The Northern Territory government will fund an innovative Engineers Australia program to help skilled migrant engineers crack the Australian jobs market.
The Global Engineering Talent (GET) program was created in response to groundbreaking research undertaken by Engineers Australia entitled Barriers to Employment for Skilled Migrant Engineers.
It found 47 per cent of migrant engineers actively seeking an engineering job are unemployed despite Australia being in the grip of an engineering skills shortage.
The Northern Territory government has contributed $198,000 to the program to help an initial 20 overseas-born engineers with a pathway to engineering employment in Australia.
In addressing the key findings of the research, the GET program will include a six-week preparatory course through Engineering Education Australia with engineering standards-specific training, and a 12-week paid internship at an engineering firm.
Engineers Australia CEO Romilly Madew said the program will address the engineering skills shortage by helping skilled migrant engineers find work on Australian projects.
“The GET program supports migrant engineers to get a foot in the door of the industry and create engineering networks in their local community, which our research identified as major barriers,” she said.
“Under the program the engineers and their hosting managers will receive assistance in each phase and each engineer will be matched with a mentor for local contact and support."
The course will include a ‘virtual internship’ on a simulated Australian engineering project to allow participants to apply their skills in an Australian context, familiarise themselves with relevant standards, codes, laws and regulations as well as practice local ways of working.
The second phase is a paid internship in the Northern Territory, with a view to gaining full time work.