Engineers Australia has launched micro-credentials for the rail sector as part of its efforts to combat Australia's engineering skills shortage
Engineers Australia Chief Engineer Jane MacMaster says the rail micro-credentials launched this week in partnership with Engineering Education Australia (EEA) will provide engineers working in the area with the confidence they can practise their skills at a recognised standard.
"The micro-credentials Engineers Australia offers will assist engineers to ensure their knowledge and skills remain relevant to a very dynamic industry," MacMaster said.
"Technology, systems and ways of working are changing so fast, and industry is on the lookout for people who are up to date. Micro-credentials offer a fast way to extend existing skills and knowledge in a way that is validated against recognised practice."
The Engineers Australia Rail Track Specialist Engineering Competencies, which underpins the criteria for the rail track micro-credentials, has been endorsed by both the Australasian Railway Association (ARA) and the Railway Technical Society of Australasia (RTSA).
Credentials include:
- Determine rail track design requirements
- Develop rail track alignment design
- Plan rail track construction scope and commission rail
- Track maintenance
Roy Unny, Executive Chair of the Railway Technological Society of Australia, says the RTSA was deeply involved in developing the rail micro-credentials. "We did a strategic analysis and looked at where there was a skill shortage, where the needs were from industry".
He says the alternative to credentialing more engineers is to wait for new talent to be trained up on the job — a slow process. "The skills are needed, and traditionally it's on-the-job training, which is common across all industries but particularly in rail".
"Given the backlog of work that's out there, there have to be solutions, such as micro-credentialing, which can shorten a little bit of that training time. It doesn't cover 100 per cent of everything, but it provides an alternate means for somebody to be upskilled in a shorter period of time."
"Engineers Australia micro-credentials are based on assessment of knowledge and experience to a level of acceptable industry practice," says EEA General Manager Alexandra Sparvell. "That's not something you can study for. That's something you've got to demonstrate."
