Employer perspectives on engineering technician education in Australia

Abstract

Both the higher education (HE) sector and the vocational education and training (VET) sector provide two year programs for Engineering Technicians, normally called Engineering Associates in Australia. Advanced Diploma programs are competency based and offered by VET institutions while the higher education Associate Degree programs were, until recently, only offered by universities. This paper reports on the results of an online questionnaire that 25 engineering employers completed during the 2010. The aim of the questionnaire was to gather information from current employers about the reasons why they have supported an employee who was studying an Engineering Technician program part-time, the level of support they provide and any barriers that inhibit the employment of additional students. The respondents were from regional and rural areas in two Australia states and represented 21 separate organisations: ten private companies, eight local authorities and three government departments. The four key findings were: (1) the majority of the employers saw their support for students as one way to address current skills shortages in their industry, particularly in government instrumentalities;(2) most of the employers said they would continue support students who graduated and then articulated into an engineering degree program; (3) they would like more engagement with education providers; and (4) they believed that federal and state governments should offer financial incentives to encourage employers to offer engineering traineeships or cadetships.