“The HIA Trades Availability Index indicates that demand for construction trades eased during the September 2018 quarter, but they remain in short supply,” said Geordan Murray, Acting Principal Economist.
The HIA Trades Report provides a quarterly review of the availability of skilled trades and any demand pressures on trades operating in the residential building industry. Building activity has eased across the east coast over the past year and as a result,the shortage of trades has also improved,” added Mr Murray.“Building trades remain in short supply in every city, except Perth.
“The most critical trade shortage was in Sydney, followed by Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane. Looking to individual trades, ‘bricklaying’ remains the trade with the greatest skills shortage.
“While availability of bricklaying trade workers improved in the quarter, demand for trades has exceeded supply for 21 consecutive quarters which indicates a structural shortage of workers in this vocation. Bricklaying is a part of almost every new home built in Australia. The HIA Availability Index continues to record shortages of bricklayers and we know that the age profile of workers in this occupation is getting older. It is time to ensure that the trade training system has the capacity to train enough workers to meet the needs of the industry,” concluded Geordan Murray.
Originally published by the Housing Industry Association