I would think that it is not just industry that has to be concerned regards the lack of engineers and the lack of science graduates. The education system itself also has to become very concerned.

Headlines in a local paper in QLD recently:-

“STRAPED FOR CASH: OUR UNI IN STRIFE”

A number of local campuses of that QLD university may have to close down because of a lack of students
(mainly foreign students). The local campus of that university in at least one town in QLD does not even have a test tube on the entire campus, but runs about 50 social science courses instead.

The education of foreign students could become similar to the tourist trade. Australia may be flavor of the month for awhile, and then the tourists go elsewhere.

With the demise of science in our schools and universities, foreign students may begin to look elsewhere also, and in particular, they may look towards China to get an engineering or science degree.

Why not?

This is an interesting article written by a keen young person. Unfortunately once outcomes based education came on the scene and a plethera of "soft" subjects became available and qualified for university entrance, the number of students opting to study higher level mathenatics and the physical sciences has dropped dramatically.

It is a little like shutting the stable door once the horse has bolted. A lot of hard work and investment is needed if the situation is to be turned around. But government (state and federal) recognition of the important contribution mathematics and science makes to the quality of life in this country is urgently required.

Parents too, have a role to play so that the abilities of their children are not lost to careers in professions that focus more on the social fabric of life to the detriment of such things as the many branches of engineering.

If one ever takes the late bus after work there are three professions that are well represented on it, all of the office holders look grey around the gills and all carry bulging briefcases with more to be done before the next day. None are particularly happy with their working conditions and pay.

They are engineers mostly civil and structural, accountants and lawyers and why are they so unhappy with their lot? Because they usually work in a partnership structure where clever entrepreneurs at the top have all adopted work models and management practices that consistently overload their workers.

Of all, I would say that the engineers have the most to contend with, all arguing that such necessary things such as time to spend with clients is not adequately provided for in the contracts they have foisted upon them. Nor do the estimated hours make any adequate allowance for the costs of managing a number of contracts at once. The engineers are more desk bound than most and for longer continuous spans of hours it would appear.

Then there is professional liability that goes on forever and greedy insurers.

Yes, there are better working arrangements for some engineers and not all is bleak, but what percentage are overworked and underappreciated cogs in an assembly line not designed for humans?

The remaining problem is that more women than men attend university and there are now more women than men in fulltime work. Given the deliberate skews in education and in the workplace to favour women that will not change.

Most women don't like engineering and even where they take it up, soon move away from the production line to administrative roles (or leave completely) and they also prefer flexible, reduced hours. The juggling of numerous contracts with impatient partners and clients is not conducive to casual nor flexible arrangements. Well not if you want to stay sane and enjoy a family.

Just honing in on this point "industry has been crying out for qualified civil, electrical and mining engineers for years now". Qualified doesn't equal engineering graduate. Industry has this nasty habit of wanting skilled staff but wanting others to create them. How many people graduate with engineering degrees that don't become professional practicioners? How many of the migrant engineers are driving taxis and waiting tables? In IT we supposedly have a skills shortage too, wouldn't think that judging by the number of degree holding graduates.

HarryC could be hitting a sore spot there when he talks about what industry wants and what industry is prepared to invest in people.

I keep hearing that engineers need to study hard for several or more years post university to get the skills they need to do their jobs. Where these additional, necessary skills are being learned experientially and largely through expensive (especially for the graduate) self instruction and trial and error (and effective in-service training and mentoring is rarely available), it would not be surprising if graduates eventually moved on to more satisfying work.

What really surprises me from many hours of chatting with older engineer friends is the stupidity and wastefulness of industry in preferring to lose older skilled workers rather than make some adjustments to their tasks to allow some flexibility so they can reduce work hours and maybe apply hard won experience in another, allied role which still has an engineering component (thus saving recruitment of new staff for the purpose).

Similarly, industry appears reluctant to make any investment in older workers or even keep up the interest, stimulation and skills through timely, planned job mobility, education and development. Burn-out and wastage of skilled workers is assured.

Around half of available engineers could retire during the next ten years and short-sighted senior managers (and engineering partners) are probably pushing them to go while wringing their hands and griping about the under-supply of 'skilled' engineers.

The easy way out will be to suck skilled workers in from other countries in the region, offering citizenship and family reunion as the enticement. Not an ethical approach given that those countries need their skilled workers more desperately than we do.

My experiences ... I graduated with first class honours and existing experience in commerce, but found it difficult to even gain interviews. When I started working, I found that there is very little technical work done here. When they say engineering, they should say project management. This happened in job after job.

I am now embarking on a new career. At my last engineering job, someone I went to university with outed me and my boss sacked me. Such a lovely culture engineers have there.

It's a shame. Engineering should be about creativity, finding solutions and improving things and processes. Instead, it seems to fear those things, which is why all the amazing new things come from overseas.