ANZSCO 2335-12
Mechanical Engineer
Victoria
June 2015
Current labour market rating
No Shortage
Previous labour market rating (June 2014)
No Shortage
Comments
The survey found that employers were generally able to fill their surveyed vacancies with qualified and
experienced mechanical engineers.
Survey results
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The Department of Employment Survey of Employers who have Recently Advertised (SERA) for
mechanical engineers found that 77 per cent of vacancies were filled within the survey period from
an average of 42.5 applicants and 2.2 suitable applicants per vacancy:
o The 2014 survey found that 100 per cent of vacancies were filled from an average of 98.6
applicants and 5.1 suitable applicants per vacancy.
o SERA results averaged over the preceding five years (2009 to 2013) show an annual vacancy fill
rate of 68 per cent from an average of 33.0 applicants and 1.9 suitable applicants per vacancy.
Regional vacancies attracted less than half of the number of total applicants per vacancy than
metropolitan employers (20.6 applicants compared to 56.1 applicants per vacancy). Regional
employers however recorded a higher fill rate (80 per cent filled compared to 75 per cent in
metropolitan areas) and attracted a higher average number of suitable applicants (2.4 compared to
2.0 suitable applicants per vacancy in metropolitan areas).
The surveyed vacancies related to a wide variety of mechanical engineering roles including design,
project management, reliability engineering and maintenance, support and servicing. These
positions were distributed broadly across a range of industry sectors related to manufacturing,
fabrication, building services and engineering design and consultancy services.
All vacancies required a bachelor degree qualification in mechanical engineering, with the duration
of previous experience most commonly desired by employers ranging upwards from three years for
intermediate level roles, through to a five to ten year range for senior level roles. There were also a
limited number of specialist senior level positions requiring experience above 10 years.
o Employers frequently commented that they currently had little need to openly advertise for
junior level positions requiring less than three years of experience due to large numbers of
readily available recent graduates.
The mechanical engineering skill sets required by employers were highly particular to each specific
industry area and by consequence transferability across sectors was found to be limited.
Accordingly, high levels of technical acumen gained through similar role functions in a related
industry sector were considered to be essential.
Labour Economics Office Victoria
Department of Employment
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Capabilities which were commonly desired included a well-developed understanding of Australian
industry conditions and regulatory standards, in addition to a high level of engagement with WHS
practices. Proficiency with a variety of Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) software was considered
essential for design based roles (which accounted for around 25 per cent of the surveyed vacancies).
Commonly desired employability skills included strong leadership, time management, planning,
analysis and problem solving abilities, as well as attention to detail and accuracy when undertaking
technically complex tasks. Significant focus was also placed on interpersonal and communication
skills and the ability to liaise with stakeholders in multi-disciplinary environments.
The vacancies which remained unfilled at the time of survey were largely represented by
metropolitan based roles in specific industry sectors calling for highly specialised skill sets and
experience levels in the five to ten year range:
o The requirements for these roles were particularly demanding due to the uncommon nature of
the specialised skill-sets involved. Given the rarity of these capabilities within the general
labour market, employer expectations of sourcing suitable applicants from broad scale
advertising exercises was generally low.
o Most employers however were confident that they would be able to fill these vacancies in the
near future via targeted recruitment approaches, noting that online professional networks
such as LinkedIn were an increasingly common method of identifying potential candidates with
the specialized capabilities required for roles of this nature.
Unsuitable applicants
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Overall, 22 per cent of the total applicant field were unqualified. Employers noted that while many
of these applicants were often found to be highly experienced in relevant industry areas at the
technician or trade level, a bachelor degree in mechanical engineering was nonetheless considered
to be the minimum qualification required for all vacancies surveyed.
As a proportion of the 78 per cent of applicants who were qualified mechanical engineers, 94 per
cent were found to be unsuitable. The most commonly identified reasons for unsuitability related to
a lack of experience of the desired duration, followed by a lack of experience undertaking similar
mechanical engineering functions within a related industry sector:
o A large proportion of applicants who lacked the desired duration of experience were recent
graduates who had been unable to secure positions within a dedicated graduate development
programme.
o A significant volume of applications were noted from mechanical engineers returning to
Victoria from previous roles based in the Queensland and Western Australian mining and
resources sectors. Other than a small number of exceptions related to engineering roles in the
manufacturing sector, employers generally considered skills transferability from the mining
sector to be limited with respect to the requirements for most Victorian vacancies.
Otherwise, applicants from overseas were often found to be unsuitable due to their lack of
familiarity with local industry conditions and regulatory standards or for those candidates
originating from a non-English speaking background, having limited English skills also impacted on
their suitability for the role.
Labour Economics Office Victoria
Department of Employment
Demand and supply trends
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Demand for mechanical engineers in Victoria is largely driven by the manufacturing industry and the
engineering design and consulting services sector1. The Victorian manufacturing industry shows
signs of ongoing contraction. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) capital expenditure survey
data shows investment in the Victorian manufacturing industry declined by approximately 19 per
cent over the four quarters to March 2015. On a longer term basis, annual figures show investment
has decreased by nearly 30 per cent over the five years dating from March 2010.2
Industry indicators suggest that activity within the engineering design and consulting services
industry sector remains stable. The most recent data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
shows that there were 7,378 businesses operating under this category in Victoria at the end of the
2013-14 financial year. This was an increase of less than 1 per cent over the twelve month period,
and follows on from a 4 per cent decline during the previous 2012-13 financial year.3
In terms of the supply of new mechanical engineers, entry into the occupation is most commonly
based on the completion of a bachelor degree in mechanical engineering. The most recent figures
available show that over the five years to 2013, the number of persons completing mechanical
engineering bachelor degree qualifications in Victoria has increased annually, rising from 231
completions in 2009 to 276 in 2013.4
Other indicators and issues
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Notwithstanding the recent easing of the Australian dollar (which was predicted to improve the
manufacturing industry outlook)5 there has been little evidence of any flow-on effects resulting in
increased industry activity. The Australian Industry Group (AIG) Australian Performance of
Manufacturing Index for June 2015 dropped by 8.1 points to 44.2 points, well below the 50 reading
that separates sector-wide expansion from contraction.6 The Victorian manufacturing sector
accounts for around 30 per cent of the total industry employment nationally. 7
Information broadly gathered by the Department of Employment suggests engineers are currently
being impacted by the initial phase-out of design engineering functions within the automotive
industry prior to the cessation of car assembly operations (with the exception of Ford which intends
to retain and expand its local design engineering capacity). ABS data8 indicates the mechanical
engineering discipline is likely to constitute a significant proportion of the estimated 3000 design
engineers employed within the sector by Victorian supply chain firms and motor vehicle producers.9
1
ABS, 2011 Census, Persons, Place of Work; Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineers by Industry of Employment,
Victoria
2
ABS, Cat. no. 5625.0, Private New Capital Expenditure and Expected Expenditure, Australia, TABLE 7B. Actual and Expected
Capital Expenditure by Industry - Victoria: Current Prices $m, March 2015
3
ABS, Cat. no. 81650, Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits, Jun 2010 to Jun 2014, Businesses by Main
State by Industry Class by Employment Size Ranges, June 2014
4
Department of Education and Training, Higher Education Student Data Collection, 2013, customised tables
5
Victorian Manufacturing Council, Annual Report 2013, May 2014
6
Australian Industry Group, Australian Manufacturing Index, June 2015
7
ABS, Cat. no. 6291.0, Labour Force, Australia, Detailed; Table 05. Employed persons by State and Industry, May 2015
8
ABS, 2011 Census, Persons, Place of Work; Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineers by Industry of Employment,
Victoria
9
Victorian Government, Submission to the Productivity Commission Inquiry: Review of the Australian Automotive
Manufacturing Industry, November 2013
Labour Economics Office Victoria
Department of Employment