SYDNEY, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Australia's military forces and civilian defense industry are facing a serious shortage of engineers and other technically trained professionals.
According to a report in The Australian Tuesday, a spokesman for The Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Mangers Australia said more than 5,000 technically trained people were needed to fill important industry and military slots.
The Royal Australian Navy has 696 technical vacancies it needs to fill immediately, the newspaper reported, while the air force has 457 vacant technical positions. The army needs 362 recruits for technical trade positions.
The navy, it said, was looking overseas for possible recruits and had listed 38 job categories for which it would sponsor permanent residency visas.
The shortage of engineers was said to be threatening government plans to build two new amphibious warships in Australia.
