With a record 27,600 construction businesses and around 90,000 current employees in the industry, the South Australian Construction Workforce Plan identifies three areas of focus to meet the long-term workforce requirements for the industry:
- Supporting tailored construction industry pathways, with opportunities identified across the spectrum of secondary schooling, vocational education and training, and university.
- Addressing barriers that prevent specific cohorts from entering and staying in the construction workforce, with opportunities identified for supporting women, Aboriginal people and skilled migrants – as well as the trainer workforce, which is critical for the uplift in education and training activity.
- Enabling innovation in the sector, to support increases in productivity and reduce workforce pressure, with opportunities identified related to modern methods of construction.
The construction industry has experienced significant growth over the last 10 years, which has outpaced economic projections.
A projected 20,000 skilled workers will be required over the next 5 years to deliver the major projects such as the Torrens to Darlington, Osborne Precinct expansion, Northern Water Supply, new Women’s and Children’s Hospital and to increase housing construction.
The biggest demand will be for construction and electrical trades – electricians, carpenters and joiners, plumbers, painting trades workers, bricklayers and stonemasons, wall and floor tilers, and plasterers – and construction managers, and roles that require high level vocational education and training (VET) or university qualifications, such as architectural, building, and surveying technicians.
The Office for the Industry Advocate will design and implement an approach through the industry participation policy to drive employment outcomes for women over the life of the plan.
The Construction Workforce Plan complements the recently released Construction Industry Training Board’s 3-year Training Plan, and has been developed in close consultation with industry, unions, education and training providers and state government agencies, building on existing government and industry investment.
