Description
Engineering is the application of scientific, economic, social, and practical knowledge in order to design, build, and maintain structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes.
Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study
Final Report
Engineers Canada and Canadian Council of Technicians and Technologists
May 2009
Prism Economics and Analysis Suite 404 160 Eglinton Avenue East Toronto, ON M4P 3B5 Tel: (416)-484-6996 Fax: (416)-484-4147 website: www.prismeconomics.com
John O’Grady Partner, Prism Economics and Analysis Direct Phone: (416)-652-0456 Direct Fax: (416)-652-3083 Email: [email protected] website: www.ogrady.on.ca
P R I S M
Economics and Analysis
Final Report Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study - Final Report
About Engineers Canada
Established in 1936, Engineers Canada is the national organization of the 12 provincial and territorial associations and ordre that regulate the practice of engineering in Canada and license the country’s more than 160,000 professional engineers. Engineers Canada serves the associations and ordre, which are its constituent and sole members, by delivering national programs that ensure the highest standards of engineering education, professional qualifications and professional practice.
About the Canadian Council of Technicians and Technologists
The Canadian Council of Technicians and Technologists (CCTT) establishes and maintains national competency standards for certifying members with a ‘quality seal of approval’ in 14 applied science and engineering technology disciplines: bioscience, industrial, building, instrumentation, chemical, mechanical, civil, mining, electrical, petroleum, electronics, geomatics, forestry, and information technology. CCTT’s provincial associations are responsible for issuing these highly regarded credentials, which are recognized by provincial statute in many Canadian provinces.
Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study - Final Report
Contents
Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study: Final Report
Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Growth and Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Trends Affecting the Engineering and Technology Labour Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . • Demographic Trends • Skills Shortages • Support for Licensure and Certification • Changing Roles and the Regulation of Engineering • Changing Roles and Professional Identity • Technicians or Technologists? • Immigration • Globalization • The Ethic and Culture of Professionalism • Continuing Professional Development
1 3 5 7
Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 • Re-thinking Professional Formation • Ensuring Supply by Addressing the Gender Imbalance • Strengthening Professionalism • Ongoing Monitoring of the Engineering and Technology Labour Market Appendix A: Engineering and Technology Occupations — 2006 Census . . . . . . . . . 25 Appendix B: Steering Committee Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study - Final Report
Executive Summary
The Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study produced ten studies. These include: • a national survey of engineering and technology employers, • a national survey of engineering and technology professionals, • trends in licensure and certification, • changing roles within the engineering team, • trends in continuing professional development, • a study of Canada’s consulting sector in the international economy, and • two studies of diversity challenges in the engineering and technology professions. A Labour Market Tracking System was developed to support ongoing monitoring of labour market conditions by region and by technical field. Over the last decade, employment in engineering and technology occupations grew almost twice as rapidly as employment in non-engineering and technology occupations. During this period, there were also significant changes in the engineering and technology labour market. Many of these changes pose important challenges for human resources planning. Demographic trends will reduce the cohort from which the overwhelming majority of new admissions into post-secondary engineering and technology programs are recruited. These trends increase the urgency of addressing the acute gender imbalance in admissions to engineering and technology programs. Immigration is re-shaping the profile of the engineering and technology labour force. A surge in immigration after 1993 led to serious imbalances between supply and demand in some regions, notably Ontario. In the 1990s, governments and the professions failed to anticipate the serious labour market integration challenges that international graduates in engineering and technology would face. Over the last decade, philosophical support among employers and engineering and technology professionals for licensure and certification remained strong. However, among employers in some sectors, support for licensure and certification appeared to weaken. Changes in the roles of engineers and technicians/technologists raised new questions about how to approach the regulation of engineering and technology. By 2008 certain imbalances in the engineering and technology labour market had become more evident. There were significant skills shortages in some regions and in a number of technical fields. These shortages were exacerbated by an apparent worsening of the gap between the skills that employers required and the skill profile of new entrants into the engineering and technology labour market. In some regions skills shortages co-existed with a more than adequate supply of formally qualified job-seekers. Globalization also intensified during the period. Among the consequences of globalization is a restructuring of earnings. Globalization increases the premium on those engineering and technology skills that are in short supply internationally while, at the same time, generating downward pressure 1
Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study - Final Report
on standard or ‘commodity’ engineering and technology skills. The recommendations arising from the analysis of these trends are grouped around four themes: • Re-thinking Professional Formation • Ensuring Supply by Addressing the Gender Imbalance • Strengthening Professionalism • Ongoing Monitoring of the Engineering and Technology Labour Market
Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study - Final Report
2
The Engineering and Technology Labour Market: Final Report
Introduction:
The Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study was a joint undertaking of Engineers Canada and the Canadian Council of Technicians and Technologists (CCTT). The study was supported financially by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC). The Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study arose from a key finding in an earlier study - From Consideration to Integration - which examined the challenges faced by international engineering graduates as they endeavour to integrate into the Canadian engineering and technology labour market.1 Among the conclusions of that study was the need for significantly more detailed labour market information and a better understanding of the engineering and technology labour market. Other labour market issues, including the impact of globalization trends on the Canadian engineering and technology labour market, were identified in a workshop hosted by HRSDC. The workshop brought together representatives from Engineers Canada, the Canadian Council of Technicians and Technologists, the post-secondary system, governments, and industry. The Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study produced nine studies, in addition to this Final Report: 1. 2007 Engineering and Technology Employer Survey presents the results of a survey of 701 engineering and technology intensive employers. The survey was conducted between July 2007 and January 2008. 2. Survey of Engineers and Engineering Technicians and Technologists reports the results of a survey of 15,585 persons who are engineers or engineering technicians and technologists or who are otherwise employed in engineering and technology. The survey was conducted from February to December 2008. 3. Labour Market Tracking System analyzes supply and demand trends by occupation, region, and technical field. The Tracking System identified supply and demand imbalances in the latter half of 2008 and provides a technical framework for ongoing monitoring of the engineering and technology labour market. 4. Changing Roles in Engineering and Technology examines the factors that are changing the boundaries between ‘engineering work’ and ‘technology work’ and the possible implications of these changes for engineering and technology professionals. 5. Trends in Continuing Professional Development examines trends in the engineering and technology professions and compares these to other professions. 6. Trends in Licensure and Certification examines recent survey evidence and data on professional regulation of engineers and engineering technicians and technologists. 7. Achieving Diversity: Strategies that Work profiles ten examples of interventions intended to change the profile of the engineering and technology professions. The report describes initiatives to
1 C opies of the reports arising from the From Consideration to Integration project are available at:http://fc2i.engineerscanada. ca/e/index.cfm
3
Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study - Final Report
encourage more women and more aboriginal Canadians to enter the engineering profession as well as programs to accelerate the integration of internationally educated professionals into the engineering and technology labour market. 8. Right For Me? reports on a study of young women in high school and examines the factors that shape their attitudes to mathematics and science and to careers in engineering and technology. 9. Canada’s Consulting Engineering Sector in the International Economy examines trends in the export of engineering services and the factors that underpin Canada’s competitiveness. Canada is among the world’s leading exporters of engineering services. 10. The Results So Far: An Interim Report is a November 2008 report on work-in-progress. The report also presents a statistical profile of the engineering and technology labour market, based on 2006 Census data. The Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study was supported by a 32-person Steering Committee drawn from professional associations, universities and colleges, industry, and organizations that assist in the integration of internationally educated engineering and technology professionals. Reports from the Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study are published on the study website: www.engineerscanada.ca/etlms Research work for the Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study was undertaken by Prism Economics and Analysis.
Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study - Final Report
4
Growth and Change
Over the past decade, economic growth in Canada has favoured engineering and technology occupations. Between 1997 and 2008, employment in these occupations increased by 45%, compared to 24% growth in all other occupations.2
Figure No. 1 Employment in Engineering and Technology Occupations compared to All Other Occupations Index: 1997=100 Statistics Canada, CANSIM; ETT Labour Market Tracking System
150.0 145.0 140.0 Index: 1997=100 135.0 130.0 125.0 120.0 115.0 110.0 105.0 100.0 All Other Occupations Engineering and Technology Occupations
The driver behind this employment growth for engineering and technology occupations was a surge in capital investment. Prior to 2001, information and communications technology dominated the increase in capital spending. After the downturn in IT in 2001, resource development and construction were the primary drivers of the increase in capital spending. In 1997, investment in fixed capital formation was 19.5% of GDP. By 2008, the investment share of GDP had increased to 23.8%. In real terms (i.e., netting out inflation), investment in fixed assets increased by 70% between 1997 and 2008. Engineering and technology occupations accounted for approximately 2.8% of overall employment in 1997. By 2008, that proportion had increased to 3.3%. During this period of rapid employment growth, the ground also shifted. Changes that had begun a decade earlier became more evident. • Demographic trends are reducing in absolute numbers, the pool from which the overwhelming majority of new admissions into post-secondary engineering and technology programs are recruited. In the absence of measures to change the acute and persistent gender imbalance in admissions, demographic trends will make it difficult to ensure the long-term supply of engineering and technology graduates.
2 ppendix A lists the occupations that make up the engineering and technology labour market and shows key labour A market measures for each occupation, based on the 2006 Census.
5
Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study - Final Report
19 97 19 98 19 99 20 00 20 01 20 02 20 03 20 04 20 05 20 06 20 07 20 08
•I n many regions and in many technical fields, there is evidence of a widening gap between the skill depth and skill breadth that employers require and the skill profile of new entrants into the labour market. •E mployer support for licensure and certification remains strong at the philosophical level, but there is evidence that practical support among engineering and technology employers for licensure and certification may be weakening. •C ensus data suggest that 30% of the persons in engineering occupations in 2006 did not have a university degree in engineering. About a third of these were persons with college qualifications in technology. Census data also show that a large number of persons with university degrees in engineering were working in occupations which, for the most part, did not fall under the ambit of statutory regulation. •I ndustry does not consistently use the terms ‘technician’ and ‘technologist’ to connote the same differences in technical competence and responsibility levels as do colleges (in some jurisdictions) and certifying bodies. In some provinces, this asymmetry weakens efforts to promote the adoption of competency standards. •I mmigration is re-shaping the profile of the engineering and technology work force. The challenge of integrating internationally educated professionals into the Canadian labour market was seriously under-estimated. •G lobalization is growing more significant in the engineering and technology market. Globalization increases the premium on those engineering and technology skills that are in short supply internationally while, at the same time, generating downward pressure on standard or ‘commodity’ engineering and technology skills. •T he engineering and technology professions in Canada appear to lag the majority of regulated professions in this country in adopting continuing professional development standards and also lag trends that are emerging for engineering and technology professionals in the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan. The next section of this report describes these trends in more detail by drawing on research reports published as part of the Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study. The section after that discusses the potential implications of these changes and sets out a number of recommendations. The recommendations are grouped around four themes: • Re-thinking Professional Formation • Ensuring Supply by Addressing the Gender Imbalance • Strengthening Professionalism • Ongoing Monitoring of the Engineering and Technology Labour Market This report does not reproduce the recommendations from the other reports that are part of the Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study. That does not diminish the importance of those recommendations. Rather, those recommendations are best read in tandem with the research that supports them. This report focuses on a smaller number of over-arching recommendations.
Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study - Final Report
6
Trends affecting the Engineering and Technology Labour Market
Demographic Trends:
Recent high school graduates are by far the largest source of admissions into full-time engineering and technology programs in Canada’s universities and colleges. Figure No. 2 shows the projected decline in the age-15-19 cohort, based on Statistics Canada’s medium growth scenario.
Figure No. 2 Projected Population of Age 15-19 Cohort, Canada 2006-2021 (Medium Growth Scenario) Statistics Canada, CANSIM
2,250 2,200 2,150 2,100
1,000's
7
2,050 2,000 1,950 1,900 1,850 1,800
Based on Statistics Canada’s projections, the age 15-19 cohort will peak in 2009 and decline thereafter. Demographic trends are not the only determinant of enrolment trends. Nevertheless, the decline in the age 15-19 cohort could have significant implications for university engineering faculties and college technology programs. Universities and colleges can either accept declining enrolments as an inexorable consequence of demographic trends or they can strive to maintain (or even increase) enrolments. Given demographic trends, maintaining (or increasing) enrolments will be difficult. It is possible, of course, that future efforts to promote engineering and technology studies will be more successful, though it must be borne in mind that the competition for qualified admission candidates will increase each year. Universities and college could also maintain enrolment levels by increasing the number of foreign students whom they admit or by reducing admission standards. Admitting more foreign students, however, would contribute only indirectly (through subsequent immigration) to maintaining Canada’s skill base. Reducing admission standards would undermine the reputation of Canadian engineering and technology professionals and, in the long run, undermine Canadian competitiveness. It is essential to avoid this. By far the most attractive strategy to maintain the skill base, without compromising standards, is to increase the number of young women who enter engineering and technology programs. Despite many efforts to improve the female share of admissions, that share has resisted any sustained
Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study - Final Report
20 06 20 07 20 08 20 09 20 10 20 11 20 12 20 13 20 14 20 15 20 16 20 17 20 18 20 19 20 20 20 21
increase. Figure No. 3 shows the trend from 1991 to 2005 in female undergraduate admissions to university programs in engineering. The female share of admissions peaked at 20.7% in 2001 and declined thereafter to levels that prevailed in the early 1990s.
Figure No. 3 Female Share in Undergraduate Enrolments in Engineering Programs in Canadian Universities, 1991-2005 Engineers Canada
12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 Per Cent Number
25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0%
A strategy that successfully tackles the gender imbalance in admissions would be one of the most important contributions that could be made for ensuring the long-run supply of engineering and technology professionals.
Skills Shortages:
The 2007 Survey of Engineering and Technology Employers showed many employers were experiencing or anticipating a skills shortage. At the same time, the 2006 Census showed that there was significant under-employment among both domestic and international engineering graduates.3? All professions require well-developed institutions and traditions to bridge the gap between the core skills that are acquired through post-secondary training and the additional technical and nontechnical skills that employers require. The co-existence of a skills shortage with under-employment suggests that for engineering and technology occupations these institutions and traditions have weakened. Among the most unsettling trends is a decline in the number of ‘junior engineers’ or ‘junior technologists’ that provided opportunities for recent graduates and immigrant professionals to acquire practical experience and additional skills. Small and mid-sized firms, in particular, appear to be cutting back on their hiring of entry-level engineers and technologists. Offshoring of basic engineering and technology tasks will exacerbate this situation. In the absence of regulatory or institutional pressures, the labour market gravitates towards a hightraining or a low-training equilibrium. In a high-training equilibrium, most employers hire entry-level job seekers and invest in training these staff. When a critical mass of employers change their policy,
3 round 11% of persons with a Canadian engineering degree, and 18% of persons with a non-Canadian engineering A degree, were employed in occupations for which they were over-qualified. Roughly 10% of persons employed as technologists or technicians were engineering graduates. For a more detailed discussion, see The Results So Far: An Interim Report, published as part of the Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study.
19 91 19 92 19 93 19 94 19 95 19 96 19 97 19 98 19 99 20 00 20 01 20 02 20 03 20 04 20 05
Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study - Final Report
8
a perverse dynamic takes over. Employers who invest in training face a risk that their recently trained staff will be ‘poached’ by competitors. The poaching risk becomes a powerful disincentive to train. The labour market then slides further into a low-training equilibrium. Skill shortages grow worse, while at the same time, many graduates are forced into under-employment. The loss of entrylevel positions also makes it more difficult for individuals to meet the experience requirements that professional associations establish for licensure or certification.
Support for Licensure and Certification:
Survey evidence shows that the ethic and culture of professionalism is the main source of both employer and individual support for licensure and certification. At the same time, survey data and other data suggest that there are weaknesses emerging in support for the system of professional regulation. The Survey of Engineers and Engineering Technicians and Technologists found that only 49% of employers require an engineer to be licensed, while just a quarter of employers require their technicians and technologists to be certified.
Figure No. 4 Percent of Engineers and Engineering Technicians and Technologists describing their Employers’ Policy on Licensure and Certification as Required, Preferred or Neither Survey of Engineers and Engineering Technicians and Technologists
100% 80% 60% 40% 25% 26% 20% 0% Required Preferred Neither Required nor Preferred Technicians
49% 29%
42% 33% 26% 22%
48%
Engineers
Technologists
A comparison of licensure trends and employment also suggests that there may be some weakening of support. Between 2000 and 2007, the number of persons employed in engineering occupations increased by 35.1%. Over this same period, the total number of registered professional engineers (excluding retirees, but including interns) increased by 26.4%. The gap between the employment trend and the registration trend is not large. However, it has widened.
9
Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study - Final Report
Figure No. 5 Estimated Employment in ‘Engineering Occupations’ and Total Number of Registered Professional Engineers (excluding Retirees, but including Interns), Canada, 2000-2007, Index: 2000 = 100 Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey and Association Administrative Data (Labour Market Tracking System Source Files–Canada)
140.0 135.0 130.0 Index: 2000=100 125.0 120.0 115.0 110.0 105.0 100.0 Total Registered Professional Engineers (excl Retirees) plus Interns Total No. of Persons Employed in Engineering Occupations
20 00
20 01
20 03
20 02
20 05
20 04
20 06
20 07
Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study - Final Report
10
Changing Roles and the Regulation of Engineering
The study, Changing Roles in Engineering and Technology concluded that “occupational overlap [between engineers and technicians/technologists] is now an important and incontrovertible phenomenon…” The study also reported that a greater number of engineering technicians and technologists are advancing into ‘engineering management’ with the result that increasing numbers of working-level engineers and engineering technicians and technologists report to technologists. This finding is confirmed by the Survey of Engineers and Engineering Technicians and Technologists.
Figure No. 6 Percent of Engineers and Engineering Technicians and Technologists by Age Group describing their Current Job as Managerial Survey of Engineers and Engineering Technicians and Technologists4
70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%
Engineering is the application of scientific, economic, social, and practical knowledge in order to design, build, and maintain structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes.
Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study
Final Report
Engineers Canada and Canadian Council of Technicians and Technologists
May 2009
Prism Economics and Analysis Suite 404 160 Eglinton Avenue East Toronto, ON M4P 3B5 Tel: (416)-484-6996 Fax: (416)-484-4147 website: www.prismeconomics.com
John O’Grady Partner, Prism Economics and Analysis Direct Phone: (416)-652-0456 Direct Fax: (416)-652-3083 Email: [email protected] website: www.ogrady.on.ca
P R I S M
Economics and Analysis
Final Report Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study - Final Report
About Engineers Canada
Established in 1936, Engineers Canada is the national organization of the 12 provincial and territorial associations and ordre that regulate the practice of engineering in Canada and license the country’s more than 160,000 professional engineers. Engineers Canada serves the associations and ordre, which are its constituent and sole members, by delivering national programs that ensure the highest standards of engineering education, professional qualifications and professional practice.
About the Canadian Council of Technicians and Technologists
The Canadian Council of Technicians and Technologists (CCTT) establishes and maintains national competency standards for certifying members with a ‘quality seal of approval’ in 14 applied science and engineering technology disciplines: bioscience, industrial, building, instrumentation, chemical, mechanical, civil, mining, electrical, petroleum, electronics, geomatics, forestry, and information technology. CCTT’s provincial associations are responsible for issuing these highly regarded credentials, which are recognized by provincial statute in many Canadian provinces.
Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study - Final Report
Contents
Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study: Final Report
Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Growth and Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Trends Affecting the Engineering and Technology Labour Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . • Demographic Trends • Skills Shortages • Support for Licensure and Certification • Changing Roles and the Regulation of Engineering • Changing Roles and Professional Identity • Technicians or Technologists? • Immigration • Globalization • The Ethic and Culture of Professionalism • Continuing Professional Development
1 3 5 7
Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 • Re-thinking Professional Formation • Ensuring Supply by Addressing the Gender Imbalance • Strengthening Professionalism • Ongoing Monitoring of the Engineering and Technology Labour Market Appendix A: Engineering and Technology Occupations — 2006 Census . . . . . . . . . 25 Appendix B: Steering Committee Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study - Final Report
Executive Summary
The Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study produced ten studies. These include: • a national survey of engineering and technology employers, • a national survey of engineering and technology professionals, • trends in licensure and certification, • changing roles within the engineering team, • trends in continuing professional development, • a study of Canada’s consulting sector in the international economy, and • two studies of diversity challenges in the engineering and technology professions. A Labour Market Tracking System was developed to support ongoing monitoring of labour market conditions by region and by technical field. Over the last decade, employment in engineering and technology occupations grew almost twice as rapidly as employment in non-engineering and technology occupations. During this period, there were also significant changes in the engineering and technology labour market. Many of these changes pose important challenges for human resources planning. Demographic trends will reduce the cohort from which the overwhelming majority of new admissions into post-secondary engineering and technology programs are recruited. These trends increase the urgency of addressing the acute gender imbalance in admissions to engineering and technology programs. Immigration is re-shaping the profile of the engineering and technology labour force. A surge in immigration after 1993 led to serious imbalances between supply and demand in some regions, notably Ontario. In the 1990s, governments and the professions failed to anticipate the serious labour market integration challenges that international graduates in engineering and technology would face. Over the last decade, philosophical support among employers and engineering and technology professionals for licensure and certification remained strong. However, among employers in some sectors, support for licensure and certification appeared to weaken. Changes in the roles of engineers and technicians/technologists raised new questions about how to approach the regulation of engineering and technology. By 2008 certain imbalances in the engineering and technology labour market had become more evident. There were significant skills shortages in some regions and in a number of technical fields. These shortages were exacerbated by an apparent worsening of the gap between the skills that employers required and the skill profile of new entrants into the engineering and technology labour market. In some regions skills shortages co-existed with a more than adequate supply of formally qualified job-seekers. Globalization also intensified during the period. Among the consequences of globalization is a restructuring of earnings. Globalization increases the premium on those engineering and technology skills that are in short supply internationally while, at the same time, generating downward pressure 1
Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study - Final Report
on standard or ‘commodity’ engineering and technology skills. The recommendations arising from the analysis of these trends are grouped around four themes: • Re-thinking Professional Formation • Ensuring Supply by Addressing the Gender Imbalance • Strengthening Professionalism • Ongoing Monitoring of the Engineering and Technology Labour Market
Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study - Final Report
2
The Engineering and Technology Labour Market: Final Report
Introduction:
The Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study was a joint undertaking of Engineers Canada and the Canadian Council of Technicians and Technologists (CCTT). The study was supported financially by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC). The Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study arose from a key finding in an earlier study - From Consideration to Integration - which examined the challenges faced by international engineering graduates as they endeavour to integrate into the Canadian engineering and technology labour market.1 Among the conclusions of that study was the need for significantly more detailed labour market information and a better understanding of the engineering and technology labour market. Other labour market issues, including the impact of globalization trends on the Canadian engineering and technology labour market, were identified in a workshop hosted by HRSDC. The workshop brought together representatives from Engineers Canada, the Canadian Council of Technicians and Technologists, the post-secondary system, governments, and industry. The Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study produced nine studies, in addition to this Final Report: 1. 2007 Engineering and Technology Employer Survey presents the results of a survey of 701 engineering and technology intensive employers. The survey was conducted between July 2007 and January 2008. 2. Survey of Engineers and Engineering Technicians and Technologists reports the results of a survey of 15,585 persons who are engineers or engineering technicians and technologists or who are otherwise employed in engineering and technology. The survey was conducted from February to December 2008. 3. Labour Market Tracking System analyzes supply and demand trends by occupation, region, and technical field. The Tracking System identified supply and demand imbalances in the latter half of 2008 and provides a technical framework for ongoing monitoring of the engineering and technology labour market. 4. Changing Roles in Engineering and Technology examines the factors that are changing the boundaries between ‘engineering work’ and ‘technology work’ and the possible implications of these changes for engineering and technology professionals. 5. Trends in Continuing Professional Development examines trends in the engineering and technology professions and compares these to other professions. 6. Trends in Licensure and Certification examines recent survey evidence and data on professional regulation of engineers and engineering technicians and technologists. 7. Achieving Diversity: Strategies that Work profiles ten examples of interventions intended to change the profile of the engineering and technology professions. The report describes initiatives to
1 C opies of the reports arising from the From Consideration to Integration project are available at:http://fc2i.engineerscanada. ca/e/index.cfm
3
Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study - Final Report
encourage more women and more aboriginal Canadians to enter the engineering profession as well as programs to accelerate the integration of internationally educated professionals into the engineering and technology labour market. 8. Right For Me? reports on a study of young women in high school and examines the factors that shape their attitudes to mathematics and science and to careers in engineering and technology. 9. Canada’s Consulting Engineering Sector in the International Economy examines trends in the export of engineering services and the factors that underpin Canada’s competitiveness. Canada is among the world’s leading exporters of engineering services. 10. The Results So Far: An Interim Report is a November 2008 report on work-in-progress. The report also presents a statistical profile of the engineering and technology labour market, based on 2006 Census data. The Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study was supported by a 32-person Steering Committee drawn from professional associations, universities and colleges, industry, and organizations that assist in the integration of internationally educated engineering and technology professionals. Reports from the Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study are published on the study website: www.engineerscanada.ca/etlms Research work for the Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study was undertaken by Prism Economics and Analysis.
Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study - Final Report
4
Growth and Change
Over the past decade, economic growth in Canada has favoured engineering and technology occupations. Between 1997 and 2008, employment in these occupations increased by 45%, compared to 24% growth in all other occupations.2
Figure No. 1 Employment in Engineering and Technology Occupations compared to All Other Occupations Index: 1997=100 Statistics Canada, CANSIM; ETT Labour Market Tracking System
150.0 145.0 140.0 Index: 1997=100 135.0 130.0 125.0 120.0 115.0 110.0 105.0 100.0 All Other Occupations Engineering and Technology Occupations
The driver behind this employment growth for engineering and technology occupations was a surge in capital investment. Prior to 2001, information and communications technology dominated the increase in capital spending. After the downturn in IT in 2001, resource development and construction were the primary drivers of the increase in capital spending. In 1997, investment in fixed capital formation was 19.5% of GDP. By 2008, the investment share of GDP had increased to 23.8%. In real terms (i.e., netting out inflation), investment in fixed assets increased by 70% between 1997 and 2008. Engineering and technology occupations accounted for approximately 2.8% of overall employment in 1997. By 2008, that proportion had increased to 3.3%. During this period of rapid employment growth, the ground also shifted. Changes that had begun a decade earlier became more evident. • Demographic trends are reducing in absolute numbers, the pool from which the overwhelming majority of new admissions into post-secondary engineering and technology programs are recruited. In the absence of measures to change the acute and persistent gender imbalance in admissions, demographic trends will make it difficult to ensure the long-term supply of engineering and technology graduates.
2 ppendix A lists the occupations that make up the engineering and technology labour market and shows key labour A market measures for each occupation, based on the 2006 Census.
5
Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study - Final Report
19 97 19 98 19 99 20 00 20 01 20 02 20 03 20 04 20 05 20 06 20 07 20 08
•I n many regions and in many technical fields, there is evidence of a widening gap between the skill depth and skill breadth that employers require and the skill profile of new entrants into the labour market. •E mployer support for licensure and certification remains strong at the philosophical level, but there is evidence that practical support among engineering and technology employers for licensure and certification may be weakening. •C ensus data suggest that 30% of the persons in engineering occupations in 2006 did not have a university degree in engineering. About a third of these were persons with college qualifications in technology. Census data also show that a large number of persons with university degrees in engineering were working in occupations which, for the most part, did not fall under the ambit of statutory regulation. •I ndustry does not consistently use the terms ‘technician’ and ‘technologist’ to connote the same differences in technical competence and responsibility levels as do colleges (in some jurisdictions) and certifying bodies. In some provinces, this asymmetry weakens efforts to promote the adoption of competency standards. •I mmigration is re-shaping the profile of the engineering and technology work force. The challenge of integrating internationally educated professionals into the Canadian labour market was seriously under-estimated. •G lobalization is growing more significant in the engineering and technology market. Globalization increases the premium on those engineering and technology skills that are in short supply internationally while, at the same time, generating downward pressure on standard or ‘commodity’ engineering and technology skills. •T he engineering and technology professions in Canada appear to lag the majority of regulated professions in this country in adopting continuing professional development standards and also lag trends that are emerging for engineering and technology professionals in the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan. The next section of this report describes these trends in more detail by drawing on research reports published as part of the Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study. The section after that discusses the potential implications of these changes and sets out a number of recommendations. The recommendations are grouped around four themes: • Re-thinking Professional Formation • Ensuring Supply by Addressing the Gender Imbalance • Strengthening Professionalism • Ongoing Monitoring of the Engineering and Technology Labour Market This report does not reproduce the recommendations from the other reports that are part of the Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study. That does not diminish the importance of those recommendations. Rather, those recommendations are best read in tandem with the research that supports them. This report focuses on a smaller number of over-arching recommendations.
Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study - Final Report
6
Trends affecting the Engineering and Technology Labour Market
Demographic Trends:
Recent high school graduates are by far the largest source of admissions into full-time engineering and technology programs in Canada’s universities and colleges. Figure No. 2 shows the projected decline in the age-15-19 cohort, based on Statistics Canada’s medium growth scenario.
Figure No. 2 Projected Population of Age 15-19 Cohort, Canada 2006-2021 (Medium Growth Scenario) Statistics Canada, CANSIM
2,250 2,200 2,150 2,100
1,000's
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2,050 2,000 1,950 1,900 1,850 1,800
Based on Statistics Canada’s projections, the age 15-19 cohort will peak in 2009 and decline thereafter. Demographic trends are not the only determinant of enrolment trends. Nevertheless, the decline in the age 15-19 cohort could have significant implications for university engineering faculties and college technology programs. Universities and colleges can either accept declining enrolments as an inexorable consequence of demographic trends or they can strive to maintain (or even increase) enrolments. Given demographic trends, maintaining (or increasing) enrolments will be difficult. It is possible, of course, that future efforts to promote engineering and technology studies will be more successful, though it must be borne in mind that the competition for qualified admission candidates will increase each year. Universities and college could also maintain enrolment levels by increasing the number of foreign students whom they admit or by reducing admission standards. Admitting more foreign students, however, would contribute only indirectly (through subsequent immigration) to maintaining Canada’s skill base. Reducing admission standards would undermine the reputation of Canadian engineering and technology professionals and, in the long run, undermine Canadian competitiveness. It is essential to avoid this. By far the most attractive strategy to maintain the skill base, without compromising standards, is to increase the number of young women who enter engineering and technology programs. Despite many efforts to improve the female share of admissions, that share has resisted any sustained
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20 06 20 07 20 08 20 09 20 10 20 11 20 12 20 13 20 14 20 15 20 16 20 17 20 18 20 19 20 20 20 21
increase. Figure No. 3 shows the trend from 1991 to 2005 in female undergraduate admissions to university programs in engineering. The female share of admissions peaked at 20.7% in 2001 and declined thereafter to levels that prevailed in the early 1990s.
Figure No. 3 Female Share in Undergraduate Enrolments in Engineering Programs in Canadian Universities, 1991-2005 Engineers Canada
12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 Per Cent Number
25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0%
A strategy that successfully tackles the gender imbalance in admissions would be one of the most important contributions that could be made for ensuring the long-run supply of engineering and technology professionals.
Skills Shortages:
The 2007 Survey of Engineering and Technology Employers showed many employers were experiencing or anticipating a skills shortage. At the same time, the 2006 Census showed that there was significant under-employment among both domestic and international engineering graduates.3? All professions require well-developed institutions and traditions to bridge the gap between the core skills that are acquired through post-secondary training and the additional technical and nontechnical skills that employers require. The co-existence of a skills shortage with under-employment suggests that for engineering and technology occupations these institutions and traditions have weakened. Among the most unsettling trends is a decline in the number of ‘junior engineers’ or ‘junior technologists’ that provided opportunities for recent graduates and immigrant professionals to acquire practical experience and additional skills. Small and mid-sized firms, in particular, appear to be cutting back on their hiring of entry-level engineers and technologists. Offshoring of basic engineering and technology tasks will exacerbate this situation. In the absence of regulatory or institutional pressures, the labour market gravitates towards a hightraining or a low-training equilibrium. In a high-training equilibrium, most employers hire entry-level job seekers and invest in training these staff. When a critical mass of employers change their policy,
3 round 11% of persons with a Canadian engineering degree, and 18% of persons with a non-Canadian engineering A degree, were employed in occupations for which they were over-qualified. Roughly 10% of persons employed as technologists or technicians were engineering graduates. For a more detailed discussion, see The Results So Far: An Interim Report, published as part of the Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study.
19 91 19 92 19 93 19 94 19 95 19 96 19 97 19 98 19 99 20 00 20 01 20 02 20 03 20 04 20 05
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a perverse dynamic takes over. Employers who invest in training face a risk that their recently trained staff will be ‘poached’ by competitors. The poaching risk becomes a powerful disincentive to train. The labour market then slides further into a low-training equilibrium. Skill shortages grow worse, while at the same time, many graduates are forced into under-employment. The loss of entrylevel positions also makes it more difficult for individuals to meet the experience requirements that professional associations establish for licensure or certification.
Support for Licensure and Certification:
Survey evidence shows that the ethic and culture of professionalism is the main source of both employer and individual support for licensure and certification. At the same time, survey data and other data suggest that there are weaknesses emerging in support for the system of professional regulation. The Survey of Engineers and Engineering Technicians and Technologists found that only 49% of employers require an engineer to be licensed, while just a quarter of employers require their technicians and technologists to be certified.
Figure No. 4 Percent of Engineers and Engineering Technicians and Technologists describing their Employers’ Policy on Licensure and Certification as Required, Preferred or Neither Survey of Engineers and Engineering Technicians and Technologists
100% 80% 60% 40% 25% 26% 20% 0% Required Preferred Neither Required nor Preferred Technicians
49% 29%
42% 33% 26% 22%
48%
Engineers
Technologists
A comparison of licensure trends and employment also suggests that there may be some weakening of support. Between 2000 and 2007, the number of persons employed in engineering occupations increased by 35.1%. Over this same period, the total number of registered professional engineers (excluding retirees, but including interns) increased by 26.4%. The gap between the employment trend and the registration trend is not large. However, it has widened.
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Engineering and Technology Labour Market Study - Final Report
Figure No. 5 Estimated Employment in ‘Engineering Occupations’ and Total Number of Registered Professional Engineers (excluding Retirees, but including Interns), Canada, 2000-2007, Index: 2000 = 100 Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey and Association Administrative Data (Labour Market Tracking System Source Files–Canada)
140.0 135.0 130.0 Index: 2000=100 125.0 120.0 115.0 110.0 105.0 100.0 Total Registered Professional Engineers (excl Retirees) plus Interns Total No. of Persons Employed in Engineering Occupations
20 00
20 01
20 03
20 02
20 05
20 04
20 06
20 07
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Changing Roles and the Regulation of Engineering
The study, Changing Roles in Engineering and Technology concluded that “occupational overlap [between engineers and technicians/technologists] is now an important and incontrovertible phenomenon…” The study also reported that a greater number of engineering technicians and technologists are advancing into ‘engineering management’ with the result that increasing numbers of working-level engineers and engineering technicians and technologists report to technologists. This finding is confirmed by the Survey of Engineers and Engineering Technicians and Technologists.
Figure No. 6 Percent of Engineers and Engineering Technicians and Technologists by Age Group describing their Current Job as Managerial Survey of Engineers and Engineering Technicians and Technologists4
70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%