The influence of geography on engineering employability and implications for undergraduate curriculum design

1. Stuart Palmer(@s_palm )
Deakin University
The influence of geography on
engineering employability and
implications for undergraduate
curriculum design

2. 60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Proportionofgraduates(%)
Year
Chemical Civil Electrical Electronic/Comp.
Mechanical Mining Other All graduates
Engineering graduates working full-time as a proportion of
those available for full-time employment – based on data from
Graduate Careers Australia (2016)

3. Employability and geography
• social/cultural capital
• genetically determined abilities
• socio-economic value of the qualification obtained
• transition from study to employment
• ongoing education and professional development
• type of higher education institution
• mode of study
• student location and mobility
• previous work experience
• age
• ethnicity
• gender
• activities of graduate recruiters

4. Method – data sources
Census – professional engineering role x location
Census – engineering bachelor qual. x location
DET – BE course completions x institution
Eng Aust – state engineering labour market data
Good Universities Guide – historical engineering
graduate employment outcomes

5. Proportion of people (per thousand) in professional
engineering roles in significant urban areas
Region Max. Min. Median Max/Min
NSW 13.8 0.8 3.1 18.1
VIC 8.2 1.9 3.3 4.4
QLD 13.0 1.5 3.6 8.8
SA 8.2 0.6 1.9 13.7
WA 16.4 1.4 6.8 11.7
TAS 4.5 1.6 2.4 2.8
NT 6.6 2.1 5.9 3.1
ACT 6.3 0.8 3.1 8.3
Other 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.0
All Aust. (SUA) 16.4 0.6 3.1 27.4
All Aust. (Total) 6.5 per thousand

6. Region Max. Min. Median Max/Min
NSW 13.1 1.2 3.4 10.6
VIC 12.8 1.5 4.0 8.4
QLD 13.5 1.9 5.0 6.9
SA 9.0 1.4 2.2 6.6
WA 18.9 2.3 6.1 8.0
TAS 6.5 2.8 2.9 2.3
NT 7.8 2.4 5.8 3.2
ACT 9.7 6.8 8.3 1.4
Other 3.6 3.6 3.6 1.0
All Aust. (SUA) 18.9 1.2 4.1 15.3
All Aust. (Total) 9.3 per thousand
Proportion of people (per thousand) with engineering
bachelor degrees in significant urban areas

7. Where the Eng jobs are
People per 1000
0.5000 – 2.0417
2.0417 – 3.5833
3.5833 – 5.1250
5.1250 – 6.6667
6.6667 – 9.7500
9.7500 – 12.8333
12.8333 – 19.0000

8. Where the Eng grads are
People per 1000
0.5000 – 2.0417
2.0417 – 3.5833
3.5833 – 5.1250
5.1250 – 6.6667
6.6667 – 9.7500
9.7500 – 12.8333
12.8333 – 19.0000

9. Concentration of engineering roles,
engineers and graduates in capital cities
Region
Total engineering roles Total BE graduates BE graduates 2010
Total Capital % Cap. Total Capital % Cap. Total Capital % Cap.
NSW 41860 29807 71.2% 66431 52366 78.8% 1744 1352 77.5%
VIC 35290 30085 85.3% 55585 49285 88.7% 1835 1735 94.6%
QLD 27470 18504 67.4% 33743 21770 64.5% 1167 794 68.0%
SA 8748 7743 88.5% 12015 10835 90.2% 538 538 100.0%
WA 22029 19245 87.4% 25348 21923 86.5% 748 748 100.0%
TAS 1573 905 57.5% 2239 1299 58.0% 85 85 100.0%
NT 968 630 65.1% 1166 824 70.7% 18 18 100.0%
ACT 2483 2478 99.8% 3818 3807 99.7% 99 99 100.0%
Other 4 - - 11 - - - - -
Australia 140425 109397 77.9% 200356 162109 80.9% 6234 5369 86.1%

10. A new way to think about engineering
graduate employment outcomes?
No obvious relationship between individual uni
engineering grad employment and geography
Most engineering jobs and graduates
concentrated in capital cities
It may be more relevant to consider the overall
effective engineering graduate employment
rate for each state or territory

11. Weighted average state engineering graduate unemployment
versus state engineering unemployment rates
NSW
VIC
QLD
WA
y = 12.254x - 21.656
R² = 0.8589
0
10
20
30
40
2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
Weightedstateaverageofengineering
graduatesseekingwork(2011)(%)
Unemploymentrate forstate engineeringlabourmarkets(2011) (%)

12. Comparative engineering employment growth in
Australian states 2001-2011
(reproduced with permission from Engineers Australia 2012)

13. Implications for curriculum
A comprehensive account of the history,
philosophy and practice of the engineering
profession in contemporary Australia is
incomplete without addressing the impact of
geography on engineering employment
prospects

14. Implications for curriculum
For some students, improving their opportunity
for graduate employment may mean moving
from their home or current location
Engaging students with this prospect during
their studies may assist them to approach the
potentially difficult question of whether they
should plan to relocate for work

15. Implications for curriculum
The Washington Accord – signatories:
Australia, Canada, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, India,
Ireland, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Russia,
Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Turkey, UK and USA
Foci for international experiences?
What about language studies?

16. Implications for curriculum
There is a balance required for a contemporary
undergraduate engineering curriculum to ensure
adequate technical preparation for those students who
pursue a career in their discipline as professional
engineers, and to also address the broader knowledge,
skills and attitudes that will equip the many of the
graduates from Australian engineering programs for
successful employment outside of engineering using
their engineering and general knowledge and skills

17. Thank you for your time
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