Engineer shortage could lead to construction crisis in NZ

Friday, 31 August 2018

Engineering New Zealand says a more diverse workforce could help boost the number of critically needed engineers.

A crisis is looming if New Zealand doesn't work smarter and up the number of engineers.

Billions of dollars is being poured into projects around the country, including building roads, bridges, hospitals, and railway lines, but there aren't enough engineers for the massive undertakings.

Stu Clark says his firm, New Zealand Environmental Technologies, advertised a graduate role for four months and didn't get a single suitable Kiwi applicant.

Engineering NZ's statistics showed 7 per cent of Kiwi graduates in 2017, studied engineering.

Chief executive Susan Freeman-Greene said the number of graduates needed to be closer to the OECD average of 12 per cent if the country was to make up for the skills shortfall.

Women make up less than 13 per cent of Engineering New Zealand's membership while Māori make up 5.5 per cent and Pasifika just 2.4 per cent.

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WSP Opus General Manager of Technical Capability Peter Wiles believes something needs to change.

'We are getting by at the moment, but if nothing changes there will be huge pressure on New Zealand,' Wiles said.

'Something we have to be cognisant about at the moment is the projects coming up.'

He pointed to Dunedin's $1.4billion hospital.

'Nothing of this scale has ever been built in New Zealand before. I think there's a lot that needs to be done. It won't be fully resourced in New Zealand'

Wiles said WSP Opus - one of the county's largest engineering consulting firms - was in constant communication with clients like NZTA and Auckland Transport about better ways to deliver projects - faster, safer and cheaper.

He believed pre-fabrication would play a huge role in ensuring smooth delivery of much needed infrastructure.

In July 2018, the University of Canterbury College of Engineering had 3210 equivalent full-time students compared with 2182 at the same time in 2013 and 2201 in 2008.

College of Engineering pro-vice-chancellor, Professor Jan Evans-Freeman said enrolments across all engineering disciplines had increased by 40 per cent in the last five years. Despite the increase she suspected they were still not keeping up with the industry's demand for graduates.

Freeman-Greene said creating a more gender and ethically diverse workforce would help lessen the shortfall.

Just under 13 per cent of Engineering NZ's membership were women. Māori made up 5.5 per cent and 2.4 per cent were Pasifika.

Making engineering attractive to a range of people would create a larger pool of engineers who could identify and communicate with a larger range of clients.

Freeman-Greene said while there was no shortage of work for structural engineers following recent seismic activity, New Zealand was desperately short of engineers across all disciplines.

New Zealand Environmental Technologies, a small engineering firm in Upper Hutt attracted about 50 applicants - none were Kiwis.

Principal Stu Clark said the job was advertised for four months and it was the first time in eight years he had not received an application from a New Zealand qualified engineer.

Clark suspected the limited pool of engineering graduates was being 'snaffled up by larger firms' or people were heading overseas.

'[A New Zealand engineering qualification] is a ticket overseas. It's recognised around the world. I remember when I graduated in the early 80's, there were people heading off Australia and the UK. Why wouldn't you go out and see the world?

Clark was not concerned applicants were coming from overseas as long as he was able to replace staff.

Engineers were queuing up from overseas to get into NZ, Clark said. One person from the Philippines with a PhD and 20 years post-graduate structural experience had applied for the graduate role.

He had hired an applicant from South Africa who was in the process of applying for a work visa.