Australia's future growth is under threat from proposed changes to university fees, Engineers Australia has warned.
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Too few young people have been graduating from engineering courses and entering the profession in recent years and predictions of rises in course costs would only act as a deterrent, Engineers Australia chief executive officer Stephen Durkin said.
"We are already in a precarious situation with our capacity to deliver infrastructure and in the future Australia will need even more engineers to plan, design, deliver and maintain our infrastructure needs," he said.
"Any changes which discourage students from studying engineering threaten Australia's ability to grow as a nation."
About 16,000 students enrolled in engineering degrees at Australian universities each year, but only 9500 graduates then entered the engineering workforce annually, the industry body said.
Education Minister Christopher Pyne has introduced to the Lower House the government's planned changes for higher education including a 20 per cent cut per-student to Commonwealth funding which has sparked fears institutions will dramatically increase fees to make up the shortfall.
Student loans would also be more expensive, the interest rate increased to the equivalent of the 10-year bond-rate.
Mr Durkin said his organisation had been closely monitoring the situation since changes were announced in the federal Budget.
"The combination of lower government contributions, deregulation of university fees and changes to HECS repayments proposed in the Budget are combining to create a perfect storm which may discourage and indeed prevent some students from pursuing an engineering degree," he said.
Mr Durkin said engineering had gone through booms and busts over the years, due to Australia's tendency to go through frantic periods of infrastructure building and then trail off for long stretches of time.
" It remains to be seen how universities will pass any changes to government funding on to students.
"If the student contribution increases significantly then it will undoubtedly make students considering an engineering degree think hard about their investment, especially considering the volatile engineering job market. Yet in boom times we need upwards of 20,000 graduates to meet demand."
