THE AUSTRALIAN Maritime College has partnered with industry stakeholders on a campaign aimed at resolving skill shortages in maritime engineering.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority, DOF Group, Birdon Group and Woodside Energy have each contributed $30,000 to fund campaign initiatives.
AMC said the Engineering our Future campaign intends to highlight job opportunities in the maritime industry and career paths such as the 30-year federal government naval shipbuilding program.
The college said the maritime industry in Australia is growing at its fastest rate since World War II, but enrolments into maritime engineering courses are at an all-time low.
It said if the situation is not addressed it will result in critical skills shortages across the sector.
“The maritime industry is thriving, but the number of qualified maritime engineers has declined significantly since 2012, directly impacting the ability of Australian industry to recruit the workforce needed to undertake nationally significant projects,” AMC principal Michael van Balen said.
He said the problem is being exacerbated by the lack of graduate maritime engineers entering the workforce.
“A key reason for the decline in the number of graduate maritime engineers entering the workforce, is a lack of awareness in years 9 to 12 students about the maritime industry and the career opportunities available to graduates.
“The AMC is the key educational institution in Australia for the delivery of maritime engineering qualifications to help address the workforce shortfall so AMC has reached out to industry to help develop a student recruitment campaign that will run over the next five-years targeting year 9 to 12 students in coastal, regional Australia.”
As well as promoting career opportunities, the Engineering our Future campaign also aims to encourage greater levels of STEM literacy within high school student cohorts.
Mr van Balen said funding from AMSA, DOF Group, Birdon Group and Woodside Energy demonstrate’s the maritime industry’s support for the campaign.
“It is an exciting time to be involved in the maritime industry, and these four great institutions see the importance of raising the awareness of the career opportunities and partnering with AMC to help recruit the next generation of maritime engineers for Australia.”
