New stats show engineering job vacancies are rising, but many engineers are out of work. 

New data from the National Skills Commission Labour Market Insights to June 2022 shows 47 per cent of migrants actively seeking a job as an engineer do not have work, although vacancy numbers in engineering are at their highest since 2012.

Engineers Australia CEO Romilly Madew says many employers are biassed against hiring migrants.

“Research shows there is a significant cohort of migrant engineers already in Australia who have long-term difficulties securing employment appropriate to their experience,” she said.

“Our research found that employer bias associated with not being ‘local’ - whether it's experience, networks, standards, references, or qualifications - was the biggest culprit.

“Tapping into this under-utilised talent supply offers one immediate means of easing skills shortages.”

Ms Madew says her organisation already runs a migrant skill assessment.

“We're looking to see if their overseas qualifications and skills are comparative to the requirements of being an engineer in Australia,” she said.

“Once the migration skills assessment is done, their experience and attributes should be recognised, but there is definitely a bias there.

“It comes back to an idea that since they don't have local experience or networks that they won't succeed in the Australian workforce.”