About us Consult Australia is the industry association that represents the business interests of consulting firms operating in the built and natural environment. Our member firms’ services include design, architecture, technology, engineering, surveying, legal and management solutions. We represent an industry comprising some 48,000 firms across Australia, ranging from sole practitioners through to some of Australia’s top 500 firms. Collectively, our industry is estimated to employ over 240,000 people, and generate combined revenue exceeding $40 billion a year. Consult Australia is a proud member of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), Australian National Engineering Taskforce (ANET), the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC), the Australian Construction Industry Forum (ACIF), and is a host organisation for the annual Built Environment Meets Parliament summit (BEMP). Our member firms include: Contact To discuss the contents of this submission further contact: Jonathan Cartledge, Director of Policy & Government Relations: Context – The demand for engineering skills Of large consulting companies in the built and natural environment, 75 per cent describe themselves as providing mainly engineering design and consulting services. Workforce development for the engineering profession is therefore of great concern to Consult Australia members. Skills shortages are often cyclical, and that has been the case for engineering. However, they are now exacerbated by systemic issues. Privatisation of public services since the 1990s has led to a loss of public sector engineering expertise, which has had a negative impact on the efficiency of public sector procurement. Importantly, the transfer of training responsibility from the public sector related agencies to private sector engineering providers has not been fully acknowledged by government, nor allowed for in procurement practices. This has led to an under-development of skills over the past two decades. In light of the recent easing in demand for engineers and professionals, it is important to note that the skills in question take a long time to develop. An engineer, for example, must study for four
About us Consult Australia is the industry association that represents the business interests of consulting firms operating in the built and natural environment. Our member firms’ services include design, architecture, technology, engineering, surveying, legal and management solutions. We represent an industry comprising some 48,000 firms across Australia, ranging from sole practitioners through to some of Australia’s top 500 firms. Collectively, our industry is estimated to employ over 240,000 people, and generate combined revenue exceeding $40 billion a year. Consult Australia is a proud member of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), Australian National Engineering Taskforce (ANET), the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC), the Australian Construction Industry Forum (ACIF), and is a host organisation for the annual Built Environment Meets Parliament summit (BEMP). Our member firms include: Contact To discuss the contents of this submission further contact: Jonathan Cartledge, Director of Policy & Government Relations: Context – The demand for engineering skills Of large consulting companies in the built and natural environment, 75 per cent describe themselves as providing mainly engineering design and consulting services. Workforce development for the engineering profession is therefore of great concern to Consult Australia members. Skills shortages are often cyclical, and that has been the case for engineering. However, they are now exacerbated by systemic issues. Privatisation of public services since the 1990s has led to a loss of public sector engineering expertise, which has had a negative impact on the efficiency of public sector procurement. Importantly, the transfer of training responsibility from the public sector agencies to private sector engineering providers has not been fully acknowledged by government, nor allowed for in procurement practices. This has led to an under-development of skills over the past two decades. In light of the recent easing in demand for engineers and related professionals, it is important to note that the skills in question take a long time to develop. An engineer, for example, must study for four
sub065-migrant-intake.docx