Australia’s engineering market continues to be influenced by investment across transport, energy, housing, manufacturing and resources.

Infrastructure Australia’s 2025 Infrastructure Market Capacity Report places the five-year Major Public Infrastructure Pipeline at $242 billion across 2024–25 to 2028–29. This represents an increase of $29 billion, or 14 per cent, from the previous outlook. Transport remains the largest investment category at $129 billion, accounting for 53 per cent of the overall pipeline.

While these figures cover infrastructure more broadly, the scale of planned activity provides useful context for the engineering market. Projects across Australia will continue to require people who can contribute across design, delivery, maintenance, operations and technical leadership.

Specialist experience remains valuable

Engineering is a broad discipline, and requirements vary considerably between sectors, projects and assets.

At 2XM Recruit, we support clients across areas including:

• Civil and structural engineering
• Mechanical and electrical engineering
• Systems and automation
• Reliability and maintenance

From our conversations across the market, employers are often looking for more than a relevant qualification. Experience with comparable assets, technical systems or operating environments can be particularly important when a new employee or contractor needs to contribute quickly.

For example, the requirements of a mechanical engineer working in manufacturing may differ significantly from those of an engineer supporting mining maintenance, rail infrastructure or an energy project.

Reaching a specialised candidate market

Many experienced engineering professionals are not actively applying for every suitable role advertised online. They may already be employed, committed to a project or waiting for an opportunity that closely aligns with their technical background.

This can make highly specialised positions difficult to fill through general advertising alone.

2XM Recruit helps clients access a broader market through direct candidate engagement, established industry networks and targeted search. We begin by understanding the detail behind the vacancy, including the project environment, technical priorities, reporting structure and expected outcomes.

This allows our consultants to focus on candidates whose experience is genuinely relevant, rather than providing a large volume of loosely matched applications.

Flexible support for changing project needs

Engineering workforce requirements can shift as projects move through planning, design, construction, commissioning and operations.

Permanent appointments can support long-term capability, leadership and knowledge retention. Contract professionals can provide additional flexibility for project peaks, shutdowns, specialist assignments or periods of increased workload.

Some clients use a combination of permanent and contract talent, retaining core expertise internally while engaging specialist professionals for defined stages of delivery.

2XM Recruit supports both models, allowing our team to assist with an immediate vacancy, a broader project requirement or longer-term workforce planning.

How 2XM Recruit can help

Our engineering team supports clients with market mapping, targeted sourcing, candidate screening, reference checking and process coordination.

We also provide an informed view of candidate availability and expectations, helping clients understand how a role is likely to be received in the current market.

Our aim is to make the recruitment process more focused and provide access to engineering professionals whose experience aligns with the work ahead.

Planning ahead for your engineering team? Get in touch with 2XM Recruit at info@2xmrecruit.com.au.