Like all other Australian industries the Manufacturing and Engineering industries have had to deal with the impact of globalisation. With the reduction in tariffs, which were formerly applied to imported goods, Australian industries have to compete with world-wide competition in the Australian market while at the same time having international markets for their products. This has caused dramatic and continuing changes as some companies have been absorbed by multi-nationals and other companies have moved into new markets.
At the same time, changing technologies have dramatically changed the type of work being carried out. Increasing use of computer control, new management techniques and flexible approaches to manufacturing have meant that many of the relatively unskilled occupations have disappeared while the demand for skilled workers has increased.
The number of workers directly associated with manufacturing the product has reduced while the number of workers who make, install and maintain the machinery that manufacture the product has reduced.
It has been identified that severe or very severe skill shortages existed in 22% of manufacturing firms during the December quarter of 2000 (Ai group, Price Waterhouse Coopers Survey 2000). These shortages were most severe in the machinery and equipment manufacturing area as well as the basic and fabricated metal production area.
There have also been changes in the way in which
occupations are regulated and described. Previously there were hundreds of
classifications in the industrial awards for the manufacturing and engineering
industries. These have been reduced to fourteen classifications.
Each of these directly relates to an industrial award level has a training
requirement. These are set out in the
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