More students are choosing to study construction-related qualifications than ever before, according to newly published education figures.
The positive data comes as the construction sector seeks to rebuild against a growing skills shortage, particularly among tradies and technicians.
For years, the government has been trying to encourage more people to choose a construction career in a bid to help with much-needed housing and infrastructure builds while replacing the growing number of industry retirees.
Fortunately, the next generation of skilled workers could soon be there to save the day—a record 300,000 students are currently enrolled in Vocational Education and Training programs related to the construction, property, or water industries.
Meanwhile, nearly half of those students (146,000) are studying a trade, while 76,500 already work as apprentices or trainees in the built environment sector.
New data tool tracks student participation
The optimistic numbers were released by the government’s workforce planning and VET training research body BuildSkills Australia, which has launched a new data monitoring tool to provide reliable insights on those seeking construction careers.
BuildSkills was established under the Federal Government’s $442 million Jobs and Skills Councils initiative and is tasked with creating a robust and skilled workforce across the construction, property and water industries.
Chief Executive Officer Brett Schimming says the new tool will provide up-to-date insights on student figures across all built-environment sectors, helping policymakers and industry organisations adjust and make recommendations accordingly.
“More than 1.52 million people get out of bed each morning and go to work in an occupation critical to the delivery and operation of Australia’s built environment,” he said.
“The dashboard will be regularly updated and includes data on the number of people employed in built environment occupations, as well as key indicators around apprenticeships and training.”
The tool can also be used to break down figures course by course. Nearly half of all students are learning a trade, while some are choosing a less hands-on future.
“Approximately 57,000 of these participants are studying carpentry, making it the most popular course and by a significant margin,” Mr Schimming said.
“The second most popular course is for aspiring real estate agents with more than 30,000 people enrolled in a Certificate IV in Real Estate Practice.”
“This makes a lot of sense; with Australia’s demand for housing continuing to increase, we’re seeing more and more people wanting to learn how to build and learn how to sell houses.”
Most popular courses among students:
- Carpentry – 57,000
- Real Estate – 30,000
- Civil construction plant operations – 23,000
- Building – 22,500
- Plumbing 21,500
Experts: stats hide the bigger picture
Despite the more positive outlook, industry insiders warn by the time many of these new tradies get on the tools, it could be too late.
Many major industry bodies, including Master Builders, Weld Australia and Engineers Australia, say that current projections for new workers fall short of the numbers needed to meet national housing and infrastructure targets.
Skilled worker numbers are already 90,000 behind demand and are expected to blow out an additional 50 per cent (131,000) by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, a review from the government-backed Infrastructure Australia agency in December found that trade and labourer shortages were growing at the fastest rate of any industry, saying it would remain high until at least 2025.
