Australian Maritime College Partners with Industry to Resolve Critical Skills Shortages

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 which if not addressed 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” said Michael van Balen, AMC Principal.

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 9-12 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 9-12 students in coastal, regional Australia.”

The campaign entitled ‘Engineering Our Future’ will highlight not just the job opportunities available to Australians within the maritime industry, but the career opportunities such as the 30-year Federal Government naval shipbuilding program. 

As well as promoting career opportunities, the campaign will also encourage greater levels of STEM literacy within the High School student cohorts.

“The maritime industry is responding favourably to Engineering our Future, and I am pleased to announce that four Platinum Supporters, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, DOF Group, Birdon Group and Woodside Energy, have demonstrated their support for the campaign with each contributing $30,000 to fund campaign initiatives.” 

“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” concluded Mr. van Balen.

For more information about Engineering our Future, please reach out to Dr. Robert Palmer on 0474 474073 or robert.palmer@utas.edu.au.