courses increased from

UNIVERSITY COURSE IN ENGINEERING 9

UNIVERSITY COURSE IN ENGINEERING 10

ALL DOMESTIC STUDENTS

ALL OVERSEAS STUDENTS

UNIVERSITY COURSE IN ENGINEERING 11

FIGURE 2.3: THE TREND IN DOMESTIC AND OVERSEAS STUDENT

FIGURE 2.4: THE GENDER COMPOSITION OF DOMESTIC

Figure 2.4 ilustrates the gender composition of domestic commencements in bachelors

UNIVERSITY COURSE IN ENGINEERING 12

FIGURE 2.5: THE TREND IN DOMESTIC AND OVERSEAS COURSEWORK

FIGURE 2.6: THE DISTRIBUTION OF DOMESTIC BACHELORS

UNIVERSITY COURSE IN ENGINEERING 13

FIGURE 2.7: THE DISTRIBUTION OF OVERSEAS STUDENTS

2.4 Overall Enrolments

UNIVERSITY COURSE IN ENGINEERING 14

UNIVERSITY COURSE IN ENGINEERING 15

ALL DOMESTIC STUDENTS

ALL OVERSEAS STUDENTS

UNIVERSITY COURSE IN ENGINEERING 16

Enrolments in bachelors degrees increased from 47,210 in 2001 to 54,553 in 2008, an

UNIVERSITY COURSE IN ENGINEERING 17

UNIVERSITY COURSE IN ENGINEERING 18

ALL DOMESTIC STUDENTS

ALL OVERSEAS STUDENTS

UNIVERSITY COURSE IN ENGINEERING 19

2.6 Engineering Completions Compared to Other

FIGURE 2.8: DOMESTIC ENGINEERING AND RELATED TECHNOLOGIES

UNIVERSITY COURSE IN ENGINEERING 20

FIGURE 2.9: ENGINEERING AND RELATED TECHNOLOGIES