Urban Development Institute of Australia is greatly encouraged by today’s joint announcement from the Minister for Skills and Training, Brendan O’Connor MP and the Minister for Housing, Julie Collins MP of a $90.6million investment in boosting the number of skilled workers in the construction industry.
“This is something we have been advocating for and we are pleased that the Federal Government has not only listened to industry, but that it has hit the right mark with the planned investment,” said Col Dutton, UDIA National President.
The announcement follows the recent progress made on the Government’s Migration Strategy with its plans for a recalibrated Points Test program designed to create a better planned migration program.
Our industry has a critical need for a skilled workforce particularly as there are currently 27,900 national job vacancies in the construction sector which is +56% on the long run average and is +68% on the pre-pandemic position.
“We agree with the Minister for Housing’s comment that ‘to build more homes we need more tradies’ and there are two ways of increasing the number of skilled workers in our industry, one way is make skilled migration a key part of the government’s investment strategy and the second way is through access to affordable training,” said Mr Dutton.
In our 2024 Policy Platform: Supply. Support. Sustainability. Pathways to productivity, we made some key recommendations which are consistent with today’s announcement of:
- Removal of cost barriers to education and training, and incentivising Australians to train in areas the economy needs them most, with $88.8 million for 20,000 additional Fee-Free TAFE training places to increase the pipeline of construction workers.
- $1.8m to streamline skills assessments for around 1,900 potential migrants with comparable qualifications from other countries who want to work in construction and housing sectors;
- Prioritising the processing of around 2,600 Trades Recognition Australia skills assessments in targeted construction occupations.
“Significant investment such as the $90.6m earmarked to increase the number of skilled workers in construction, which includes incentives for education and training strategies that encourage students into trades, will go a long way in rebuilding the capacity of our industry and gets us a few steps further toward the goal of building the 1.2m homes over the next five years for the people of Australia,” said Col Dutton.
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Media Enquiries:
Deanna Lane | Director, National Media & Communications | 0416 295 898 | media@udia.com.au