Engineers Australia has launched the first interactive data dashboard using the latest numbers from The engineering profession: a statistical overview fifteenth edition.

This year our statistical overview of the engineering profession is available to everyone in an interactive data dashboard. You can use the dashboard to explore the data and get answers to your questions about the engineering workforce. 

This data provides an in-depth analysis of the engineering profession in Australia, drawing primarily from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 data, supported by the latest education and migration statistics for the engineering workforce in 2023. 

The report and dashboard were launched at Parliament House in Canberra on Wednesday with opening remarks provided by Senator the Hon Anthony Chisholm, Assistant Minister for Education and Assistant Minister for Regional Development, to parliamentarians, senior government officials, media and industry stakeholders.   

Engineers Australia National President and Board Chair Dr Nick Fleming spoke about our important advocacy and engagement work with Governments on the pivotal role engineers play in driving every sector of the economy. 

“With this report, we will continue to advocate for a greater understanding of what our profession can deliver, and the central role engineers must play in a future fit workforce for Australia,” Dr Fleming said. 

Engineers Australia CEO Romilly Madew AO said the analysis also reveals a deepening engineering skills crisis and pointed to areas requiring urgent, nationally coordinated action.  

“The report serves as a critical resource for policy and decision-makers, offering insights into the challenges and opportunities facing the Australian engineering landscape,” Ms Madew said.   

Top line statistics include:  

• Over 20 per cent of Australia's qualified engineers are not in the labour force  
• Only 17.7 per cent of engineering graduates are women, with 18.9 per cent enrolment 
• There is a five per cent attrition rate in the first year of engineering degrees, with a further 20 per cent attrition over later years 
• Overseas-born engineers contributed to 70 per cent of the growth in the engineering labour force from 2016 to 2021 
• Nearly 50 per cent of Australia's qualified engineers in the labour force are under 40 years of age 
• First Nations qualified engineers make up just 0.3 per cent of the engineering profession.

Group Executive for Policy and Public Affairs, Damian Ogden, demonstrated the dashboard’s powerful capability to extract local and detailed insights into the supply and demographics of the engineering workforce in specific areas. 

How to access the dashboard 

The dashboard is now accessible for you to use on our website.  

You can start now by opening the dashboard and choosing one of our topic prompts to explore. 

In each category you’ll be able to choose from a number of different metrics. Once you’ve set each metric in the column on the left, the data will be presented visually and numerically. 

Ms Madew says “I encourage all of our members to explore the dashboard. You’ll be able to find answers to many questions about the availability of Australia’s engineering skills.” 

Engineers Australia will be hosting free information sessions on Wednesday 22 November. Register now.  

Image (from L to R): Group Executive for Policy and Public Affairs, Damian Ogden, Board Chair Dr Nick Fleming, Senator the Hon Anthony Chisholm, Assistant Minister for Education and Assistant Minister for Regional Development, CEO Romilly Madew AO, Mr Dan Repacholi MP, Member for Hunter