Engineering Training Opportunities into the Future

An Examination of the Recent Workplace Reforms and Their Impact on Future Training Opportunities in the Water, Electricity and Road Sectors

98/15

Lynne Reeder

August 1998

Evaluations and Investigations Program Higher Education Division Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs

©Commonwealth of Australia 1998
ISBN 0 642 23811 1

This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without permission from AusInfo. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the Manager, Legislative Services, AusInfo, GPO Box 84, Canberra ACT 2601.

This report is funded under the Evaluation and Investigations Programme of the Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs.

The views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs.

Executive Summary

Any study on the future of training opportunities for technology and engineering must be set within the context of the developments occurring in the workplace. As well as the structural changes such as privatisation, contracting out and corporatisation there is the broader issue of the increasing importance of the global knowledge economy.

In a highly competitive world market, the future economic and social development of Australia will depend critically upon the availability of increasing numbers of graduates with the attitudes, skills and knowledge needed to enable them to provide competent engineering services, or to bring a genuine technical understanding to their work in other professional roles.

The study found that as a result of public policy reforms, such as competition policy and privatisation, the road, electricity and water sectors are changing rapidly. It is only possible, therefore, to provide a snapshot of the changes that are occurring. Each of the sectors are at different stages in their reform agendas, and individual States and Territories are tackling reform in different ways. Victoria has chosen to privatise its electricity supply systems; South Australia has contracted out the operation of major elements of its water and sewerage system to an international consortium; Queensland and Western Australia have corporatised those elements of government sectors providing services directly to the community. New initiatives are being announced regularly and some of these statements will be out of date by the time this report is published.

However, it is possible from the information collected to provide a broader perspective of the overall trends and policy implications for engineering in these sectors.

For engineers who were in the past trained, by and large, in the public utilities and government instrumentalities, the changes are substantial. As these organisations have been downsized, privatised and increasingly moved to contracting out technical works, the provision of training has shifted to the private sector. How ready the private sector will be to provide the required training resources is still to be determined.

The engineering workforce has moved from the public sector into the private sector in an unprecedented way. The Institution of Engineers’ membership reflects this pattern. In the past, up to 70 per cent of its members worked in the public sector. Current statistics show that just 27 per cent of members now work in the public sector.

This study does not provide in depth skills forecasting information. Recent DEETYA figures (1998) indicate that, except for the mining industry, there is no current shortfall in engineers. However, this study does provide some evidence that the implications of the structural changes, which result in fewer training opportunities will not be felt for 5 to 10 years.

The signals sent to the emerging private sector training market are of paramount importance. Graduate engineers, industry, private training companies and universities all need guidance in assessing the best way to work together to ensure Australia has an adequate supply of skilled technologists and engineers in the future.

Currently there is a shift from government funding of education and training, to funding by the individual who wishes to maximise the private benefit of further qualifications. Individuals cannot be expected to also define their own training needs without a support system from universities, professional associations and the companies that employ them. In addition, universities, private training providers and industry all require clear messages from government on the importance it places on training as a fundamental element in economic growth and as a significant aspect of industry and education policy.

This new environment will require the development of new partnerships between universities, industry, private sector providers, the TAFE sector, the professions, graduates and all levels of government.

The TAFE sector has had a long history in working closely with industry: this is the nature of trades’ training. Universities have always had a role in educating professionals, but have not always worked closely with industry in their teaching programs. In recent years universities have become more responsive to changing economic and employment needs, and have formed partnerships with industry in a number of key discipline areas. In becoming more focused on industry outcomes, universities will require new ways of operating. In doing this, it is vital that the essence of university education is not lost. Educating for critical thinking skills should not simply be replaced with training for specific activities.

There are great opportunities for universities to be major players in forming these new partnerships. The days are past where governments will fully fund education and training. Equally, we cannot expect the private sector to take on the full burden of these roles. Yet education and training are essential for Australia’s future. This report is a contribution to the debate on how to go about forging these new alliances, and in redefining the roles and contribution of the various stakeholders in the alliances.

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