Master Builders Australia has renewed calls for the federal government to draw in skilled migrant workers into the construction industry.
With the launch of the group’s latest Future of the Workforce: Skilled Migrants in Building and Construction report, MBA is betting big on migration to plug up the 500,000 tradie hole needed to hit Labor’s 1.2 million home building target over the next five years.
Labelling the current migration framework as “broken”, the report calls on Albanese to grease the system’s administrative wheels by adopting a simpler visa system complete with lower costs and faster processing times so tradies can “get out on the tools, working in a role for which they are appropriately qualified.”
These changes would also include the creation of a dedicated building and construction visa program that prioritises jobs hit hardest by the worker shortage hammer.
The MBA said these updates are the “only way Australia will meet its building and infrastructure targets and boost its workforce.”
MBA chief executive Denita Wawn said that this influx of skilled migrants would play a vital part in “building the homes, infrastructure, schools and hospitals communities are crying out for”.
“Australia faces a significant housing crisis with an undersupply of homes and increasing demand for owner-occupiers, renters and social and crisis accommodation,” she said.
The peak builders’ lobby group also said the government should mandate that all trade and trade-related jobs be included in the proposed four-year Skills in Demand visa after a lot of in-demand occupations were overlooked in a draft list earlier this year.
English language standards for skills assessments would also be reduced to 4.5 or 5.0 for migrant workers in non-licensed trades in the hopes of lowering the assessment barrier for skilled migrants coming from countries with similar qualification and training frameworks as Australia.
Ms Wawn said it was clear that the nation’s ability to “train more apprentices domestically cannot keep up with demand”.
“Just like Canada, the UK and New Zealand, Australia needs construction-specific pathways for appropriately skilled migrant workers to ensure quality applicants and the prioritisation of trades workers and occupations that are in significant shortage domestically,” she said.
“Skilled migrants who are qualified and ready to go will help plug the gap in the short term. The workforce must be supported to grow in line with demand and be more productive.”
Aussie workers can’t keep up
The Reserve Bank added fuel to the MBA’s fire earlier this week when they revealed experts expected the ongoing labour shortages and rising construction costs to slow down home building for the foreseeable future.
“Labour shortages for certain trades, particularly finishing trades for higher-density construction, are contributing to new dwelling cost inflation and limiting progress in reducing the backlog of work to be done,” it said.
Adding in the decline in apprentices entering into the construction industry in 2023 (116,660) when compared to 2022 (118,615), it’s becoming more and more clear that something needs to change if the government hopes to get construction targets over the line.
“Until the number of people completing building and construction apprenticeships increases significantly, the industry must look to skilled migrants as a valuable and important source of workers to fill short- and medium-term needs,” the report found.
