To: Hon Shannon Fentiman, Minister for Employment, Hon Mick de Brenni, Minister for Housing and Public Works
Support Jobs for Graduate Engineers!
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We call on the Queensland Minister for Employment and the Queensland state government to:
• Establish a benchmark requirement of 10% graduate engineers and cadets in all government projects over $20 million;
• Utilise procurement to drive workforce development in the private sector; and
• Incentivise companies who win government contracts to invest back into the key enabling profession of engineering and other skilled workers.
Why is this important?
Problem:
There is huge pressure to deliver community infrastructure. Government needs adequate internal capacity but also needs industry to have the skills and staff to deliver the government’s projects.
The engineering skills development process is broken. While government has lost capacity, the private sector often lives hand to mouth relying on winning projects and then headhunting to deliver on those projects.
This model is not sustainable or desirable and inevitably leads to cost blowouts and delays.
Solution:
Government procurement is a major driver of economic activity. Procurement can also be used to drive better workforce development outcomes, by encouraging construction companies and consulting engineer firms to develop the next generation of engineers