Mechanical engineering reinstated on NSW Skills List

Engineers Australia (EA) has announced that migrant mechanical engineers residing in, or outside of, NSW are set to have an easier path to employment following the recent reinstatement of mechanical engineering on the NSW Skills List.

Early this year after receiving advice from members, Engineers Australia wrote a letter to Alister Henskens, NSW Minister for Skills and Training, advocating for the reinstatement of mechanical engineering on the list. Statistics from Jobs and Skills Australia, cited in EA’s ‘Australian Engineering Employment Vacancies Report’, show industrial, production and mechanical engineering is the third highest in demand engineering occupation in NSW.

Inclusion on the NSW skills list means migrants with listed skills can access employment through the Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190). For engineering employers, this means they can fill roles with skilled professionals from Australia or overseas.

In EA’s initial letter to Henskens, research from the report ‘Strengthening the engineering workforce in Australia’ was outlined, which notes skilled migration will remain essential to the nation’s engineering capacity in the short and medium term.

The view of EA is that further to mechanical engineering, all engineering disciplines should be included on the list.

Engineers Australia representatives met with Zane Rebronja, Director at NSW Business and Skilled Migration at Investment NSW, and Ross Wood, Migration Services Officer for Investment NSW, to discuss inclusion of the mechanical engineering profession and the positive impacts that would follow.

Engineers Australia has now been advised that the NSW Skills List includes industrial, mechanical and production engineers. Engineers Australia Sydney General Manager Jamie Burrage attended the meeting and said this is a significant and positive outcome for engineers, particularly for Engineers Australia’s mechanical engineer members.

“This decision implies the information provided by Engineers Australia to the NSW Government is valued and considered when decisions about critical skills are made,” Burrage said. “We are pleased the addition of mechanical engineering to the skills list will enable another option for employers to fill skills shortages in engineering.”

Engineers Australia has been invited by NSW Science Innovation and Technology to continue conversations around engineering skills and employment.

This outcome was achieved through a collaboration between the Engineers Australia Sydney and Newcastle Policy and Advocacy teams with significant support from Engineers Australia Canberra, which achieved the addition of mechanical engineering to the ACT Critical Skills List in 2022.