In 2010, Australian skills shortages in engineering were highlighted as a key constraint on a resources-led economic recovery, with the National Resources Sector Employment Taskforce hearing industry's concerns of a major labour market shortfall. Skills Australia has also designated engineering as a skillset requiring structured workforce development interventions to ensure that community need is met, particularly around climate change infrastructure adaptation. Engineers are globally in short supply, with Australian higher education providers producing only around half of the graduates needed to fill domestic demand, and in this environment systemic cultural issues, low numbers of women in education and in the workforce and an aging workforce have produced widespread issues with retention and sustainability. This paper surveys the available information about the scope of this skills crisis and highlights areas where action and research are needed. [Introduction, ed]

Problem solving is implicit in the very nature of all science, and virtually all scientists are hired, retained, and rewarded for solving problems. Although the need for skilled problem solvers has never been greater, there is a growing disconnect between the need for problem solvers and the educational capacity to prepare them. Learning to Solve Complex Scientific Problems is an immensely useful read offering the insights of cognitive scientists, engineers and science educators who explain methods for helping students solve the complexities of everyday, scientific problems. Important features of this volume include discussions on: *how problems are represented by the problem solvers and how perception, attention, memory, and various forms of reasoning impact the management of information and the search for solutions; *how academics have applied lessons from cognitive science to better prepare students to solve complex scientific problems; *gender issues in science and engineering classrooms; and *questions to guide future problem-solving research. The innovative methods explored in this practical volume will be of significant value to science and engineering educators and researchers, as well as to instructional designers.

A timely and vital issue of this leading journal examines the impact of new technologies on the lives of women.