Current at: 27 July 2010
The latest Housing Industry Association-Austral Bricks Trades Report highlights a persistent shortage of skilled tradespeople in the residential sector.
The HIA, the voice of Australia’s residential building industry, said the latest Trades Report, for the June 2010 quarter, confirmed widespread shortages of skilled labour.
HIA’s Chief Economist, Dr Harley Dale said that in the June 2010 quarter the HIA-Austral Bricks Trade Availability Index showed a shortage of skilled tradespeople in eight of thirteen skilled trades
.
“The structural shortage of skilled labour in the residential sector is an obstacle preventing an adequate supply of new homes. Addressing this shortage therefore forms a vital component to ensuring Australia’s critical housing shortage improves.”
“There are many areas requiring urgent attention, including reversing the growing rate of attrition of first year apprentices, currently at 33 per cent, and the overall high numbers who fail to complete an apprenticeship.”
“There is obviously a significant lead time involved with policies required to tackle the domestic challenges related to apprentices and training. It is therefore important that Australia’s skilled migration intake include a component specifically targeted at the residential sector, something the current system doesn’t achieve,” Harley Dale said.
“Trade rates, meanwhile, continue to rise although aggregate price pressures remain relatively modest,” Harley Dale said.
The HIA-Austral Bricks Trade Prices Index increased by 0.6 per cent in the June 2010 quarter.
“The Trade Prices Index was 3.2 per cent higher compared to the June 2009 quarter, with the latter period representing the cyclical trough for what was a very weak new home building environment,” Harley Dale added.
