Australian Property News
Building skills shortage continues to bite
Posted on Thursday, November 27 2008 at 4:20 PM
Specialised training courses for the construction industry should be established as an alternative to apprenticeships to help fight a nationwide skills shortage, according to the Housing Industry of Australia (HIA).
Skilled labour shortages persist despite continued falling building activity, the latest HIA-Austral Bricks Trades Report finds.
While trades availability has improved marginally as activity has decreased, HIA's chief executive, Chris Lamont, says underlying demand still far exceeds supply. He believes there's a need to invest in better ways to deliver training.
There will always be a place for traditional apprenticeships, he says, but there is no chance that the apprenticeship system will deliver the necessary workers in time.
As such, an alternative needs to be found to prevent a future skills crunch.
'We need a flexible training pathway that caters to the more than 40 per cent of tradespeople who have traditionally acquired their skills outside the formal training system,' he says.
'At some point, economic conditions will improve and activity will pick up. When that time comes, we won't have the skilled people necessary to meet demand.'
The HIA wants to allow new entrants to acquire the latest technical knowledge through specialised industry training courses while working on site.
Formal qualifications and trade licences could then be issued on the basis of skills assessments based on knowledge and competence.
'Such a pathway would be cost-effective and provide the necessary incentives for new entrants and employers,' says Lamont. 'Importantly, it would deliver the skills our industry needs in a manner in which industry wants them acquired.'
Regional areas of Victoria, Queensland and South Australia are suffering the biggest impact of the skills shortage.
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