Education and Qualification

Promote engineering as an attractive career option for young Australians of all backgrounds, and for others seeking to practise as engineers

Key Indicators:

• Enrolments in tertiary engineering studies
• Numbers seeking to practise engineering – through graduation, assessment, and articulation

What Strategies Will We Use?

• 5.1 Increase community awareness of engineering as a career, and influence primary and secondary school students of all backgrounds
• 5.2 Encourage tertiary education providers to offer engineering curricula that are attractive and relevant to community expectations, emerging technologies, and sustainability imperatives
• 5.3 Engage with engineering students to promote their professional commitment
• 5.4 Provide pathways for other qualified engineers to be recognised as competent to practise

Preferred Stakeholder Outcomes

5.1 Increase community awareness of engineering as a career, and influence primary and secondary school students of all backgrounds

We need actions to achieve:

• more parents recommending to their children to study towards a career in engineering
• more members and industry stakeholders providing support and being involved in formal programs designed to attract young Australians of all backgrounds into engineering as a career
• teachers associations including more information and stronger promotion of engineering in professional development programs for their members
• teachers associations providing more information to assist teachers inform students on engineering as a career choice
• teachers associations continuing to conduct maths and science competitions for students
• school educators having access to a more coherent guide to the multiplicity of STEM-related programs available across the nation – eg. with better coordination among Engineers Australia groups, universities, etc
• more teachers encouraging their students to become involved in engineering outreach programs
• more of our members being involved in school-based outreach programs
• more school children participating in our outreach programs
• Australian schools increasing their promotion of engineering as a career choice to students, implementing curricula with the required standards of maths and science and explaining their relevance to sustainability
• primary and secondary teachers promoting more strongly programs to all school students aimed at improving their maths and science skills, and their relevance to sustainability
• more school children enrolling in enabling subjects such as science and maths
• career counsellors emphasising more strongly to school children with diverse backgrounds the benefits of an engineering career to them personally, as well as the benefits to society and a sustainable environment
• more young Australians engaging each other via new media with the notion of engineering as an attractive profession
• more school children expressing interest in engineering as a career pathway (eg enrolling in tertiary engineering studies)

5.2 Encourage tertiary education providers to offer engineering curricula that are attractive and relevant to community expectations, emerging technologies, and sustainability imperatives

We need actions to achieve:

• universities maintaining progress towards implementation of the recommendations of the Carrick Report
• increased consultation and collaboration over curriculum development by academia with industry
• increased support to engineering schools in universities and TAFEs by alumni and industry
• more cadetships and scholarships being offered for engineering study
• greater direct involvement by industry in engineering education
• universities and TAFEs:
  • offering and delivering undergraduate engineering courses which take greater account of student diversity
  • moving more quickly to a stronger sustainability culture across all engineering undergraduate education
  • achieving higher retention rates in engineering courses
  • offering accredited Masters programs, with higher portability of post-graduate subjects
  • placing more emphasis on Technologist degrees
  • promoting and facilitating multiple articulation pathways for entry to the engineering team
  • offering curricula which are adaptable to new technologies and interdisciplinary areas, and mindful of changing demand for engineering skills through the future needs of employers and the community generally
• education providers continuing to use appropriate entry standards, course curricula, and accreditation by Engineers Australia
• extended coverage of courses offered by TAFEs which have Engineers Australia accreditation
• universities allocating higher levels of funds through their programs to engineering faculties with internationally-competitive degree courses
• engineering faculty staff:
  • arranging more staff and student contacts with industry employers
  • engaging with students in related fields to encourage them towards engineering via further studies (eg Masters as per 3+2 model)
  • engaging with their counterparts in science and design technologies to promote engineering studies to their students
• greater encouragement for increased collaboration on selected programs between Australian universities and universities in our region

5.3 Engage with engineering students to promote their professional commitment

We need actions to achieve:

• more tertiary engineering students participating in Engineers Australia activities and functions
• more tertiary engineering students contributing to our school-based outreach programs

5.4 Provide pathways for other qualified engineers to be recognized as competent to practise

We need actions to achieve:

• continued acceptance by Government of our migrant skills assessment service for assurance of the standing of their qualifications
• increased use by new migrant engineers of induction programs designed to enhance their employability and effectiveness in the Australian workplace
• more experienced non-engineers being attracted to consider alternative pathways into engineering
• more qualified engineers obtaining guidance to help them re-enter engineering practice and management following career breaks

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