Construction skills are in demand 

Whether white- or blue-collar careers, high finance or skilled trades, property employs more Australians than any other industry. So, what skills are in demand in 2018? We check in with recruitment specialist Hays.

“It’s a good time to have construction skills,” says Austin Blackburne, regional director and Hays construction recruitment specialist.

Blackburne says a “perfect storm” is brewing, stirred up by the infrastructure investment boom across the country.

In Sydney, around $4.8 billion worth of projects are under construction in the CBD alone, according to CoreLogic. Across the border in Victoria, state treasurer Tim Pallas has said the construction boom, one not seen since the 1960s and 1970s, is driving a tight labour market.

“It’s undoubtedly getting harder to find workers. I’ve never seen it this short of candidates,” Blackburne comments.

In January, the Property Council released data compiled by AEC Group which revealed 1.4 million Australians draw their wages from the property industry – and that this is growing at a rate of 22 per cent each year.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics backs this up with its latest labour force data, which finds an extra 115,700 construction jobs were created in the last two years alone – an 11 per cent increase.

And the federal government’s employment predictions suggest the jobs boom will continue – growing by 120,700 people or 10.9 per cent in the five years to 2022.

So, where are the skills gaps?

“We can’t find project managers for love or money. Catalytic infrastructure and commercial tier one and two projects are dangerously short of candidates,” Blackburne says.

Demand for project managers with commercial building experience on projects between $-100 million is “sky high”.

With no slowdown in the number of large tier one and two projects on the horizon, site supervisors and forepersons with structures experience are in short supply yet high demand.

While the construction boom is “to a large degree a Sydney and Melbourne story”, Blackburne says most other markets are healthy. The ACT is “picking up” and the Gold Coast is “going off”, although WA is still suffering and the Brisbane apartment market has slowed.

In general, it’s good news for anyone looking for work in the construction sector.

“It was once the case that each market was isolated, and companies would only look for candidates from their own state. Now the east coast is considering WA candidates and all states are looking as far afield as the United Kingdom in desperation as some roles, particularly contract administrators, are near impossible to find.”

Blackburne says any cooling in the housing market is not being felt in recruitment circles. “There is still a lot of work in the pipeline.”

And with the NBN still being rolled out, “we are seeing a spike in demand for electrical trades too”.

“The next three to four years will be an infrastructure story, particularly around rail. Melbourne Metro, at its peak, will put on another 5,000 workers.

“If you are looking to get into the industry, now is the time to do it.”