Australia is losing the ability to build roads and bridges, with a worsening skills crisis resulting in a shortfall of more than 28,000 engineering jobs in road construction, a Senate inquiry has been told.
Road safety and future efficiency of the nation's road transport network are at risk, with state agencies, local governments and the private sector ''now employing staff with little or no traffic and transport [engineering] skills'', the Australian Institute of Traffic Planning and Management has warned the Senate education committee.
In its submission, the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia has called for mandatory national registration of engineers to protect the public from serious safety risks.
''Engineering failures can be devastating and are almost always attributed to a lack of competency. Under the current ad hoc and voluntary system of registration, competency standards cannot be enforced,'' the submission said.
''Engineers and others claiming engineering expertise cannot be prevented from providing services even when there is evidence of misconduct or incompetence.''
The institute's chief executive John Roydhouse told The Canberra Times many civil engineering vacancies were being filled by overseas workers who often had little knowledge of Australia's widely varying regional weather conditions or soil properties.
''We're seeing a fly-in, fly-out culture developing, similar to the mining industry,'' Mr Roydhouse said.
''There is a high risk involved, particularly for regional areas, where we simply cannot get qualified engineers to come out to assess flood damage or road upgrades.''
Mr Roydhouse said a recent survey showed more than 28,000 civil engineering workers were needed for road and bridge construction, road drainage works and operation of hi-tech heavy machinery.
''We've done talks at schools about engineering careers. Most of the kids are fired up about wanting to do something about climate change, but don't make the connection. We're saying: 'Hang on, what about engineering. You'll be building roads and bridges to cope with climate change.'
''But then, you've got to convince teachers to offer the high-level maths required to be a skilled engineer instead of guiding students toward easy subjects that will ensure a high university entrance score.''
Three leading engineering academics - David Beanland, Roger Hadgraft and Aleksander Subic - told the inquiry Australia's universities were failing to meet guidelines for engineering degree courses outlined in an international agreement, the Washington Accord, to which Australia is a signatory.
In a joint submission, they said major changes were required to address a 40 per cent failure and drop out rate among engineering students. The current system was producing narrowly-focused specialists, ''strong on technical knowledge and deficient in the personal capabilities required to be effective engineers''.
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