Supported by Skills Tasmania, this preparation of the report was in response to a recommendation of the Engineers Australia Workforce Development Plan 2016-19.

It is clear that the engineering profession is transforming and this is clearly evident in Tasmania with industry transformations and the increased domestic and global reach of Tasmanian companies and products.  But how does the engineering practitioner respond to these changes?

As one person commented, the “old pure engineer is not valid anymore.  Young engineers need to be slick and adaptable with a broad knowledge of many things and the ability to jump around; need to be able to take a brief and be involved with it to delivery.”

Traditionally, firms within which engineers and engineering skillsets were required adopted business models which were labour intensive but required limited technological capital.  However, with workplaces becoming more high-tech, employability skills in management, innovation and interpersonal relations are becoming more prevalent.  On top of this, a greater understanding of uncertainty, integration and complex systems are skills that are being sought especially with greater collaboration between businesses and delocalised supply chains in today’s setting.

The report outlines six key skills that the engineers of today and tomorrow need to have in order to successfully compete in global supply chains:

• A capacity for management and oversight of projects and supply chains due to the horizontal integration of engineering supply chains.
• Technical and digital proficiency with the evolution of a digitised and globalised economy
• Skills in collaboration and cooperation since the development of globally integrated supply chains is increasingly rendering “the social and technical … intertwined, inseparable realities of practice”
• Cross-cultural awareness to be able to have an understanding of both hard laws and soft cultural rules in operation in the locations in which they seek to work and collaborate.
• An ability to specialise and cater to “niche” markets as the trend towards specialisation increases, especially for smaller firms.
• Adaptability, flexibility and a capacity for innovation as technology continues to develop and offer opportunities.

Engineers Australia is currently working with the University of Tasmania and Skills Tasmania on options for both today’s and tomorrow’s engineers and how they can build these skills.