LA MENTE CRIPTOCONS CIENTE Y LA TELEKINESIA CIENTE Y LA TELEKINESIA
LA MUERTE ES TAN SOLO UNA PROYECCION PERMANENTE
Included in the 237 detailed industries studied were 52 that in 2011 employed at least 1,000 people with appropriate engineering qualifications. Figure 8.1, shows that the first 10 industries, ranked according to engineering employment, employed 105,717 qualified engineers of whom 84,738 were in engineering occupations; these figures were 41.5% and 51.7% of the total employment of these segments and the high proportion employed in engineering occupations, 80.2%, has no doubt contributed to some perceptions that engineers are employed in a narrow range of industries.
The number of engineers employed in successive groups of 10 industries fall rapidly but the numbers involved are important. Industries ranked from 11 to 20 employed 38,644 or 15.2% of qualified engineers and 29,861 of them were employed in engineering occupations, a proportion of 77.3%. Industries ranked from 21 to 30 employed 16,479 or 6.5% of qualified engineers and 7,670 were employed in engineering occupations, a proportion of 46.5%. Industries ranked from 31 to 52 employed 15,257 or 6.0% of
qualified engineers and 7,041 were employed in engineering occupations, a proportion of 46.1%.
Many of the industries that employ most engineers do not necessarily accord with common perceptions. To clarify this point it becomes useful to investigate the rank order of industries employing engineers in more detail. The first 10 industries in the rank order are:
1. Architectural, Engineering and Technical Services o Employment of qualified engineers; 38,984 o Growth; 8.9% per year
o Share employed in engineering occupations; 90.5% 2. Computer System Design and Related Services
o Employment of qualified engineers; 12,073 o Growth; 6.0% per year
o Share employed in engineering occupations; 77.0% 3. Machinery and Equipment Manufacturing
o Employment of qualified engineers; 11,353 o Growth; 2.0% per year
o Share of employment in engineering occupations; 72.4% 0 20000 40000 60000 80000 100000 120000 1 to 10 11 to 20 21 to 30 31 to 40 41 to 52 Num be rs
Industry Rank Order
Figure 8.1: Employment of Qualified Engineers and Employment in Engineering Occupations in Industries Employing at Least 1,000 Engineers
4. Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction
o Employment of qualified engineers; 6,972 o Growth; 12.9% per annum
o Share of employment in engineering occupations; 86.2% 5 Tertiary Education
o Employment of qualified engineers; 6,937 o Growth; 4.5% per year
o Share of employment in engineering occupations; 70.8% 6 Transport Equipment Manufacturing
o Employment of qualified engineers; 6,911 o Growth; 5.1% per year
o Share employed in engineering occupations; 70.1% 7 Telecommunications Services
o Employment of qualified engineers; 6,264 o Growth; 4.5% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 75.7% 8 Other Machinery and Equipment Wholesaling
o Employment of qualified engineers; 6,091 o Growth; 4.9% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 63.1% 9. Defence
o Employment of qualified engineers; 5,397 o Growth; 2.1% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 76.2% 10. Management and Related Consulting Services
o Employment of qualified engineers; 4,735 o Growth; 7.0% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 74.5%
The largest employer of qualified engineers is the Architectural, Engineering and Technical Services industry, commonly referred to as engineering consulting. This industry employed over three times as many qualified engineers as the next largest, the Computer Design and Related Services industry. Both industries are part of the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services group which also includes the tenth largest employer, Management and Related Consulting Services. This group experienced above average growth in engineering employment. Two industries, Machinery and Equipment Manufacturing and Transport Equipment are in the Manufacturing group which experienced below average engineering growth which was also less than average growth in skilled employment. These industries reinforce the importance of Manufacturing to engineering employment. Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction, part of the Construction group, experienced above average growth of 12.9% per year and was one of the industries beset by skill shortages a few years ago. However, employment in this industry was less than half employment in the two Manufacturing industries.
Tertiary Education, part of the Education and Training group, also experienced below average growth in engineering employment. This situation was repeated in Telecommunications Services, part of the Information Media and Telecommunications group. Of the top 10 ranked industries, the slowest growth in employment of qualified engineers was experienced in the Defence industry, part of the Public Administration and Safety group. Other Machinery and Equipment Wholesaling was the 8th largest employer of qualified engineers and its rank clarifies the role of the Wholesale Trade group as an engineering employer.
Industries ranked 11 to 20 include: 11. Air and Space Transport
o Employment of qualified engineers; 4,585 o Growth; 5.2% per year
12. Metal Ore Mining
o Employment of qualified engineers; 4,467 o Growth; 12.4% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 85.3% 13. State Government Administration
o Employment of qualified engineers; 4,391 o Growth; -0.3% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 76.4% 14. Local Government Administration
o Employment of qualified engineers; 4,224 o Growth; 3.3% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 79.9% 15. Primary Metal and Metal Products Manufacturing
o Employment of qualified engineers; 4,202 o Growth; 3.2% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 70.7% 16. Non-Residential Building Construction
o Employment of qualified engineers; 3,513 o Growth; 9.2% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 87.7% 17. Water Supply, Sewerage and Drainage Services
o Employment of qualified engineers;; 3,477 o Growth; 5.7% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 81.3% 18. Electricity Distribution
o Employment of qualified engineers; 3,284 o Growth; 11.3% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 79.5% 19. Oil and Gas Extraction
o Employment of qualified engineers; 3,264 o Growth; 18.7% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 82.4% 20. Building Installation Services
o Employment of qualified engineers; 3,237 o Growth; 8.5% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 46.3%
The first mining industry in the list, metal ore mining is ranked 12th in the national rank order. However, in Western Australia this is the 2nd highest employer of engineers. Similarly, the oil and gas extraction industry is ranked 19th in the national list but is 3rd in the Western Australian list and 10th in the Queensland list. Coal mining is shown below as ranked 24th in the national list but comes in 3rd in Queensland. The rest of the national rank order is:
21. Food Product Manufacturing
o Employment of qualified engineers; 3,192 o Growth; 5.0%per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 45.7% 22. Cafes, Restaurants and Takeaway Food Services
o Employment of qualified engineers; 3,025 o Growth; 8.3% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 2.5% 23. Manufacturing, not further defined
o Employment of qualified engineers; 2,933 o Growth; 3.3% per year
24. Coal Mining
o Employment of qualified engineers; 2,562 o Growth; 12.7% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 82.4% 25. Residential Building Construction
o Employment of qualified engineers; 2,560 o Growth; 3.9% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 69.6%
26. Basic Chemicals and Chemical Product Manufacturing o Employment of qualified engineers; 2,554
o Growth; -1.5% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 66.6% 27. Machinery and Equipment Repair and Maintenance
o Employment of qualified engineers; 2,308 o Growth; 7.1% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 39.1% 28. Public Order and Safety Services
o Employment of qualified engineers; 2,173 o Growth; 3.6% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 28.7% 29. Scientific Research Services
o Employment of qualified engineers; 2,168 o Growth; 2.1% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 75.0% 30. Depository Financial Intermediation
o Employment of qualified engineers; 2,130 o Growth;11.0% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 53.9% 31. Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing
o Employment of qualified engineers; 2,059 o Growth; 5.2% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 58.7% 32. Central Government Administration
o Employment of qualified engineers; 1,921 o Growth; 8.2% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 53.7% 33. Auxiliary Finance and Investment Services
o Employment of qualified engineers; 1,685 o Growth; 2.5% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 41.2% 34. Other Transport Support Services
o Employment of qualified engineers; 1,671 o Growth; 20.8% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 67.1% 35. Rail Passenger Transport
o Employment of qualified engineers; 1,662 o Growth; 8.8% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 66.8% 36. Building Cleaning and Related Services
o Employment of qualified engineers; 1,550 o Growth; 7.9% per year
37. Supermarkets and Grocery Stores
o Employment of qualified engineers; 1,508 o Growth; 7.4% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 9.6% 38. Other Mining Support Services
o Employment of qualified engineers; 1,476 o Growth; 15.6% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 79.9% 39. School Education
o Employment of qualified engineers; 1,474 o Growth; 3.8% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 3.8% 40. Non-Metallic Mineral Product Manufacturing
o Employment of qualified engineers; 1,473 o Growth; 3.5% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 63.2% 41. Polymer Product & Rubber Product Manufacturing
o Employment of qualified engineers; 1,468 o Growth; -2.3% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 50.7% 42. Road Passenger Transport
o Employment of qualified engineers; 1,457 o Growth; 9.9% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 6.7% 43. Electricity Generation
o Employment of qualified engineers; 1,454 o Growth; 6.5% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 74.1% 44. Hospitals
o Employment of qualified engineers; 1,397 o Growth; 6.2% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 35.0% 45. Electrical and Electronic Goods Retailing
o Employment of qualified engineers; 1,346 o Growth; 1.8% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 34.3% 46. Road Freight Transport
o Employment of qualified engineers; 1,265 o Growth; 4.0% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 29.4% 47. Other Administrative Services
o Employment of qualified engineers; 1,236 o Growth; 5.7% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 56.1% 48. Employment Services
o Employment of qualified engineers; 1,225 o Growth; 3.1% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 42.6% 49. Airport Operations and Other Air Transport Support
o Employment of qualified engineers; 1,166 o Growth; 4.5% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 77.0% 50. Legal and Accounting Services
o Employment of qualified engineers; 1,123 o Growth; 4.3% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 31.9% 51. Adult, Community and Other Education
o Employment of qualified engineers; 1,068 o Growth; 3.8% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 43.4% 52. Construction not further defined
o Employment of qualified engineers; 1,052 o Growth; 3.4% per year
o Share in engineering occupations; 82.0%
Including engineers who did not state the industry in which they were employed or who inadequately described it, 48,013, or 18.9% of qualified engineers, were employed in 185 industries that employed fewer than 1,000 qualified engineers in 2011.
It is fairly clear that some industries, for example, industry 37 supermarkets and grocery stores cannot be seen as important sources of engineering employment given that just 9.6% of employment is in engineering occupations. But employment growth in this industry was 9.6% per year. Why so many engineers prefer employment in such industries is unknown but this employment is a vital leakage from the profession and an indicator of frustration on the part of some engineers.