Annual net demand and supply for engineers
Notes
- Supply numbers are based on 2016-17 data. Demand numbers apply to both 2016-17 and 2017-18.
- Only Australian graduate engineers who have graduated with a bachelor's degree are included. Those who have graduated with a higher degree are not included.
- For full details of the sources of the numbers, see the author's June 2018 submission to the Department of Jobs and Small Business: https://engineeroversupply.weebly.com/submissions.html
- The numbers for unemployed and displaced engineers are for the beginning of the financial year. Australian graduates and migrant engineers become available for the workforce at various times during the financial year.
- The numbers in the table apply only to the 21 engineering occupations in ANZSCO Minor Group '233 Engineering Professionals'.
Graduate Engineers
Graduates are a distinct component of the engineering labour force. They supply only a relatively minor component of total demand for engineers. The table above shows that the number of Australian domestic bachelor graduates is about 93% of total demand; the inclusion of graduates with higher degrees who are seeking their first engineering job would increase this percentage. Based on these numbers, the graduate engineering labour market is heavily oversupplied.
Added to these numbers are migrant graduate engineers who constitute a significant minority of permanent visa grants for engineers, and a majority of temporary visa grants for engineers. Migrant graduate engineers are granted visas based on their specific occupational qualifications. They are all surplus to labour market requirements.
Experienced Engineers
The number of unemployed and displaced Australian experienced engineers is likely to exceed the total annual demand for engineers. Added to this are visa grants for the employer‑nominated subclass 186 permanent visa (436 engineers) and the employer‑nominated subclass 457 temporary visa (1618 engineers), which amount to another 2054 migrant engineers available to meet annual labour market demand. Migrants in other visa subclasses are simply not needed. Those that are unable to obtain engineering jobs will not be available to help meet any projected skills needs of the economy in 4-10 years’ time, because employers do not want engineers who have not worked in their profession for such a lengthy period.
Graduates are a distinct component of the engineering labour force. They supply only a relatively minor component of total demand for engineers. The table above shows that the number of Australian domestic bachelor graduates is about 93% of total demand; the inclusion of graduates with higher degrees who are seeking their first engineering job would increase this percentage. Based on these numbers, the graduate engineering labour market is heavily oversupplied.
Added to these numbers are migrant graduate engineers who constitute a significant minority of permanent visa grants for engineers, and a majority of temporary visa grants for engineers. Migrant graduate engineers are granted visas based on their specific occupational qualifications. They are all surplus to labour market requirements.
Experienced Engineers
The number of unemployed and displaced Australian experienced engineers is likely to exceed the total annual demand for engineers. Added to this are visa grants for the employer‑nominated subclass 186 permanent visa (436 engineers) and the employer‑nominated subclass 457 temporary visa (1618 engineers), which amount to another 2054 migrant engineers available to meet annual labour market demand. Migrants in other visa subclasses are simply not needed. Those that are unable to obtain engineering jobs will not be available to help meet any projected skills needs of the economy in 4-10 years’ time, because employers do not want engineers who have not worked in their profession for such a lengthy period.