The demand for skilled professionals in Australia remains high across a range of industries, including civil engineering. With a growing population and increasing investment in infrastructure projects, the need for qualified civil engineers continues to rise.
The annual GDP growth is expected to grow by 1.6% by 2024 (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2023). Therefore, Australia is encouraging people from overseas to live and work in one of the most beautiful places in the world.
Skills
Despite the construction and engineering industry being the third largest sector in Australia, recruiting skilled professionals for projects is challenging. Civil Engineers, Surveyors, Quantity Surveyors, Geotechnical Engineers, and Construction Managers are hard to find, and many companies recruit internationally to fill their vacancies.
Migration Skilled Occupation List
The Medium and Long Term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL) is a list of occupations that are in high demand throughout Australia’s states and territories. Your occupation must be on this list in order to apply for an Australian Independent visa (subclass 189) or an Australian Regional Provisional visa (subclass 489).
The Migration Skilled Occupation List allows employer-sponsored workers relevant to the list to enter Australia and support Australia’s skill shortage. This was introduced in September 2022 after the COVID-19 pandemic to help the Australian economy recover. The list provides detailed information on the skill level of occupations, qualifications, and experience required to work in these occupations.
The current construction, engineering, and surveying roles on the Migration Skilled Occupation list include:
- Aeronautical Engineer
- Agricultural Engineer
- Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (Avionics, Mechanical and Structures)
- Biomedical Engineer
- Building and Engineering Technicians
- Chemical Engineer
- Civil Engineer
- Civil Engineering Draftsperson
- Civil Engineering Technician
- Construction Estimator
- Construction Project Manager
- Computer Network and Systems Engineer
- Electrical Engineer
- Electrical Engineering Draftsperson
- Electrical Engineering Technician
- Electronic Engineering Draftsperson
- Electronics Engineer
- Engineering Manager
- Engineering Patternmaker
- Engineering Technologist
- Environmental Engineer
- Geotechnical Engineer
- ICT Quality Assurance Engineer
- ICT Support Engineer
- ICT Systems Test Engineer
- Industrial Engineer
- Insurance Risk Surveyor
- Materials Engineer
- Marine Surveyor
- Mechanical Engineer
- Mechanical Engineering Draftsperson
- Mechanical Engineering Technician
- Mining Engineer
- Petroleum Engineer
- Production or Plant Engineer
- Quantity Surveyor
- Ship’s Engineer
- Software Engineer
- Structural Engineer
- Surveying Technician
- Surveyor
- Telecommunications Engineer
- Telecommunications Field Engineer
- Telecommunications Network Engineer
- Transport Engineer
Click on the link below to see what prerequisites migrants need for each role.
Skilled Occupation List | Australian Government
Remember that the National Skills Commission reviews the list regularly to respond to changes in the Australian labour market.
Getting your skills recognised
Migration Skills Assessment
You must formally assess your engineering skills to work in Australia as a migrant engineer. The Australian Government authorises the not-for-profit organisation to determine an individual’s skills, qualifications, and experience to work in Australia. Before you apply for a visa, you must obtain an outcome letter from Engineers Australia.
Applying for a skills assessment can be long, so it is best to do it as early as possible. You must check your qualification, understand the four engineering occupational categories, choose an assessment pathway, prepare your application, submit your application, and wait to receive the outcome of your assessment.
For more details about the migration skills assessment, click the link below.
Migration Skills Assessments | Engineers Australia
Engineers Australia
Engineers Australia is the national body for all engineering disciplines, including electrical, mechanical, civil, and software engineering. The not-for-profit comprises over 115,000 members and is the Australian Government’s approved authority to assess skills for engineers. They also provide services and support to its members, set ethical and professional standards and advocate for the engineering profession nationally.
To be eligible for membership, you must have completed a recognised or accredited engineering qualification and relevant work experience. If you are a student studying an accredited or recognised engineering course, you will still be eligible to join as a student engineer.
To apply, you must create an Engineers Australia ID, choose your membership level, and submit your application through an online submission form.
Click on the link below to see the different types of memberships.
Memberships | Engineers Australia
Click on the link here to fill in your membership application forum.
Becoming a Chartered Engineer
A Chartered Professional Engineer is an engineer who is registered through Engineers Australia. It is internationally recognised as a measure of excellence and proves a certain level of skill and experience within the engineering field. You must have at least five years of relevant engineering experience and be part of the Engineers Australia membership program. Also, you must meet and maintain competency across 16 elements of four core areas throughout the membership. This includes the value in the workplace, personal commitment, obligation to the community, and technical proficiency.
For more details on becoming a Chartered Professional Engineer, click the link below.
Chartered Professional Engineer | Engineers Australia
Last Update: 28 February 2023
