New Zealand facing long-term engineering skills shortage

Engineering New Zealand, migrant engineers, new zealand, nz,

April 3, 2025

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New Zealand is facing a shortfall of about 2,300 new engineers each year – and the problem is getting worse.

New Zealand is facing a serious shortage of civil engineers – and it’s starting to show. With major infrastructure plans in the pipeline and not enough engineers to deliver them, the country is at risk of falling behind on critical upgrades and construction projects. From roading and public transport to water systems and climate-resilient infrastructure, skilled engineers are needed now more than ever.

So, What’s Causing the Shortage?

There’s no single reason, but rather a mix of factors that have all collided to create a growing gap:

Not Enough Graduates

New Zealand doesn’t produce enough engineering graduates to meet demand. While the number of infrastructure projects is rising, the education pipeline hasn’t kept up. Fewer young people are choosing STEM subjects in school, and even fewer make it through to graduate as civil engineers.

“We are particularly concerned that not enough students are studying or passing STEM subjects – with less than a quarter of students meeting the expected maths curriculum level for their age. We urgently need more students studying and passing STEM subjects,” says Engineering New Zealand Chief Executive Dr Richard Templer.

“At a tertiary education level, New Zealand lags behind the OECD, with only 9 percent of graduates at degree level or higher having studied engineering. Once they’re in the workforce we see significant attrition of graduates – a third of degree graduates move into non-engineering roles within two years.”

Engineers Leaving the Profession

Even those who do graduate often leave engineering early in their careers. Some find it hard to get their foot in the door during industry slowdowns. Others are lured into different fields, or head overseas where salaries are higher and projects are larger.

Aging Workforce

A large portion of New Zealand’s engineers are approaching retirement age. And with not enough younger professionals coming through, that’s a big problem. As experienced engineers step away, valuable knowledge and leadership leave with them.

Global Competition

New Zealand has long relied on overseas engineers to fill the gap – around a third of NZ’s engineering workforce is trained overseas. But with a global shortage of skilled engineers, the country is now competing with countries offering more pay, faster residency, or bigger projects. That makes it harder to attract (and keep) the talent NZ needs.

What’s being done

To address these compounding issues, Engineering New Zealand, ACE New Zealand and Waihanga Ara Rau have partnered to deliver an action plan to respond to the priority challenges. This plan sets out the key challenges and what each organisation is doing to address them.

“We hope the action plan drives others to prioritise addressing the challenges raised. Addressing workforce challenges will require collaboration between professional associations, the government, the education sector, and industry,” says Templer.

ACE New Zealand Chief Executive Helen Davidson says the Government’s 30-year plan due out later this year will identify the infrastructure projects we need to tackle in the coming decades.

“These will be complex programmes of work that require technical and specialist skills – but current projections show we won’t have the talent available when we need it,” says Davidson.

“Engineering and design is such exciting work and we want our rangatahi to be aware of all the great career opportunities available in the sector. It’s going to take a multi-pronged approach to ensure we’re geared up for the future.”

“Importantly, this action plan sets out how our organisations will showcase the critical role that engineers play in delivering a better future for our people and our planet.”

Role of International Recruitment

International recruitment has become an essential strategy for New Zealand to mitigate its engineering shortfall. Given the time it takes to train new engineers domestically, hiring from overseas is a crucial immediate-term solution to plug skill gaps.

The government has explicitly made it easier for foreign civil engineers to move to New Zealand by placing these roles on critical skill lists.

Now is a great time to consider making the move to New Zealand. With major infrastructure projects back on the agenda and a growing shortage of local engineers, New Zealand is actively looking overseas to fill the gap. If you’ve got experience in civil, structural, or water infrastructure projects, your skills are in high demand.

To find out more about current and future job opportunities in New Zealand, get in touch with our Recruiters on LinkedIn or email your CV to [email protected]

Source: Engineering New Zealand

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