Engineering the big skill for the new decade

According to the most recent EL Executive Demand index, the outlook for 2010 and the next five years is very positive for Australian engineers across the board, including electrical and construction engineering. After a fairly flat 2009, the general job market for Australia’s executives is unlikely to do much better in 2010 and could get worse before it gets better.

The EL Executive Demand index lost 4.5% in 2009. Despite the wild swings in financial markets, the year was characterised by a subdued executive market and rising general unemployment levels. The index fell 1% in December compared with November, continuing the trend of flat results. Losses in the financial and management sectors were offset by gains in the engineering and IT sectors.

Grant Montgomery, Managing Director of executive search firm EL Consult, that researches and publishes the EL index, said: “The executive job market early 2010 will be subdued and could even show some decline as the government stimulus winds down. More positive results are likely in the second half, as the effects of the global financial crisis diminish and small business, Australia’s largest employment group, picks up and reinvests.

“The best employment opportunities are engineering and IT, both of which have benefited heavily from either government stimulus spending or tax incentives. However, the increased depreciation benefits end with the new year and the government is already committed to winding down its big direct spend of 2009.

“Engineers will see the best employment conditions of all executives in 2010 and this will continue well into the decade. They will continue to benefit from government infrastructure spending and will soon see significant increases in demand once some of the massive energy projects, such as the recently announced Gorgon Gas project in Western Australia, move into the design and construction phases.

“The positive job outlook for Australian engineers is partly due to China’s huge growth; but there are also other big or growing regional economies hungry for our energy and other resources.

“The only engineering skill that might be considered overweight is environmental engineering, which has benefited from the recent carbon hysteria in much the same way as computing did from the internet boom.

“The good thing about growth in the engineering sector is that it is a lead indicator of capital spending and this has implications right through the economy. This decade will be the decade of the engineer.”