Archived News for Engineering Professionals

The Queensland Government has introduced the Vocational Education and Training (Commonwealth Powers) and Other Acts Amendment Act 2011 to State Parliament that will aim to deliver national consistency for the vocational education and trade sector.

The state, which is on the brink of a $70 billion construction boom in the next two years, is expected to experience high demand for qualified trades people, engineers and resources specialists.

“Thousands of jobs will be on offer and we need a robust and resilient skills sector to equip local jobseekers with the skills and talents needed to secure those jobs,” State Employment Skills and Mining Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said.

GHD awarded pipeline route tender

GHD Pty Ltd has been announced as the successful proponent to determine route alignment options for the Bunbury to Albany Gas Pipeline corridor.

Hays Quarterly Report finds strong demand for engineering professionals

Recruitment specialist Hays has published its Quarterly Report – October 2011, finding that engineers and any candidate with experience in the resources industry top the list of skills in demand as job vacancies rise in many areas.

Olympic Dam expansion receives environmental approval

The Federal and South Australian Governments have approved the Environmental Impact Statement for the $30 billion expansion of BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam mine in South Australia.

Industrial air-condition technology awarded cleantech prize

An industrial air-conditioning technology that stands to reduce carbon emissions and energy consumption by up to 85 per cent has won the Australian Clean Technologies Ideas Competition.

Xstrata dumps CopperString transmission in favour of Diamantina Power Station

Plans for the CopperString 1,000 km transmission line from Townsville to Cloncurry in north-west Queensland have been thrown into doubt by an announcement by Xstrata that it will obtain its power from the new gas-fired Diamantina Power Station under a 17-year contract with the Diamantina consortium.

UWA joins supercomputing ranks

The University of Western Australia has joined the global supercomputing ranks after the purchase of the new Fornax supercomputer.

Engineers Australia announces WA professional awards

Engineers Australia have named former WA Governor Dr Ken Michael as its 2011 WA Professional Engineer of the Year, and Christopher Tyler as WA Young Professional Engineer of the Year.

Government moves to protect industry with increased grants

The Federal Government has announced major federal grants of $20 million or more will be made available in the interest of ‘maximising opportunitites for Australian businesses’.

Davis Langdon appoints new engineering leader

Property and construction consultancy firm Davis Langdon, a fully owned AECOM subsidiary, has announced Martin Andrews as the company’s new Building Engineering Services Leader in Australia and New Zealand.

Global CSS Institute publishes annual report

Global CCS Institute has published its annual report, titled The Global Status of CCS: 2011, surveying 74 large-scale integrated carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects were identified around the world.

Neural Engineering Centre launches

The University of Melbourne has launched its new Centre for Neural Engineering, aimed at building a more complete understanding of the human brain and the diseases that effects the central nervous system.

Transfield Services secures Telstra contract

Transfield Services has secured a panel appointment with Telstra to continue providing the telco with engineering services and upgrades to its critical exchange infrastructure assets across Australia.

Resources jobs to surge in the next five years

BHP Billiton has predicted Australia's resources industry will need an extra 170,000 workers in the next five years, a figure 60 per cent higher than a previous government forecast used to develop policies for meeting skills demand.

Preferred tenderer announced for Central Queensland pipeline

John Holland has been selected as the preferred tenderer for the construction of the $400 million Connors river Dam to Moranbah Pipeline in Central Queensland.

Wheatstone construction to start immediately

Chevron Australia has announced constriction will begin immediately on the company’s Wheatstone LNG Project at Ashburton North on the Pilbara Coast.

Downer wins $142m Pilbara contract

Downer EDI Ltd has announced that the company has been awarded a major electrical and instrumentation contract valued at over $142 million for works in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.

QR National finishes bridge works

Rail freight company QR National has announced the completion of all eleven rail bridges on the Northern Missing Link, a crucial component of the company’s $1.1 billion Goonyella to Abbot Point (GAP) Expansion Project.

Deakin leads tyre recycling breakthrough

Researchers with Deakin University’s Institute for Technology Research and Innovation, together with industry partner VR Tek Global, have developed a new low cost and environmentally friendly method for recycling old tyres into high quality ingredients for the manufacture of new rubber products.

Robot to aid study of of joint movement

A robot developed by Flinders University engineers is set to fundamentally improve the understanding of the performance of normal and diseased joints function.