Engineers Australia has proposed that a nationally consistent scheme of engineering registration be part of the COAG ‘seamless economy’ reforms.

 

In its submission to the Senate Inquiry into the Shortage of Engineering and Related Employment Skills, Engineers Australia argued that formal registration of engineers in a national registration scheme would apply uniform standards to all practicing engineers, whether members of Engineers Australia or not.

 

“Engineers Australia believes that the work carried out by engineers is of fundamental importance to Australian growth and the well-being of Australians and that the assurance of national registration is essential to Australia’s future.”

 

Engineers Australia also recommended that:

  • the Australian Government maintains an appropriate pathway for skilled engineering migration through continued inclusion on the Skilled Occupation List;
  • delivery and planning of government infrastructure projects be planned and coordinated across the various levels of government to avoid the boom/bust cycles of project delivery;
  • governments investigate strategies for improving the participation rate of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects at a secondary and tertiary level.
  • government agencies, at all levels, should work to retain internal engineering expertise in their workforce.

Engineers Australia’s National  Committee on Engineering Design highlighted the downgrading of ‘design’ in university engineering courses, and proposed the establishment of a Graduate School of Mechanical Engineering Design and Manufacture as a joint venture between one or a small group of universities and Engineers Australia, through its College of Mechanical Engineers and its National Committee  on Engineering Design. Funding would be sought from industry, government and philanthropists.

 

Submissions to the Senate inquiry are here.