Published to Industry Updates on Oct 31, 2018
Activity Levels: A+
The Australian Industry Group/Housing Industry Association’s Australian Performance of Construction Index reported that engineering construction was the strongest performing area of activity, with its rate of growth lifting steadily in the month due to publicly funded investments in large-scale infrastructure projects. The sector’s activity sub-index increased solidly by 10.7 points to 65.7 points, marking the sector’s 18th consecutive month of growth.
Employment: A-
The National Centre for Vocational Education Research reported that as of March 2018, there was an increase of 15.4% in apprenticeship commencements for the engineering and automotive industries compared to the previous year. This was contrasted by the significant decrease in completion rates, which was reported as being 17.9% less than the year before.
In September, the DFP Mining and Resources Job Index reports that September saw the first fall in job vacancies in the Mining and Engineering Resource sector in 16 months. Permanent job vacancies fell by 2.2% while Temporary and Contractor roles rose by 0.3%.
Fitter and turners, metal fabricators, sheet metal workers, boilermakers and other Engineering trades all remain high in demand on the National Skills Needs List.
Diversity: B-
According to CSQ's 2018 research into Women in the Construction the amount of women in engineering and automotive services has been on the rise, but still remains on the lower end of the scale. Currently, 16.1% of jobs in the mining industry are filled by women – a definite increase from 9% in 2014. Across the sector, women comprise only 4.5% of technicians, 11.1% of machinery operators and drivers, and 13% of labourers.
Outside of the mining industry, women are still accounting for less than 3% of the workforce in engineering and construction trades across Australia.
Overall: B+
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