the engineering profession in australia (sept 2010)

8/6/2019 The Engineering Profession in Australia (Sept 2010)

1/61

ustralia

THE ENGINEERING PROFESSION INAUSTRALIA

A Profile from the 2006 Population Census

September 2010


2/61

Andre Kaspura

THE ENGINEERING PROFESSIONIN AUSTRALIA

A Profile from the 2006 Population Census


3/61

The Engineering Profession in Australia; A Profile from the 2006 Population CensusISBN 978 0 85825 876 1Author: Andre Kaspura Institution of Engineers Australia 2010

All rights reserved. Other than brief extracts, no part of this publication may be reproduced inany form without the written consent of the publisher. The report can be downloaded atwww.engineersaustralia.org.au

National and International PolicyEngineers Australia11 National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600Tel: 02 6270 6555Fax: 02 6273 4200Email: [email protected]


4/61

i

CONTENTS

Chapter 1. Introduction

Chapter 2. The Engineering Labour Force in Australia2.1 Introduction 4

2.2 The Engineering Labour Force and Population 42.3 The Engineering Labour Force and Occupations 82.4 Hours Worked 102.5 Incomes Earned 132.6 Sectoral Distribution 172.7 Industry Distribution 192.8 Age Structure 232.9 Overview 24

Chapter 3 Engineering Skills Applied in Engineering3.1 Engineering and Skills Utilisation 263.2 Methodology 273.3 Engineering Occupations 283.4 Occupational Distribution 313.5 Hours Worked 323.6 Incomes Earned 343.7 Sectoral Distribution 383.8 Industry Distribution 393.9 Age Structure 413.10 Overview 44

Appendix A The Distribution of the Engineering Labour Force by 4 Digit Occupations 46


5/61

ii

TABLES

Chapter 2Table 2.1 The Engineering Labour Force and Population in Australia 4Table 2.2 The Comparison Labour Force and Population in Australia 5Table 2.3 The Engineering Labour Force in Australian States and Territories 6

Table 2.4 Unemployment Rates for Engineering Specialisations in 2006 7Table 2.5 Individuals with Engineering Qualifications not in the Labour Force 8Table 2.6 Individuals with Engineering Qualifications Not in the Labour Force and in

Full Time Studies 8Table 2.7 The Occupational Distribution of the Employed Engineering Labour Force 9Table 2.8 Average Weekly Hours Worked by the Full Time Employed Engineering

Labour Force 10Table 2.9 Average Weekly Hours Worked by the Part Time Employed Engineering

Labour Force 12Table 2.10 Average Weekly Incomes Earned by the Full Time Employed

Engineering Labour Force 13Table 2.11 Average Weekly Incomes Earned by the Part Time Employed

Engineering Labour Force 15Table 2.12 The Distribution of the Employed Engineering Labour Force by

Economic Sectors 17Table 2.13 Qualifications Held by the Employed Engineering Labour

Force in the Private Sector 19Table 2.14 The Industry Distribution of the Employed Engineering Labour Force 20Table 2.15 The Age Structures for the Engineering and Comparison Labour Forces 23

Chapter 3Table 3.1 The Engineering Profession and the Engineering Labour Force 30Table 3.2 The Occupational Distributions of the Engineering Labour Force and

Engineering Occupations 32Table 3.3 Average Weekly Hours Worked by the Full Time EngineeringProfession and the Full Time Engineering Labour Force 33

Table 3.4 Average Weekly Hours Worked by the Part Time EngineeringProfession and the Part Time Engineering Labour Force 34

Table 3.5 Average Weekly Incomes Earned by the Full Time EngineeringProfession and the Full Time Engineering Labour Force 35

Table 3.6 Average Weekly Incomes Earned by the Part Time EngineeringProfession and the Part Time Engineering Labour Force 36

Table 3.7 The Sectoral Distribution of Employment in the Engineering Profession andThe Engineering Labour Force 38

Table 3.8 The Industry Distributions for the Employed Engineering Profession

And Engineering Labour Force 39Table 3.9 The Employed Engineering Profession, by Sector and Industry 40Table 3.10 The Age Structures for the Employed Engineering Profession, the

Engineering Labour Force and the Comparison Labour Force 42Table 3.11 The Age Structure for the Engineering Profession by Economic Sectors 43


6/61

iii

FIGURES

Chapter 2Figure 2.1 The Occupational Distribution of the Employed Engineering

Labour Force 9Figure 2.2 Average Weekly Hours Worked by the Full Time Employed

Engineering Labour Force 11Figure 2.3 Average Weekly Hours Worked by the Full Time Employed

Engineering and Comparison Labour Forces 11Figure 2.4 Average Weekly Hours Worked by the Full time Employed

Engineering Labour Force by Gender 11Figure 2.5 Average Weekly Hours Worked by the Part Time Employed

Engineering Labour Force 12Figure 2.6 Average Weekly Hours Worked by the Part Time Employed

Engineering and Comparison Labour Forces 12Figure 2.7 Average Weekly Hours Worked by the Part Time Employed

Engineering Labour Force, by gender 13Figure 2.8 The Income Distribution for the Full Time Employed

Engineering Labour Force 14Figure 2.9 The Income Distribution for the Full Time Employed

Engineering and Comparison Labour Forces 14Figure 2.10 The Income Distributions for the Full Time Employed

Engineering Labour Force, by Gender 15Figure 2.11 The Income Distribution for the Part Time Employed

Engineering Labour Force 16Figure 2.12 The Income Distribution for the Part Time Employed

Engineering and Comparison Labour Forces 16Figure 2.13 The Income Distribution for the Part Time Employed

Engineering Labour Force, by Gender 16

Figure 2.14 The Relative Size of the Employed Engineering LabourForce in Major Economic Sectors 18Figure 2.15 The Qualifications Held by by the Employed Engineering

Labour Force in Different Economic Sectors 18Figure 2.16 Qualifications Held by the Employed Engineering Labour

Force in the Private Sector 19Figure 2.17 The Industry Distribution of the Employed Engineering Labour Force 20Figure 2.18 The Industry Distribution for the Engineering Labour Force

Employed by the Commonwealth 21Figure 2.19 The Industry Distribution for the Engineering Labour Force

Employed by State and Territory Governments 22Figure 2.20 The Industry Distribution for the Engineering Labour Force

Employed by Local Governments 22Figure 2.21 The Industry Distribution for the Engineering Labour Force

Employed in the Private Sector 23Figure 2.22 The Age Distribution of the Engineering and Comparison

Labour Forces 24

Chapter 3Figure 3.1 The Occupational Distributions for the Engineering and the

Engineering Labour Force 32Figure 3.2 Average Weekly Hours Worked by the Full Time Engineering Profession

and the Full Time Engineering Labour Force 33

Figure 3.3 Average Weekly Hours Worked by Females in the Full TimeEngineering Profession and the Full Time Engineering Labour Force 33

Figure 3.4 Average Weekly Hours Worked by the Part Time EngineeringProfession and the Part Time Engineering Labour Force 34


7/61

Introduction iv

Figure 3.5 Average Weekly Incomes Earned by the Full Time EngineeringProfession and the Full Time Engineering Labour Force 35

Figure 3.6 The Average Weekly Incomes Earned by the Full Time FemaleEngineering Profession and Engineering Labour Force 36

Figure 3.7 Average Weekly Incomes Earned by the Part Time EngineeringProfession and Engineering Labour Force 37

Figure 3.8 Average Weekly Incomes Earned by the Part Time Female EngineeringProfession and the Engineering Labour Force 37

Figure 3.9 The Sectoral Distribution of Employment in the Engineering ProfessionAnd the Engineering Labour Force 38

Figure 3.10 Female Sectoral Shares of Employment in the Engineering ProfessionAnd the Engineering Labour Force 38

Figure 3.11 The Industry Distribution for the Engineering Profession and theEngineering Labour Force 43

Figure 3.12 The Age Structures for the Employed Engineering Profession,Engineering Labour Force and Comparison Labour Force 42

Figure 3.13 The Age Structure for the Engineering Profession by Economic Sector 44


8/61

1. INTRODUCTION

Introduction 1

This Report looks at the question how many engineers are there in Australia? The answer

in Australia is more complex than many expect. In some countries engineers must belisenced or registered. In these cases the answer becomes a simple matter of counting thenumber of engineers on the register. Unfortunately, in Australia registration is voluntaryexcept in the Queensland building industry.

Engineering is one of the few disciplines where there the link between formal qualificationsand subsequent work force destinations is reasonably close. However, relying on traditionalennumeration of engineering occupations can lead to poor statistical estimates for tworeasons. First, the range of occupations that require the application of engineeringknowledge and skills has expanded as the sophistication of the economy has increased.Concepts such as public-private-partnerships for infrastructure provision have created a newdemand for engineers in legal and financial businesses. Second, there is growing recognition

that engineering qualifications provide suitable training for a wide range of generic work andengineering graduates are just as likely to respond to labour market incentives as graduatesin other fields.

Recent discussions of the adequacy of engineering skills in the Australian economy hasfailed to recognise these changes. Clearly the demand for engineers has increased asevidenced by the reactions of employers and businesses that have not been able to recruitengineers. The reaction has been to clammer for action to increase the supply of engineers.Typical remedies proposed include increasing the skilled migration intake and increasing thenumber of places in engineering in universities and TAFE colleges. The effectiveness of suchpolicies depends on how supply is measured and how the policies increase the supply ofengineers for alternative measures.

This Report explores two alternative measures of the supply of engineers. The first measureis based on the engineering labour force. This is discussed in Chapter 2. Although theengineering labour force is the most comprehensive measure of how many individuals in theAustralian labour market possess formal educational qualifications in engineering, it includesindividuals employed in both engineering and generic work. Another issue that has not yetbeen mentioned is that some individuals are employed in work that requires the application ofskill levels lower than is the norm in Australian engineering. Thus, using the engineeringlabour force as the basis of discussions of engineering skill shortages must contend with thedistribution of available supply across activities where formal engineering skills are essentialto varying degrees.

The second measure narrows the engineering labour force to those individuals who areformally qualified in engineering and who work in recognised engineering occupations.Criteria, including the level of qualifications, the level of skills applied in work and degree ofattachment to engineering, are developed to distinguish these occupations. Whendiscussions of engineering skills shortages are based on this measure, policy attention needsto focus on the utilisation of engineering skills in addition to conventional labour forcemeasures such as labour force participation, employment and unemployment.

The reports analysis uses statistics from ABS 2006 population census. In the past usingcensus statistics has been a cumbersome process involving pre-ordering cross-tabulations ofstatistics to be provided by ABS consultancy services. In late 2009, the ABS released its

2006 Census Tablebuilder facility, a product that gives users direct access to censusdatabases so that they can design cross-tabulations to suit their own purpose. This flexibilitynot only makes it easier to extract relevant statistics, but experimentation with alternative


9/61

Engineers and the Engineering Profession in Australia

Introduction 2

methodologies becomes possible, leading to improved research outcomes. This is vitalbecause other sources of statistics on engineers and engineering are fragmented andtypically do not lend themselves to consolidation. The advantage of census statistics is that alarge range of variables are available covered by consistent data definitions and classificationsystems.The major disadvantage is that the census is conducted every 5 years and statisticsdate rapidly. Another disadvantage is that the census education statistics relate to anindividuals highest qualification and attribute the individual to the field of that qualificationrather than to the field primarily used in work. The result is a potentially serious under-

enumeration of the supply measures1.

The characteristics of the two measures of engineering supply are explored by segmentingthe data by gender, economic sector, occupation, industry, status in employment, hoursworked and income earned. How these issues impinge on engineering as compared to otherfields is explored by establishing comparison groups of like qualified individuals in otherdisciplines. These characteristics provide valuable insights to policies aiming to influenceaspects of the supply of engineers. While limited to a profile in a single year, furtherunderstanding comes from complementing the census profile with the fragmented range ofavailable time series statistics2. Soon, of course, statistics from the 2011 census will beavailable and comparing two census profiles will provide more robust insights.

1 Most practising engineers possess a Bachelors degree or diploma or advanced diploma inengineering. APESMA and Engineers Australia salaries surveys show that over 20% possessgraduate diplomas or certificates, masters degrees or doctorates in non-engineering fields. In thecensus these individuals are allocated to the non-engineering field.2

See The Engineering Profession: A Statistical Overview, Sixth Edition, 2010,www.engineersaustralia.org.au


10/61

2. THE ENGINEER LABOUR FORCE

IN AUSTRALIA

The Engineering Labour Force in Australia 4

2.1 Introduction

This Chapter examines the engineering labour force in Australia. The engineering labourforce is defined as all individuals holding formal educational qualifications in engineering whoare employed or actively looking for work. A generic approach to employment consistent withthe view that a better educated work force is a more productive work force is assumed. Thisis the position adopted in many broad brush statements of Government policy and implies norestrictions on occupations that individuals are employed in or are looking for work in.

Formal qualifications in engineering include higher degrees, post graduate diplomas andcertificates, bachelors degrees and advanced diplomas and diplomas in engineering.Engineering is defined as Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED) 03,Engineering and Related Technologies. ASCED 0311, Geomatic Engineering is excluded

because surveying is not regarded as part of engineering.

The analysis begins by identifying the population with formal engineering qualifications andexamining labour force participation. The characteristics of population components are thenexplored with most attention given to employment.

2.2 The Engineering Labour Force and Population

Labour Force Participation

In 2006, there were 305,931 individuals in Australia who possessed formal engineering

qualifications. The engineering labour force was 249,788, comprised of 242,421 individualswho were employed and 7,367 who were unemployed. The engineering labour force was2.6% of the Australian labour force and 8.6% of the labour force with similar qualificationscovering all fields. There were 56,143 individuals not in the labour market. Overall labourforce paticipation was 81.6%. Table 2.1 shows these elements segmented by the level ofhighest qualification and gender.

The engineering labour force has a gender imbalance. In engineering, 90.2% of the labourforce was male and 9.8% was female compared to 47.4% males and 52.6% females inthecomparison labour force.

Labour force participation was highest for individuals who possess higher degree, postgraduate diplomas and certificates and bachelors degrees with rates close to 85%.Individuals possessing diplomas and advanced diplomas had a much lower participation rate.Male labour force participation was typically higher than female participation. The gap

TABLE 2.1

THE ENGINEERING LABOUR FORCE AND POPULATION IN AUSTRALIA

LABOUR FORCE

STATUS Males Females Total Males Females Total Males Females Total Males Females Total

Employed Full Time 23575 2518 26093 92582 9855 102437 70055 3633 73688 186212 16006 202218

Employed Part Time 3023 692 3715 10474 3066 13540 9812 2081 11893 23309 5839 29148

Employed, Away 952 195 1147 4272 768 5040 4510 358 4868 9734 1321 11055

TOTAL EMPLOYED 27550 3405 30955 107328 13689 121017 84377 6072 90449 219255 23166 242421Unemployed, looking FT 652 118 770 2163 410 2573 1773 168 1941 4588 696 5284

Unemployed, looking PT 160 65 225 766 314 1080 589 189 778 1515 568 2083

TOTAL UNEMPLOYED 812 183 995 2929 724 3653 2362 357 2719 6103 1264 7367

LABOUR FORCE 28362 3588 31950 110257 14413 124670 86739 6429 93168 225358 24430 249788

Not in the Labour Force 4538 758 5296 18280 3954 22234 24941 3672 28613 47759 8384 56143

POPULATION 32900 4346 37246 128537 18367 146904 111680 10101 121781 273117 32814 305931

Labour Force Participation (%) 86.2 82.6 85.8 85.8 78.5 84.9 77.7 63.6 76.5 82.5 74.4 81.6

Unemployment Rate (%) 2.9 5.1 3.1 2.7 5.0 2.9 2.7 5.6 2.9 2.7 5.2 2.9

Source: ABS, 2006 Population Census TableBuilder

Post-Graduate Quals Bachelor Degree Diploma Quals All Qualifications


11/61


The Engineering Labour Force in Australia 5

between male and female participation rates widened with education qualification. Femaleswith higher degrees, post graduate diplomas and certificates had a labour force participationrate of 82.6% compared to 86.2% for males; females with bachelors degrees had aparticipation rate of 78.5% compared to 85.8% for males and females with diplomas oradvanced diplomas had a labour force participation rate of 63.6% compared to 77.7% formales.

Table 2.2 repeats the form of Table 2.1 but with statistics for a comparison labour forcecomprised of individuals with similar qualifications but covering all fields of study. There islittle to separate the engineering and comparison labour forces with post graduatequalifications. A similar conclusion applies to the components with bachelors degrees. Thehigher overall participation rate in engineering reflects the low female share. In thecomponents with diploma qualifications, the engineering participation rates are lower than forthe comparison group for both genders. The main conclusion is that engineering, like otherfields of endevour that require investment in education, has relatively high labour forceparticipation.

Employment and Unemployment

In the engineering labour force 242,421 were employed; 202,218, or 83.4% full time and29,148, or 12.% part time. The remaining 11,055, or 4.6% were away from work when thecensus was conducted and comprises both part time and full time workers. Thecorresponding statistics for the Australian labour force were 64.0% full time, 29.5% part timeand 6.5% away from work and for the comparison labour force they were 69.2% full time,25.5% part time and 5.3% away from work. The incidence of full time work in the engineeringlabour force is very high and the incidence of part time work low compared to both the labourforce as a whole and compared to similarly qualified individuals in all fields of endevour.

Although the female share of the engineering labour force is low, the tendency towards full

time work is greater than in the comparison labour force. In engineering, 69.1% of femaleemployment is full time and 25.2% is part time. The corresponding statistics for thecomparison labour force are 58.0% full time and 35.8% part time. It is interesting to note thateven though the proportion of part time employment among engineering females is overtwice as high as for engineering males (10.6%), in numerical terms male part employment(23,309) is four times female part time employment (5,839).

There were 7,367 individuals unemployed in the engineering labour force, 5,284 were lookingfor full time work and 2,083 were looking for part time work. The unemployment rate was2.9%. To put this into perspective, the corresponding unemployment rate for the Australianlabour force as a whole was 5.2% and the unemployment rate for the comparison labourforce was 3.0%. In other words, relative to the labour force as a whole, the engineering

labour force was very tight but this tightness was not unique to engineering and was evidentin the comparison labour force as well.

TABLE 2.2THE COMPARISON LABOUR FORCE AND POPULATION IN AUSTRALIA

LABOUR FORCE

STATUS Males Females Total Males Females Total Males Females Total Males Females Total

Employed Full T ime 225142 161700 386842 570184 463248 1033432 297211 236532 533743 1092537 861480 1954017

Employed Part Time 35596 80976 116572 95431 268449 363880 56678 182386 239064 187705 531811 719516

Employed, Away 10718 15547 26265 29840 49320 79160 18674 26740 45414 59232 91607 150839

TOTAL EMPLOYED 271456 258223 529679 695455 781017 1476472 372563 445658 818221 1339474 1484898 2824372

Unemployed, looking FT 5920 4069 9989 14935 11182 26117 9586 7883 17469 30441 23134 53575

Unemployed, looking PT 1619 3044 4663 5480 10332 15812 3771 8505 12276 10870 21881 32751

TOTAL UNEMPLOYED 7539 7113 14652 20415 21514 41929 13357 16388 29745 41311 45015 86326

LABOUR FORCE 278995 265336 544331 715870 802531 151 840 1 385920 462046 8 47966 1 380 785 1529913 2910698

Not in the Labour Force 41005 54717 95722 107784 208624 316408 93145 184695 277840 241934 448036 689970

POPULAT ION 320000 320053 640053 823654 1011155 183 480 9 479065 6467 41 1125806 1 622 719 1977949 3600668

Labour Force Participation (%) 87.2 82.9 85.0 86.9 79.4 82.8 80.6 71.4 75.3 85.1 77.3 80.8

Unemployment Rate (%) 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.9 2.7 2.8 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.0 2.9 3.0


Post-Graduate Quals Bachelor Degree Diploma Quals All Qualifications


12/61


Appendix A 6

In engineering, male unemployment rates were very close to the labour force rate but femaleunemployment rates were much closer to the unemployment rate experienced in theeconomy generally. This was a major point of departure from the comparison labour force. Inthe latter, female unemployment rates were very close to male rates.

Qualifications

In engineering, 12.8% of the labour force had post graduate degrees, diplomas or certificates

as their highest qualification. This proportion was higher for females (14.7%) than for males(12.6%). In the comparison labour force these shares were much higher; 20.2% for males,17.3% for females and 18.7% overall.

The most common qualification in both engineering and the comparison labour forces was abachelors degree. In engineering, 52.2% of the labour force had a bachelors degree inengineering as their highest qualification with a higher proportion for females (59.0%) than formales (48.9%). The comparison labour force male share was higher with 51.8% and thefemale share was lower with 52.5%. The gender imbalance in engineering brought thecombined figures much closer with 49.9% in engineering and 52.2% in the comparisonlabour force.

Advanced diplomas and diplomas were more common in engineering than in the comparisonlabour force. In engineering, these qualifications were the highest qualification for 37.3% ofthe labour force (38.5% males and 26.3% females) compared to 29.1% (27.9% male and30.2% females) in the comparison labour force. Among engineering females the proportionswith bachelors degrees and with diplomas and advanced diplomas reflects more recentincreases in females graduating from engineering courses.

Unemployment Rates and Skills Shortages

In recent years there has been considerable attention focused on engineering skillsshortages. The evidence to support the existence of these shortages has been fragmentedand comprises evidence from various surveys, comparison of surrogate measures of the

demand for and supply of engineers and anecdotal information. Unemployment rates are amuch better measure but have not previously been available.

Table 2.1 showed that the unemployment rate for the engineering labour force was 2.9%.This was considerably lower than the unemployment rate for the labour force overall andprovides unambiguous evidence of a tight labour market for engineering skills. Table 2.2showed that similar problems were experienced across all skill areas. Table 2.3 amplifies thecomparison by looking at the engineering labour forces in States and Territories.

The lowest unemployment rates occurred in jurisdictions particularly affected by the boom in

mining and related activity. The unemployment rate in the Northern Territory was 0.8%, inWestern Australia it was 2.0% and in Queensland it was 2.2%. Although there were higherunemployment rates in other jurisdictions, the highest was 3.5% in Victoria. This rate is stillquite small and strong evidence of a tight labour market for engineering skills.

TABLE 2.3

THE ENGINEERING LABOUR FORCE IN AUSTRALIAN STATES AND TERRITORIES

STATE/TERRITORY UNEMPLOYED EMPLOYED LABOUR FORCE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

NEW SOUTH WALES 2791 83051 85842 3.3

VICTORIA 2393 66790 69183 3.5

QUEENSLAND 913 40658 41571 2.2

SOUTH AUSTRALIA 517 15076 15593 3.3

WESTERN AUSTRALIA 542 26825 27367 2.0

TASMANIA 101 3363 3464 2.9

NORTHERN TERRITORY 16 1913 1929 0.8

AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY 94 4714 4808 2.0

OTHER TERRITORIES 0 31 31 0.0

AUSTRALIA 7367 242421 249788 2.9

Source: ABS, 2006 Population Census T ablebuilder


13/61


Appendix A 7

Table 2.4 shows estimates of unemployment rates for a wide range of engineeringspecialisations. Here specialisation refers to how engineers descibed their educational

qualification in the census rather than to the nomenclature of the particular job they wereengaged in. The most numerous group is best descibed as general engineering andcontained 106,148, or 42.5% of the engineering labour force and had an unemployment rateof 2.6%, below the figure for the engineering labour force.

Most specialisations showed evidence of tight labour markets. In some instances, this wasnot the case. Only three specialisations had unemployment rates equal to or higher than theunemployment rate for the Australian labour force (rest of manufacturing engineering with5.3%; rest of automotive engineering with 5.5% and communications technologies with5.1%). The combined numbers in these groups were 3.9% of the engineering labour force.

In some instances unemployment rates were higher for one of the two qualifications levelsshown in Table 2.4 and not necessarily for the entire specialisation group. This occurred fordiploma qualified chemical engineers who had an unemployment rate of 6.6%, for diplomaqualified ccomputer engineers who had an unemployment rate of 7.3% and diplomaqualified environmental engineers who had an unemployment rate of 6.1%. In the threecases the overall unemployment rate for the specialisation was below the Australian labourforce rate.

Not in the Labour Force

There were 56,142 individuals who possess engineering qualifications not in the labour force;47,756 males and 8,386 females. An initial perception of this group is that most have retired

from the labour force. The statistics in Table 2.5 show that this is sunstantially the case.There were 28,459, or 50.7% aged 65 years or more and another 20.0% are aged between55 and 64 years. In other words, it is probably the case that 70% have retired. However the

TABLE 2.4

UNEMPLOYM ENT RATES FOR ENGINEERING SPECIALISATIONS IN 2006

SPECIALISATION DEGREE DIPLOMA ALL LABOUR

QUALIFIED QUALIFIED QUALIFICATIONS FORCE

Engineering & Related

Technologies NFD 2.5 2.6 2.6 106,148

Manufacturing Engineering 4.4 4.8 4.5 1616

Rest of Manufacturing Engineering 4.7 5.4 5.3 4030

Chemical Engineering 3.1 6.6 3.3 5829

Mining Engineering 1.8 1.7 1.8 3877

Materials Engineering 3.1 2.4 2.9 4384

Rest of Process & Resource Engineering 4.0 3.2 3.6 3621

Automotive Engineering 4.9 2.2 2.7 338

Rest of Automotive Engineering 0.0 5.5 5.5 220

Mechanical Engineering 3.1 2.9 3.0 18573

Industrial Engineering 5.1 3.4 4.5 1218

Rest of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering 4.8 4.5 4.5 844

Construction Engineering 3.7 0.0 3.7 381

Structural Engineering 2.7 3.3 2.9 1334

Building Services Engineering 0.0 0.0 0.0 22

Water & Sanitary Engineering 0.0 0.0 0.0 72

Transport Engineering 3.7 0.0 3.7 215

Geotechnical Engineering 2.4 0.0 2.4 127

Ocean Engineering 0.0 0.0 0.0 16

Rest of Civil Engineering 2.5 2.3 2.4 20336

Electrical Engineering 3.1 2.5 2.9 17484

Electronic Engineering 4.1 3.3 3.7 7110

Computer Engineering 4.3 7.3 4.8 3860

Communications Technologies 6.5 3.5 5.1 5547Rest of Electrical & Electronic Engineering 5.6 2.9 3.6 21397

Aerospace Engineering 2.2 2.4 2.2 1618

Aircraft Maintenance Engineering 0.0 2.3 2.3 1428

Aircraft Operations 3.1 2.9 2.9 8843

Rest of Aerospace Engineering .. 0.7 1.2 580

Maritime Engineering 5.4 2.3 2.9 1501

Rest of Maritime Engineering 3.3 3.7 3.6 3582

Environmental Engineering 3.8 6.1 3.9 1087

Biomedical Engineering 4.6 0.0 4.3 421

Rest of Other Engineering 4.6 1.2 2.4 2130

ALL SPECIALISATIONS 3.0 2.9 2.9 249,789

Source: ABS, 2006 Population Census Tablebuilder


14/61


Appendix A 8

remaining 30% is spread across all ages under 55 years with some of the largest numbers inrelatively young age groups.

The mix of qualifications in Table 2.5 is quite different to the engineering labour force with9.4% holding post graduate qualifications (compared to 12.8%); 39.6% holding bachelors

degrees (compared to 52.2%) and 51.0% holding advanced diplomas or diplomas inengineering (compared to 37.3%). Among those aged 55 years and over, 56.7% helddiploma qualifications. This pattern reflects a shift from diplomas to degrees as thepredominant engineering qualification over the years.

Other reasons why individuals with engineering qualifications are not in the labour forceinclude full time studies and family responsibilities. Table 2.6 reflects on the first of these.

There were 6,002 individuals with engineering qualifications in full time studies. This was

36.4% of those not in the labour force aged under 55 years. The majority (82.6%) were agedunder 35 years and 63.5% were males aged under 35 years. Presumably when these fulltime students complete their courses they will re-enter the engineering labour force. Thelarge proportion of full time students holding bachelors degrees (50.8%) or diplomaqualifications (34.7%) serve to emphasize how many students who complete entry levelqualifications in engineering do not enter the labour market, instead continuing on as full timestudents.

Comparing Tables 2.5 and 2.6 shows that there were 10,626 individuals with engineeringqualifications who were aged less than 55 years and were not in full time studies and not inthe labour force and 4,797 were aged under 40 years, 2,558 females and 2,239 males. In alllikelihood these individuals were dealing with family responsibilities.

TABLE 2.5

INDIVIDUALS WITH ENGINEERING QUALIFICATIONS NOT IN THE LABOUR FORCE

AGE

GROUPS Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total

Under 20 years 3 0 3 23 3 26 61 11 72 87 14 101

20 to 24 years 84 31 115 984 371 1355 772 181 953 1840 583 2423

25 to 29 years 324 154 478 1211 628 1839 515 206 721 2050 988 303830 to 34 years 233 167 400 629 680 1309 397 330 727 1259 1177 2436

35 to 39 years 152 129 281 521 588 1109 426 323 749 1099 1040 2139

40 to 44 years 151 80 231 528 467 995 604 301 905 1283 848 2131

45 to 49 years 134 42 176 619 263 882 673 225 898 1426 530 1956

50 to 54 years 150 37 187 782 188 970 874 220 1094 1806 445 2251

55 to 59 years 402 33 435 1413 142 1555 2144 262 2406 3959 437 4396

60 to 64 years 656 23 679 2200 151 2351 3458 324 3782 6314 498 6812

Over 65 years 2248 67 2315 9367 470 9837 15018 1289 16307 26633 1826 28459

TOTAL 4537 763 5300 18277 3951 22228 24942 3672 28614 47756 8386 56142


Post Graduate Quals Bachelors Degree Diploma Quals All Qualifications

TABLE 2.6

INDIVIDUALS WITH ENGINEERING QUALIFICATIONS NOT IN T HE LABOUR FORCE AND IN FULL TIME STUDIES

AGE

GROUPS Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total

Under 20 years 3 0 3 20 5 25 43 10 53 66 15 81

20 to 24 years 61 28 89 800 274 1074 665 139 804 1526 441 1967

25 to 29 years 237 102 339 840 281 1121 335 45 380 1412 428 1840

30 to 34 years 164 59 223 263 79 342 380 122 502 807 260 1067

35 to 39 years 72 19 91 136 52 188 77 29 106 285 100 385

40 to 44 years 51 9 60 82 39 121 59 15 74 192 63 255

45 to 49 years 17 11 28 46 24 70 47 18 65 110 53 163

50 to 54 years 9 4 13 31 8 39 32 7 39 72 19 91

55 to 59 years 7 3 10 26 0 26 13 6 19 46 9 55

60 to 64 years 6 0 6 19 3 22 15 0 15 40 3 43

Over 65 years 7 0 7 17 5 22 20 6 26 44 11 55

TOTAL 634 235 869 2280 770 3050 1686 397 2083 4600 1402 6002

Source: ABS, 2006 Population Census T ableBuilder



15/61


Appendix A 9

2.3 The Engineering Labour Force and Occupations

This section looks at the occupations that the employed component of the engineering labourforce were engaged in. Table 2.6 shows the numbers employer in major occupational groupsof the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO).Figure 2.1 illustrates key distributional pattern in the Table.

Employed members of the engineering labour force are represented in all major occupationalgroups, even some that are not likely to require engineering skills. By far the largestemployment group is professionals with 106,471 employed, 90.4% males and 9.6%

females. This occupational group includes all traditional engineering occupations.

The second largest employment group was managers with 50,219 employed, 93.7% malesand 6.3% females. Technicians and tradespersons was the third largest employment groupwith 40,216, with 94.1% males and 5.9% females. These groups are the ones normallyassociated with engineering employment and combined accounted for 81% of engineeringlabour force employment.

The remaining occupational groups employ 45,520 members of the engineering labour force,38,060 males and 7,460 females. The male component is 17.4% of the male engineeringlabour force and the female component is 32.2% of the female engineering labour force.

There were broad spreads of qualification types in the managers and professionalsgroups. In the former, 13.3% had post graduate qualifications, 52.7% had bachelors degreesand 34.0% had diploma qualifications. Degrees featured more in the professionals groupwith 17.5% possessing post graduate qualifications, 60.8% bachelors degrees and 21.7%

TABLE 2.7

THE OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF T HE EMPLOYED ENGINEERING LABOUR FORCE

Occupation

Group Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total

Managers 6180 515 6695 24584 1880 26464 16313 747 17060 47077 3142 50219

Professionals 16488 2105 18593 57717 7067 64784 22074 1020 23094 96279 10192 106471

Technicians/Trades 1655 162 1817 8988 941 9929 27200 1270 28470 37843 2373 40216

Community/Personal Service 295 82 377 1299 495 1794 2646 474 3120 4240 1051 5291

Clerical & Administrative 1209 317 1526 5348 1836 7184 4699 1132 5831 11256 3285 14541

Sales 474 100 574 2352 587 2939 2571 586 3157 5397 1273 6670

Machinery Operators 427 11 438 2752 146 2898 3768 209 3977 6947 366 7313

Labourers 499 65 564 3074 571 3645 3935 551 4486 7508 1187 8695

Inadequately described 276 27 303 969 121 1090 974 53 1027 2219 201 2420

Not stated 50 18 68 249 47 296 194 32 226 493 97 590

Total 27553 3402 30955 107332 13691 121023 84374 6074 90448 219259 23167 242426

Source: ABS, 2006 Population Census


0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

120000

NUMBERS

FIGURE 2.1: THE OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE EMPLOYEDENGINEERING LABOUR FORCE

Post Graduate Quals Bachelors Degree Diploma Quals


16/61


Appendix A 10

diploma qualifications. As might be expected, the qualifications pattern in the techniciansand tradespersons group is skewed towards diploma qualifications. Only 4.5% have postgraduate qualifications, 24.7% had bachelors degrees and 70.8% had diploma qualifications.In the remaining occupational groups, the qualifications pattern was entirely different; 7.7%had post graduate qualifications, 39.5% had bachelors degrees and 43.5% had diplomaqualifications.

2.4 Hours Worked

The statistics in Table 2.1 relating to full time and part time work is one approach toevaluating how engineering qualifications and skills are used. The statistics in that Tableshowed that the engineering labour force was much more oriented to full time work thansimilarly qualified individuals and the labour force at large. An extension of this approach tothe utilisation of engineering qualifications and skills is to look at the average hours workedby the full time and part time employed engineering labour force.

Full Time Employment

Full time employment was defined by the ABS to be employed for 35 hours or more perweek. Table 2.8 shows the distribution of hours worked by full time employed members of theengineering labour force. Figure 2.2 illustrates the distribution of hours worked by type ofqualifications, Figure 2.3 compares the distribution of hours worked in engineering to thecomparison labour force and Figure 2.4 compares the hours worked by males and females inengineering.

Full time members of the engineering labour force work long hours. Although many (94,696,or 46.9%) work what might be called standard hours, that is between 35 and 40 hours perweek, the majority work longer hours. Some 41,823, or 20.7% worked between 41 and 48hours per week and 65,699, or 32.5% worked 49 hours or more per week. Figure 2.2 showsthat there are relatively minor differences to this pattern so far as qualifications areconcerned.

More members of the full time employed engineering labour force work longer hours andfewer work standard hours than is the case in the comparison labour force. This is shown inFigure 2.3. Combined with the higher proportion of full time work in engineering compared tothe comparison labour force, this result points to relatively high utilisation of engineeringqualifications and skills.

More males than females in the full time employed engineering labour force worked longerhours and conversely more females than males worked standard hours. This is illustrated inFigure 2.4. The gender difference is particularly acute in the longest hours worked group.

Part Time Employment

Table 2.9 and Figures 2.5 to 2.7 show the corresponding information for the part time

employed engineering labour force.

TABLE 2.8

AVERAGE WEEKLY HOURS WORKED BY THE FULL TIME EMPLOYED ENGINEERING LABOUR FORCE

Hours

Worked Males Females Total Males Females Total Males Females Total Males Females Total

35 to 39 4088 641 4729 14309 2448 16757 14202 1251 15453 32599 4340 36939

40 7195 922 8117 26698 3553 30251 18255 1134 19389 52148 5609 57757

41 to 48 4649 474 5123 19481 1890 21371 14787 542 15329 38917 2906 41823

49 & over 7642 482 8124 32093 1965 34058 22811 706 23517 62546 3153 65699

TOTAL 23574 2519 26093 92581 9856 102437 70055 3633 73688 186210 16008 202218




17/61


Appendix A 11

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

35 to 39 40 41 to 48 49 & over

%O

FQUALIFICATIO

NGROUP

AVERAGE WEEKLY HOURS WORKED

FIGURE 2.2: AVERAGE WEEKLY HOURS WORKED BY THE FULL TIMEEMPLOYED ENGINEERING LABOUR FORCE

Post Graduate Quals Bachelors Degrees Diploma Quals

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

35 to 39 40 41 to 48 49 & over

%O

FGENDERGROUP

FIGURE 2.4: AVERAGE WEEKLY HOURS WORKED THE FULL TIMEEMPLOYED ENGINEERING LABOUR FORCE, BY GENDER

Males Females


18/61


Appendix A 12

Part time employment was defined by the ABS as working less than 35 hours per week.Three broad groupings of part time hours were used; 9,193, or 31.5% of part time employedmembers of the engineering labour force worked less than 16 hours per week. Slightly more,9,398, or 32.2% worked between 16 and 24 hours and 10,557, or 36.2% worked 25 to 34hours per week. As Figure 2.5 shows the only real pattern here relates to individuals withdiploma qualifications where skew is towards longer part time hours.

TABLE 2.9

AVERAGE WEEKLY HOURS WORKED BY T HE PART TIME EMPLOYED ENGINEERING LABOUR FORCE

HOURS

WORKED Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total

1 to 15 1038 237 1275 3385 991 4376 2891 651 3542 7314 1879 9193

16 to 24 926 225 1151 3479 1056 4535 3047 665 3712 7452 1946 9398

25 to 34 1060 229 1289 3609 1019 4628 3873 767 4640 8542 2015 10557

TOTAL 3024 691 3715 10473 3066 13539 9811 2083 11894 23308 5840 29148


Post Graduate Quals Bachelors degree Diploma Quals All Qualifications

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

45.0

1 to 15 16 to 24 25 to 34

%O

FQUALIFICATIONGROUP


FIGURE 2.5: AVERAGE WEEKLY HOURS WORKED BY THE PART TIMEEMPLOYED ENGINEERING LABOUR FORCE

Post Graduate Quals Bachelors Degrees Diploma Quals

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

1 to 15 16 to 24 25 to 34

%


FIGURE 2.6: AVERAGE WEEKLY HOURS WORKED BY THE PART TIMEEMPLOYED ENGINEERING AND COMPARISON LABOUR FORCES

Engineering Comparison


19/61


Appendix A 13

Figure 2.6 shows that the pattern of part time hours worked is very similar between theengineering and comparison labour forces and Figure 2.7 shows that more females thanmales in the engineering labour force work shorter part time hours and more males thanfemales work longer part time hours.

2.5 Incomes Earned

Full time Employment

Table 2.9 shows the distribution of average weekly gross incomes, including pensions andallowances, earned by full time employed members of the engineering labour force. Figure

2.8 illustrates the character of the income distribution and the shares of differentqualifications in each income group. Figure 2.9 compares the full time income distributionsfor the engineering and comparison labour forces and Figure 2.10 compares male andfemale income distributions in the engineering labour force.

The largest income group for full time employed members of the engineering labour forcewas the highest income group ($2,000 per week or higher) used by the ABS in the census.There were 47,369, or 23.4% in this group. There were large numbers in the next threehighest income groups but not in an even progression. There were 29,897, or 14.8% whoearned between $1,600 and $1,999 per week; 33,786 or 16.7% who earned between $1,300and $1,599 per week and 37,668, or 18.6% who earned between $1,000 and $1,299 per

28.0

29.0

30.0

31.0

32.0

33.0

34.0

35.0

36.0

37.0

38.0

1 to 15 16 to 24 25 to 34

%O

FGENDERG

ROUP

HOURS WORKED

FIGURE 2.7: AVERAGE WEEKLY HOURS WORKED BY THE PART TIMEEMPLOYED ENGINEERING LABOUR FORCE, BY GENDER

Males Females

TABLE 2.10

AVERAGE WEEKLY INCOMES EARNED BY THE FULL TIME EMPLOYED ENGINEERING LABOUR FORCE

Average

Weekly Income Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total

Negative income 34 3 37 113 11 124 117 11 128 264 25 289

Nil income 59 9 68 300 29 329 290 23 313 649 61 710

$1-$149 59 8 67 213 44 257 215 41 256 487 93 580

$150-$249 60 15 75 391 60 451 375 71 446 826 146 972

$250-$399 216 20 236 987 133 1120 977 138 1115 2180 291 2471

$400-$599 650 104 754 3247 641 3888 3989 629 4618 7886 1374 9260

$600-$799 1023 177 1200 5688 1173 6861 6640 886 7526 13351 2236 15587

$800-$999 1424 317 1741 9228 1721 10949 8691 609 9300 19343 2647 21990

$1,000-$1,299 3223 523 3746 15708 2355 18063 15222 637 15859 34153 3515 37668

$1,300-$1,599 3987 537 4524 14918 1504 16422 12605 235 12840 31510 2276 33786

$1,600-$1,999 4450 377 4827 14575 1053 15628 9283 159 9442 28308 1589 29897

$2,000 or more 8247 417 8664 26547 1068 27615 10938 152 11090 45732 1637 47369

Not stated 142 12 154 669 63 732 712 41 753 1523 116 1639

All Incomes 23574 2519 26093 92584 9855 102439 70054 3632 73686 186212 16006 202218




20/61


Appendix A 14

week. These income groups accounted for three-quarters of full time employed members ofthe engineering labour force. A surprising feature of the statistics is that members of theengineering labour force are present in all income groups, even the group earning noincome.

Figure 2.9 shows that more members of the engineering labour force earned full timeincomes in the top three income groups than was the case for the comparison labour force.Conversely, there were fewer members of the full time employed engineering labour force inlower income groups.

Figure 2.10 shows that significantly more males than females in the full time engineeringlabour force earn incomes in the top three income groups. More females than males earnincomes below these groups with the gender gap towards females widening as income falls.

0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0

Negative income

Nil income

$1-$149

$150-$249

$250-$399

$400-$599

$600-$799

$800-$999

$1,000-$1,299

$1,300-$1,599

$1,600-$1,999

$2,000 or more

% IN INCOME GROUPS

INCOMEGROUPS

FIGURE 2.8: THE INCOME DISTRIBUTION FOR THE FULL TIME EMPLOYED

ENGINEERING LABOUR FORCE


0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0

Negative income

Nil income

$1-$149

$150-$249

$250-$399

$400-$599

$600-$799

$800-$999

$1,000-$1,299

$1,300-$1,599

$1,600-$1,999

$2,000 or more

% IN INCOME GROUPS

INCOMEGROUPS

FIGURE 2.9: THE INCOME DISTRIBUTION FOR FULL TIME EMPLOYEDENGINEERING AND COMPARISON LABOUR FORCES

Comparison Engineering


21/61


Appendix A 15

According to the APESMA salary surveys3

, in late 2006 the median starting salary for newgraduates in engineering was $48,142 per annum or $925 per week. This is towards theupper end of the $800 to $999 income group. The lower end of this group corresponds to$41,600 and this was above the lower decile of $39,766 in the APESMA salary range. Inother words, about 10% of new engineering graduates were probably included in the $600 to$799 income group, with the rest in following income groups.

Part Time Employment

Table 2.11 and Figures 2.11 to 2.13 shows the corresponding income distribution informationfor the part time employed engineering labour force.

A common presumption is that part time earnings are less than full time earnings. Figure 2.11shows that this is not always the case. Part time earnings for the engineering labour forcecover all income groups, including the highest. The largest income group was between $400and $599 per week. This group included 4,927, or 16.9% and another 4,562, or 15.7%earned between $250 and $399. Significant numbers earned incomes comparable to full timeworkers. There were 2,571, or 8.8% earning over $2,000 per week; 1,552,or 5.3% earningbetween $1,600 and $1,999 per week and 2,039, or 7.0% earning between $1,300 and

$1,599 per week.

3APESMA, Professional Engineer Remuneration Survey Report, December 2006, www.apesma.asn.au

0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0

Negative income

Nil income

$1-$149

$150-$249

$250-$399

$400-$599

$600-$799

$800-$999

$1,000-$1,299

$1,300-$1,599

$1,600-$1,999

$2,000 or more

% IN INCOME GROUPS

INCOMEGROUPS

FIGURE 2.10: THE INCOME DISTRIBUTIONS FOR THE FULL TIMEEMPLOYED ENGINEERING LABOUR FORCE, BY GENDER

Females Males

TABLE 2.11THE INCOME DISTRIBUTION FOR THE PART TIME EMPLOYED ENGINEERING LABOUR FORCE

INCOME

GROUP Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total

Negative income 12 0 12 32 4 36 36 5 41 80 9 89

Nil income 20 3 23 108 44 152 77 22 99 205 69 274

$1-$149 114 50 164 582 249 831 396 173 569 1092 472 1564

$150-$249 203 60 263 1015 346 1361 759 298 1057 1977 704 2681

$250-$399 410 118 528 1565 538 2103 1447 484 1931 3422 1140 4562

$400-$599 444 138 582 1475 589 2064 1718 563 2281 3637 1290 4927

$600-$799 296 68 364 1020 359 1379 1189 215 1404 2505 642 3147

$800-$999 263 64 327 904 272 1176 910 123 1033 2077 459 2536

$1,000-$1,299 283 84 367 1095 297 1392 1090 99 1189 2468 480 2948

$1,300-$1,599 302 37 339 810 177 987 673 40 713 1785 254 2039

$1,600-$1,999 238 35 273 651 92 743 520 16 536 1409 143 1552

$2,000 or more 418 28 446 1134 86 1220 877 28 905 2429 142 2571

Not stated 22 5 27 82 15 97 118 16 134 222 36 258

TOTAL 3025 690 3715 10473 3068 13541 9810 2082 11892 23308 5840 29148


Post Graduate Quals Bachelor Degree Diploma Quals Total


22/61


Appendix A 16

0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0 16.0 18.0

Negative income

Nil income

$1-$149

$150-$249

$250-$399

$400-$599

$600-$799

$800-$999

$1,000-$1,299

$1,300-$1,599

$1,600-$1,999

$2,000 or more

% IN INCOME GROUPS

INCOMEGRO

UPS

FIGURE 2.11: THE INCOME DISTRIBUTION FOR THE PART TIMEEMPLOYED ENGINEERING LABOUR FORCE


0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0

Negative income

Nil income

$1-$149

$150-$249

$250-$399

$400-$599

$600-$799

$800-$999

$1,000-$1,299

$1,300-$1,599

$1,600-$1,999

$2,000 or more

% IN INCOME GROUPS

INCOMEGROUPS

FIGURE 2.12: THE INCOME DISTRIBUTION FOR THE PART TIMEEMPLOYED ENGINEERING AND COMPARISON LABOUR FORCES


0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0

Negative income

Nil income

$1-$149

$150-$249

$250-$399

$400-$599

$600-$799

$800-$999

$1,000-$1,299

$1,300-$1,599

$1,600-$1,999

$2,000 or more

% IN INCOME GROUPS

INCOMEGROUPS

FIGURE 2.13: THE INCOME DISTRIBUTIONS FOR THE PART TIMEEMPLOYED ENGINEERING LABOUR FORCE, BY GENDER

Females Males


23/61


Appendix A 17

Figure 2.12 shows that there were more members of the part time employed engineeringlabour force in higher income groups and fewer in mid range income groups than part timemembers of the comparison labour force. Curiously, in the lowest income groups, those withincomes below $250 per week, the representations of the two labour forces was much thesame.

Figure 2.13 shows that more part time males in the engineering labour force earn higherincomes than females and fewer males than females earn lower incomes. Even so, there are

some part time females in each of the highest income groups.

2.6 Sectoral Distribution

Just as the engineering labour force is employed in all major occupational groups, it isrepresented in all major sections of the Australian economy. Table 2.12 shows how theemployed engineering labour force is distributed between the three levels of government andthe private sector. Figure 2.14 illustrates the relative sizes of employment in each sector.

Employment in the engineering labour force is strongly skewed towards the private sector.There were 43,006, or 17.7% employed in the the public sector and 198,266, or 81.8% wereemployed in the private sector with a small group not indicating the sector that they wereemployed in.

In the public sector, 19,879, or 8.2% were employed by Commonwealth Governmentdepartments and agencies; 85.3% were employed full time, 10.0% were employed part time,4.8% were away from work on census night and 9.0% of employment was females.

There were 18,001, or 7.4% employed by State and Territory government departments andagencies; 86.2% full time, 8.7% part time, 5.1% away from work on census night and afemale share of 10.3%.

TABLE 2.12

THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE EMPLOYED ENGINEERING LABOUR FORCE BY ECONOMIC SECTORS

ECONOMIC

SECTOR Males Females Total Males Females Total Males Females Total Males Females TotalCOMMONWEALTH

Post Graduate Quals 3518 448 3966 420 125 545 119 24 143 4057 597 4654

Bachelors Degree 5016 579 5595 644 194 838 265 61 326 5925 834 6759

Diploma Quals 7143 244 7387 532 70 602 440 37 477 8115 351 8466

SUB-TOTAL 15677 1271 16948 1596 389 1985 824 122 946 18097 1782 19879

STATES & TERRITORIES



Diploma Quals 5602 237 5839 466 115 581 415 28 443 6483 380 6863

SUB-TOTAL 14165 1352 15517 1166 395 1561 818 105 923 16149 1852 18001

LOCAL GOVERNMENT



Diploma Quals 1492 87 1579 122 42 164 68 5 73 1682 134 1816

SUB-TOTAL 4178 353 4531 287 99 386 177 32 209 4642 484 5126

PRIVATE SECT ORPost Graduate Quals 17305 1766 19071 2360 487 2847 659 142 801 20324 2395 22719


Diploma Quals 55685 3052 58737 8656 1848 10504 3394 258 3652 67735 5158 72893

SUB-TOTAL 151864 12985 164849 20140 4931 25071 7380 966 8346 179384 18882 198266

NOT STATED



Diploma Quals 131 13 144 36 6 42 192 33 225 359 52 411

SUB-TOTAL 327 45 372 122 27 149 537 96 633 986 168 1154

ALL SECTORS



Diploma Quals 70053 3633 73686 9812 2081 11893 4509 361 4870 84374 6075 90449

OVERALL TOTAL 186211 16006 202217 23311 5841 29152 9736 1321 11057 219258 23168 242426


FULL TIME PART TIME AWAY FROM WORK ALL EMPLOYED


24/61


Appendix A 18

The smallest branch of the public sector was Local Government where 5,126, or 2.1% wereemployed; 88.4% full time, 7.5% part time, 4.1% away from work on census night and with afemale share of 9.4%.

There were 198,266 employed in the private sector; 83.1% full time, 12.6% part time, 4.2%away from work on census night and with a female share of 9.5%.

The female share was low in all sectors, varying between 9.0 and 10.3%. Part timeemployment was highest in the private sector with 12.6% but this is quite low relative to parttime employment in the comparison labour force.

Figure 2.15 compares the qualifications held by employed members of the engineeringlabour force in different economic sectors. The proportion of post graduate qualifications inthe Commonwealth, 23.4%, was almost twice as high as the national average of 12.8%. Itwas much higher than the post graduate share in Local Government, 15.6%, in the States

and Territories, 14.6% and in the private sector with 11.5%. In the States and Territories,Local Government and the private sector the dominant qualification was a bachelors degreein engineering, accounting for 47.2%, 49.0% and 51.8% of employment respectively. In theCommonwealth, however, diploma qualifications dominated with 42.6%. In combination with

19879

18001 5126

198266

FIGURE 2.14: THE RELATIVE SIZE OF THE EMPLOYED ENGINEERINGLABOUR FORCE IN MAJOR ECONOMIC SECTORS

C OMMONWEALT H STAT ES & T ERR ITORIES LOC AL GOVERN MEN T PR IVAT E SECT OR

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

COMMONWEALT H STAT ES & TERRITORIES LOCAL GOVERNMENT PRIVAT E SECT OR

%O

FSECTOREMPLOYMENT

FIGURE 2.15: THE QUALIFICATIONS HELD BY THE EMPLOYED

ENGINEERING LABOUR FORCE IN DIFFERENT ECONOMIC SECTORS



25/61


Appendix A 19

the high representation of post graduate qualifications, the share of bachelors degrees in theCommonwealth was 34.0%.

In the public sector, the employment of members of the engineering labour force is asemployees. In the private sector, employment can take different forms; as an employee, asan owner manager of a business or as a family member contributing to a family ownedbusiness. Table 2.13 shows how private sector employment is segmented.

Although the dominant form of employment remains as employees, owner-managers accountfor almost one fifth and the number of contributing family members was non-trivial. Therewere 155,412 employees, or 78.4% with a female share of 10.3%. There were 39,555, or

20.0% owner-managers with a female share of 5.9% and there were 2,567, or 1.3%contributing family members. Although the female share of contributing family members washigher at 14.4%, in both numerical and proportional terms it remained quite low.

Figure 2.16 considers the engineering qualifications held by status in employment of theengineering labour force in the private sector. There was little difference between employees,owner-managers and contributing family members in respect of post graduate qualificationsheld. However, employees are more likely to hold bachelors degrees than owner-managerswho in turn are more likely to hold bachelors degrees than contributing family members. Thereverse pattern was evident for Diploma qualifications with the highest share occurring forcontributing family members.

2.7 Industry Distribution

As well as being represented in all major occupational groups and economic sectors, the

engineering labour force is employed in all industries. Table 2.14 provides statistics on thisdistribution and its main features are illustrated in Figure 2.17.

TABLE 2.13

QUALIFICATIONS HELD BY THE EMPLOYED ENGINEERING LABOUR FORCE IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR

QUALIFICATIONS/

EMPLOYMENT GROUP Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total

EMPLOYEES 15828 2091 17919 72494 9969 82463 51005 4025 55030 139327 16085 155412

OWNER-MANAGERS 4171 267 4438 17600 1147 18747 15436 934 16370 37207 2348 39555

FAMILY MEMBERS 260 27 287 936 179 1115 1002 163 1165 2198 369 2567

NOT STATED 60 11 71 296 36 332 293 33 326 649 80 729

TOTAL 20319 2396 22715 91326 11331 102657 67736 5155 72891 179381 18882 198263

Source: ABS, 2006 Population Census Tablebuilder

POST GRADUATE BACHELORS DIPLOMAS ALL QUALIFICATIONS

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

POST GRADUATE BACHELORS DIPLOMAS

%O

FPRIVATESECTOREMPLOYMENT

FIGURE 2.16: QUALIFICATIONS HELD BY THE EMPLOYER ENGINEERINGLABOUR FORCE IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR

E MP LOY EES OWNER MANAGERS FAMILY MEMBER


26/61


Appendix A 20

The largest employer of the engineering labour force was the Professional, Scientific andTechnical Services industry. This industry includes engineering consulting businesses andemployed 48,453, or 20.0%; with a female share of 9.2%. This industry had a very highrepresentation of post graduate qualifications (17.6%), and a high representation of

bachelors degrees (60.0% of Bachelors Qualified Engineers). Conversely, the proportion ofDiploma Qualified Engineers was low (22.5%).

Almost as many were employed in Manufacturing with 47,128, or 19.4% and a female shareof 8.5%. The pattern of qualifications was the reverse of the one observed for theProfessional, Scientific and Technical Services industry. The proportion of post graduatequalifications was 9.6%, the proportion of bachelors degrees was 50.4% and the proportionof diploma qualifications was 39.9%.

There was a large gap to the third largest employer, the Public Administration and SafetyIndustry. This industry includes the defense forces, Federal and State regulatory agenciesand some elements of public utilities. There were 22,698, or 9.4% were employed in thisindustry with a female share of 8.4%. Both the proportion of post graduate qualifications anddiploma qualifications were high at 15.0% and 43.5% respectively.

TABLE 2.14

THE INDUSTRY DISTRIBUTION OF THE EMPLOYED ENGINEERING LABOUR FORCE

INDUSTRY

GROUP Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total

Agriculture 132 7 139 691 64 755 1225 101 1326 2048 172 2220

Mining 971 79 1050 4822 500 5322 2307 47 2354 8100 626 8726

Manufacturing 4121 424 4545 21287 2485 23772 17695 1116 18811 43103 4025 47128

Electricity, Gas, Water, Waste 1203 141 1344 4337 515 4852 3675 77 3752 9215 733 9948

Construction 1214 80 1294 8690 579 9269 6586 264 6850 16490 923 17413

Wholesale Trade 1060 154 1214 5458 698 6156 4331 299 4630 10849 1151 12000

Retail Trade 704 105 809 3392 728 4120 3327 762 4089 7423 1595 9018

Accomodation & Food 307 67 374 1637 395 2032 1379 295 1674 3323 757 4080

Transport, Postal etc 911 84 995 4839 444 5283 8117 358 8475 13867 886 14753Information & Telecommunications 920 116 1036 3677 466 4143 4144 170 4314 8741 752 9493

Financial & Insurance 659 109 768 2683 575 3258 908 154 1062 4250 838 5088

Rental, Hiring & Real Estate 157 19 176 908 115 1023 879 76 955 1944 210 2154

Professional & Technical Services 7679 832 8511 26099 2949 29048 10233 661 10894 44011 4442 48453

Administrative & Support 347 69 416 1808 299 2107 1635 184 1819 3790 552 4342

Public Administration & Safety 3038 370 3408 8338 1088 9426 9419 445 9864 20795 1903 22698

Education & Training 2869 511 3380 2765 654 3419 1952 281 2233 7586 1446 9032

Health Care & Social 345 118 463 1290 583 1873 1482 420 1902 3117 1121 4238

Arts & Recreation 69 13 82 493 75 568 528 70 598 1090 158 1248

Other Services 309 31 340 1664 188 1852 2663 161 2824 4636 380 5016

Inadequately Described 411 46 457 1934 195 2129 1524 83 1607 3869 324 4193

Not Stated 128 25 153 518 95 613 368 51 419 1014 171 1185

TOTAL 27554 3400 30954 107330 13690 121020 84377 6075 90452 219261 23165 242426

Source: ABS, 2006 Population Census T ablebuilder


0 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000 60000

Agriculture

Mining

Manufacturing

Electricity, Gas, Water, Waste

Construction

Wholesale Trade

Retail Trade

Accomodation & Food

Transport, Postal etc

Information & Telecommunications

Financial & Insurance

Rental, Hiring & Real Estate

Professional & Technical Services

Administrative & Support

Public Administration & Safety

Education & Training

Health Care & Social

Arts & Recreation

Other Services

FIGURE 2.17: THE INDUSTRY DISTRIBUTION OF THE EMPLOYEDENGINEERING LABOUR FORCE



27/61


Appendix A 21

Despite its prominence in the economy, the Construction industry is the fourth largestemployer with 17,413, or 7.2%. The gender imbalance in this industry is particularly acutewith a female share of 5.3%. The proportion of post graduate qualifications is low at 7.4%and relatively high proportions of bachelors degrees (53.2%) and diploma qualifications(39.3%).

The fifth largest employer is the Transport and Postal industry with 14,753, or 6.1%, anotherindustry with an acute gender imbalance (female share 6.0%). The proportion of post

graduate is low at 6.7%, as is the share of bachelors degrees at 35.8%. Conversely, theshare of diploma qualifications was high with 57.4%.

Other large employers of the engineering labour force include: Wholesale Trade; 12,000, or 4.9% of Qualified Engineers. Information and Telecommunications; 9,483, or 3.9% of Qualified Engineers Retail Trade; 9,018, or 3.7% of Qualified Engineers. Education and Training; 9,032, or 3.7% of Qualified Engineers Mining; 8,726, or 3.6% of Qualified Engineers Financial and insurance; 5,088 or 2.1% of Qualified Engineers.

The industry distributions reflect the functions of economic sectors. Figure 2.18 shows theindustry distribution for engineering labour force employed by the CommonwealthGovernment. Six industries industries effectively dominate employment in this sector.Consistent with the functions of the Commonwealth Government, 42% are employed in the

Public Administration and Safety industry, followed by 23% in Education and Training and19% in Information and Telecommunications. These industries cover defense, CSIRO, mostuniversities and most of Australias transport, energy and telecommunications regulatoryagenciwes.There are smaller employment groups in Professional, Scientific and TechnicalServices (6%), Transport, Postal and Warehousing (6%) and Manufacturing (3%). All otherindustries account for only 1% of employment of qualified engineers.

Figure 2.19 illustrates the industry distribution for the engineering labour force employed bythe State and Territory Governments. Like the Commonwealth, the largest employmentindustry was Public Administration and Safety with 40%. Although the Commonwealth hassome regulatory functions in Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste, employment arising fromthese functions is most likely included in Public Administration. In contrast, many States and

Territories have retained ownership of electricity, water and sewerage utilities and those thathave privatised their utilities have retained some industry functions. This industry is thesecond largest employer of the engineering labour force in States and Territories with 32%.The third largest employment industry was Transport, Postal and Warehousing with 10%,

3% 6%

19%

6%

42%

23%

1%

FIGURE 2.18:THE INDUSTRY DISTRIBUTION FOR THE ENGINEERING

LABOUR FORCE EMPLOYED BY THE COMMONWEALTH

Manufacturing Transport, Postal & Warehousing

Information, Media & Telecommunication Professional, Scientific & Technical Services

Public Administration & Safety Education & Training

Balance


28/61


Appendix A 22

followed by Education and Training (8%) and Health Care and Social Services (7%). Otherindustries combined accounted for only 3% ofqualified engineers.

Figure 2.20 shows that members of the engineering labour force employed in LocalGovernment are concentrated in even fewer industries. The dominant industry is PublicAdministration and Safety with 89% of employment. Some Local Government authoritieshave responsibility for providing water and sewerage and electricity services and most havewaste responsibilities. This is reflected by 7% of employment being in the Electricity, Gas,Water, Sewerage and Waste industry. Some local Government authorities have aninvolvement in the Construction Industry resulting in the employment of another 3%. All otherindustries combined account for only 1% of employment.

32%

10%40%

8%

7%3%

FIGURE 2.19: THE INDUSTRY DISTRIBUTION FOR THE ENGINEERINGLABOUR FORCE EMPLOYED BY STATES AND TERRITORIES

Electricity, Gas, Water & Waste Transport, PostaL & Warehousing Public Administration & Safety

Education & Training Health Care & Social Services Balance

7%3%

89%

1%

FIGURE 2.20: THE INDUSTRY DISTRIBUTION FOR THE ENGINEERING LABOUR

FORCE EMPLOYED BY LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

Electricity, Gas, Water & Waste Construction Public Administration & Safety Balance


29/61


Appendix A 23

Figure 2.21 shows the industry distribution for the engineering labour force employed in theprivate sector. The largest employment was in the Professional, Scientific and TechnicalServices industry with 24% of Qualified Engineers. This industry provides engineering andtechnical consultancy services throughout the economy. The second largest industry is theManufacturing industry with 23% of employment. The Construction industry ranks third with9%, followed by Wholesale Trade and Transport, Postal and Warehousing (both 6%), RetailTrade (5%) and the Mining Industry with 4%. While these industries represent significantconcentration of engineering employment, the remaining 23% of employment is spreadacross 12 industries.

2.8 Age Structure

This section looks at age structure. Analyses of age structure are usually undertaken forentire populations, instead in this Report the focus is on the characteristics of the engineeringlabour force and how it compares to the comparison labour force.

Table 2.14 shows the age structures for the two labour forces and Figure 2.22 illustrates thecomparison. The conventional population pyramid was not used in Figure 2.22 because thegender imbalance in engineering restricts its value, instead both genders are combined.

24%

23%

9%

6%

6%

5%

4%

23%

FIGURE 2.21: THE INDUSTRY DISTRIBUTION FOR THE ENGINEERINGLABOUR FORCE EMPLOYED IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR

Professional & Technical Services Manufacturing Construction

Wholesale Trade Transport, Postal etc Retail Trade

Mining Balance

TABLE 2.15

THE AGE STRUCTURES FOR THE ENGINEERING AND COMPARISON LABOUR FORCES

AGE

GROUP Male Female Total Male Female Total15-19 years 246 49 295 2645 5013 7658

20-24 years 10774 2284 13058 92071 140974 233045

25-29 years 24367 4809 29176 168769 225455 394224

30-34 years 30135 4612 34747 193660 227700 421360

35-39 years 30537 3615 34152 190142 206096 396238

40-44 years 32964 3532 36496 178142 191843 369985

45-49 years 30138 2727 32865 175751 194880 370631

50-54 years 26980 1547 28527 157636 163398 321034

55-59 years 21361 787 22148 121101 107677 228778

60-64 years 11402 294 11696 62940 46644 109584

65 and over 6455 172 6627 37929 20235 58164

TOTAL 225359 24428 249787 1380786 1529915 2910701


ENGINEERING LABOUR FORCE COMPARISON LABOUR FORCE


30/61


Appendix A 24

There were fewer members of the engineering labour force in age groups under 34 yearsthan in the comparison labour force. The proportions in the 35 to 39 years age group werealmost identical. However, from 40 years onwards there were more members of theengineering labour force in each age group than was the case for the comparison labourforce. This suggests that the age structure for the engineering labour force is older than theage structure for the comparison labour force.

The relatively small proportion of the engineering labour force in the 20 to 24 years groupreflects the comparatively low graduation rate of engineers from universities and TAFEcolleges. Most engineering students graduate from their courses between ages 21 to 23years. The much larger sizes of the 25 to 29 years and 30 to 34 years groups reflects the agepreference of Australias skilled migration programs.

2.9 Overview

This chapter has descibed the characteristics of the engineering labour force defined asemployed and unemployed individuals holding post graduate qualifications, bachelorsdegrees and advanced diplomas and diplomas in engineering. Labour force participation wasfound to be high relative to the Australian labour force as a whole but in line with acomparison labour force of individuals with similar level qualifications covering all fields. Thelevel of employment was high and both the level of and rate of unemployment were low. Theengineering labour market was relatively tight compared to the labour market overall, but notighter than the labour market for other skills. Female unemployment in engineering was

much higher than for males and for females in the comparison labour market. Engineeringhas a pronounced gender imbalance not evident in the comparison labour force.

The full time engineering labour force works relatively long hours compared to thecomparison labour force. The proportion of part time work in engineering is much less than inthe comparison labour force but the pattern of hours worked by part timers is similar.

The hours worked by the engineering labour force is reflected in its income distribution. Morefull time employed members of the engineering labour force earn high incomes and fewerearn lower incomes than was the case in the comparison labour force. Incomes favour maleswith more males and fewer females earning high incomes and fewer males and morefemales earning lower incomes. The pattern for the part time employed engineering labour

force is similar to that for full timers.

Although three quarters of the engineering labour force was employed in three occupationalgroups, the remaining quarter was spread widely across over many others. The key

0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0 16.0

15-19 years

20-24 years

25-29 years

30-34 years

35-39 years

40-44 years

45-49 years

50-54 years

55-59 years

60-64 years

65 and over

% IN AGE GROUPS

AGEGROUPS

FIGURE 2.22: THE AGE STRUCTURES OF THE ENGINEERING ANDCOMPARISON LABOUR FORCES



31/61


Appendix A 25

occupation groups are Professionals with 43.9%, Managers with 20.7% and technicians andTrades with 9.5%.

The dominant employer of the engineering labour force was the private sector with 82.3% ofemployment. The remaining 17.7% was employed in the public sector. The CommonwealthGovernment employed 8.2%, the State and Territory Governments 7.4% and Localgovernments employed 2.1%.

When viewed as a whole the industry distribution of the engineering labour force wasexceptionally broad, but there were important differences between economic sectors. In theCommonwealth sector the key industries were Public Administration and Safety with 42%,Education and Training with 23% and Information and Telecommunications with 19%. In theStates and Territories Public Administration was also important with 40% but Electricity, Gasand Water accounted for 32% and Transport and Postal for another 10%. Local governmentwas dominated by Public Administration with 89%. A feature of the Government sectors wasthat a small number of industries accounted for almost all employment. In contrast in theprivate, the engineering labour force was spread across more industries. The largestconcentrations were in Professional, Scientific and Technical services with 24% andManufacturing with 23%. The next large grouping was half this size and all remainingindustries included significant employment shares.

.


32/61

3. ENGINEERING SKILLS APPLIED IN

ENGINEERING

Engineering Skills Applied in Engineering 26

3.1 Engineering and Skills Utilisation

Engineering courses at universities and TAFE colleges are highly specialised and a commonpresumption is that the employment destination for graduates will be engineering. But, theanalytical and problem solving skills taught in engineering qualifications equip individuals fora wide range of other occupations as well. The evidence for this is the breadth of theoccupational and industrial distributions of the engineering labour force.

In the modern Australian labour market the demand for engineering qualifications and skillscomprises two elements. The first is a demand for engineering qualifications and skills toperform engineering work and the second is a demand for the analytical qualitities offered byengineering qualifications in non-engineering work. Both demands are met by a commonsupply. Whether individuals with engineering qualifications choose engineering workdepends on how labour market incentives and circumstances interact with their work

preferences including the type of work, its location and remuneration. In many cases,individual choice is constrained. They may be unwilling or unable to move to whereengineering work is located, there may be issues relating to the currency of theirqualifications or there may be issues relating to language competencies or culturalunderstanding of the labour market.

In short, the engineering labour market is far more complicated than suggested in pastanalyses4. This is unsurprising because past approaches have tended to see engineering inthe context of historical expert or linear careers5 career paths in engineering. Expertcareers are characterised by stability in the field an individual is employed in, with fewchanges over working lives. Linear career paths are characterised by infrequent job changesbut steady upwards mobility to positions of higher authority. There are numerous examples of

engineering career paths that fit these models. But research shows that other models openup the scope for different types of engineering careers. Spiral careers are characterised bymajor occupational shifts every 5 to 10 years and transitory or roamer career paths arecharacterised by frequent, predominantly lateral job changes every 2 to 3 years. Finally,there is the complication that many members of the engineering labour force choose to workoutside of engineering and others do so through the weight of circumstances.

What constitutes engineering work has changed over time. Engineers work as managers,researchers, academics, technical specialists and as computer specialists. Engineering workmay reflect the level of qualification held by an individual. Where engineering work ispractised has also changed. For example, now that public-private patnerships are common

approaches to infrastructure projects, engineering skills are required in the legal and financialentities that specialise in these structures.

This section aims to systemmatically identify engineering occupations in the Australian labourmarket to answer the question how much of the engineering labour is used in engineeringand how much is used in more generic work?

4

See for example Department of Education, Science and Training, Science, engineering andTechnology Skills Audit, 2006, www.dest.gov.au and Department of Education, Employment andWorkplace Relations, Labour Market Outcomes and Experiences of Recent Engineering Graduates,June 2009, www.deewr.gov.au5

See M J Driver, Career Concepts and Career Management in Organisations, in C L Cooper (Editor),

Behavioral Problems in Organisations, Englewood cliffs, NJ, Prentice-Hall, 1979, pp79-139. See alsoK R Brousseau and M J Driver, Origins of the Career Concepts Framework, A Brief Conceptual Note,1997, www.decisiondynamics.se/pdf/origins_of_cc.pdf and Robert N Llewellyn, The Four CareerConcepts: Managers can learn to better develop their people by learning how theyre motivated-Management Tools: Supervisor Resources, HR Magazine, September 2002


33/61

Engineers and the Engineering Profession in AustraliaHE ADMINISTRATIVE

Engineering Skills Applied in Engineering 27

The engineering profession is the engineering labour force that is engaged in engineeringand its members are referred to as engineering practitioners. The engineering profession issmaller than the engineering labour force and the relationship between the two can bethought of as the utilisation of engineering skills in engineering. Australian labour marketpolicy has emphasized generic metrics such as the proportion of the labour force with post-school educational qualifications. This framework accepts that the utilisation of engineeringskills in engineering and non-engineering contribute equally to economic productivity.

But when policy concerns relate to engineering skills shortages, it is appropriate to focus onthe engineering profession and to examine how the engineering labour force not part of theengineering profession contributes to the economy.

3.2 Methodology

This section outlines the methodology used to identify occupations that are part of theengineering profession and to evaluate the economic contribution of the portion of theengineering labour force not engaged in engineering. The methodology is applied within theframework of the ABS classifications for occupations and educational qualifications.

The following criteria are used to identify an engineering occupation:

The occupant should hold formal educational qualifications in engineering consistentwith Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) skill level 1 or skill level 2. Thecompetencies obtained in post graduate degrees, diplomas and certificates and fouryear and three year bachelors degrees in engineering satisfy skill level 1. Thecompetencies obtained in associate degrees, diplomas and advanced diplomas inengineering satisfy skill level 2.

The occupation should require the application of engineering skills, either exclusivelyor in combination with another discipline, at skill level 1 or skill level 2.

The occupation should exhibit an acceptable degree of attachment to the engineeringprofession.

Formal Education Qualifications

In Australia the engineering profession is organised into three grades according toeducational qualification and professional experience. Engineering Officers are expected tohold an engineering qualification that satifies at least skill level 2. Engineering Technologistsare expected to hold at least a three year bachelors degree in engineering. ProfessionalEngineers are expected to hold a four year bachelors degree in engineering.

This criterion is necessary because the ANZSCO classification used by the ABS allowsperiods of practical experience to substitute for formal qualifications. This approach is notaccepted by Engineers Australia and is not consistent with Australian labour force practise.

Although it is not generally necessary for engineers in Australia to be registered before theycan practise, formal educational qualifications are the norm.

Occupational Skill Levels

Engineering work as understood by Engineers Australia requires the application of work skillsat level 1 or level 2. When an individual possessing acceptable engineering qualificationsapplies work skills at level 3 or lower, the work involved does not conform to engineeringwork as practised by the engineering profession. Work s

the engineering profession in australia (sept 2010)

Documents