What does the future hold for the construction industry?

Are you crazy for considering a career in construction?

If you’ve been listening to media reports of late, it all appears to be doom and gloom for the construction industry. Rising costs and supply chain issues are still plaguing many and of course, we’ve all seen a number of residential builders be declared insolvent.

Why would anyone be considering a career in construction when the situation seems so unstable and untenable?

Well, the fact is that these stories only make up a very small proportion of the industry. It’s still one of the largest industries in the country. The outlook points to the opposite of doom and gloom – it’s actually stability and growth.

Property and construction advisory firm Slattery published a National Market Update in August 2023. Their on-the-ground research confirmed that the construction market is as resilient as it has always been. CEO Sarah Slattery stated, “While economic indicators suggest a bumpy ride, Australia’s construction industry remains resilient. Projects are progressing and new avenues of opportunity – whether that’s world-class infrastructure, revolutionary retrofits or low-carbon construction – are ahead.”

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“While economic indicators suggest a bumpy ride, Australia’s construction industry remains resilient. Projects are progressing and new avenues of opportunity – whether that’s world-class infrastructure, revolutionary retrofits or low-carbon construction – are ahead.” –  CEO Sarah Slattery

Slattery’s view is backed up by Kennards Hire’s Construction Confidence Check 2023 report. For the second year running they surveyed over 500 of the construction industry’s business leaders. “According to the survey, the majority (83%) of construction business leaders surveyed view the industry as ‘stable’ and able to withstand pressures to continue growing. At the C-suite level, this number increases with almost 9 in 10 (87%) agreeing that the industry is ‘stable’.”[i]

However, a significant factor hindering construction industry growth is labour supply. Arcadis is a building, engineering and consultancy firm that produces an assessment of the industry each year. In April, Matthew Mackey, Executive Director of the Cost and Commercial division of Arcadis wrote, “As of October 2022, public infrastructure projects faced a shortage of 214,000 skilled workers – this is set to become more acute as labour demand is projected to increase by 42,000 to a peak of 442,000 in 2023. The skilled labour gap isn’t shrinking. If anything, it’s getting larger.”

So, what does this mean for you?

This means there’s never been a better time to enter the construction industry. The industry will require skilled trades people, builders and project managers to meet demand. By obtaining a construction qualification you’ll be entering a workforce that provides job stability and security, and offers diversity and flexibility. Positions that are already well paying are also likely to increase in value while there is a shortage.

The Certificate IV in Building and Construction (Building) is a common and popular pathway to many roles in the industry. Many of our students start with the Certificate IV and then do other courses that lead to them becoming site managers, estimators and even registered builders.

The course is a combination of theoretical and practical units that include learning how to:

  • Apply building codes and standards to the construction process for low rise building projects
  • Manage occupational health and safety in the building and construction workplace
  • Produce labour and material scheduling for ordering
  • Plan building and construction work
  • Apply legal requirements to building and construction projects

The qualification is also designed to work around your existing schedule. We have many students with full time careers like our AFL cohort, who are able to gain their construction qualifications while working.

So whether you’re fresh out of school, or looking for a career change, you can’t go wrong with a qualification in construction.

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