The national skills shortage has been deemed the challenge of the decade for the building industry. The increased demand for new homes and renovations, combined with an ageing workforce and restricted migration, have compounded the issue.

One approach to tackling the shortage is by recruiting apprentices one at a time. While this is a tried and tested method of successfully skilling people to work in the industry, it’s a long-term process that takes three to four years and is impacted by inconsistent completion rates. 

But do we have other viable alternatives?

Toni Bull, HIA Executive Director – Gold Coast and Northern Rivers, is passionate about training opportunities in the building industry. For the past two years, HIA in conjunction with Construction Skills Queensland (CSQ), has been offering a Trade Ready Program that seeks to improve the employability of young people and to support them to not only begin a career into the industry, but stay the course.

‘We include financial literacy, goal setting, mental health, fitness and nutrition,’ Toni explains. ‘We discuss onsite safety, working at heights and have participants attend an asbestos and silica awareness workshop. They learn practical skills, such as calculation and first aid, and then complete 120 hours of structured workplace learning.’

Toni says that the six-week program has been very successful, with about 80 per cent of Queensland participants offered employment upon completion, while others have gone onto further training. ‘The ultimate aim is to get our students into an apprenticeship, a traineeship or further education.’

HIA, as a registered Group Training Organisation (GTO), operates the HIA Apprentices program across the country and has a long history of providing career pathways into the industry. When the Association’s long-term partner, Stratco – one of the largest producers and marketers of quality building products in Australia – was looking for a solution to trade shortages, HIA seemed like a natural collaborator. 

‘We discuss onsite safety, working at heights and have participants attend an asbestos and silica awareness workshop' 

Toni Bull, HIA Executive Director – Gold Coast

Michael Horne, Stratco Manufactured Product Manager QLD, was excited to see what the two could achieve together. ‘We wanted to do something to help people to get into the industry, and when the shortage of skilled trades became so pronounced, it felt more important than ever,’ Michael explains. ‘Toni had some great ideas and solutions we could explore.’ 

Incorporating the successful Trade Ready Program was a no-brainer for Toni, who worked to expand its scope into a comprehensive cadetship that would propel young hopefuls into a career in the industry and gain the qualification of a Sheds, Carports and Garage License at the same time. Upon completion of Trade Ready, cadets would spend a year studying units of competency (delivered by HIA and TAFE) while being employed by Stratco Authorised Dealers / Builders and obtaining hands-on work experience.

‘In Queensland, if you complete 18 units of competency plus hands-on learning it gives you a restricted licence that allows you to install sheds, carports and garages,’ Toni explains. ‘Participants are required to complete a business management course after the 12-month course and HIA will assist the students with their QBCC licensing application as well. There were quite a number of boxes to tick but we got there.’

Michael says it was important to Stratco that the program offered a fully licensed outcome and access to skilled workers for their dealers outside the structure and timeframes of a typical apprenticeship. Currently, there are nine recruits completing their workplace training who have now progressed into the formalised cadetship.  

‘The Stratco management team were also happy to provide mentorship to the recruits,’ Michael adds. ‘We offered our contact details if they needed anything, even just a chat – it didn’t have to be about work. It’s great to be able to help the next generation.’

The program however isn’t just aimed at school leavers. Finn Manhire, 22, worked in hospitality at a Gold Coast casino for a number of years but was keen on starting a trade. He found it next to impossible to obtain one. ‘I didn’t have a dad, a friend or anybody in a trade I could lean on, so it made it hard to get a start,’ he says. ‘I didn't want to get to the age of 27 or older and have no real skills. It was a huge worry for me.’

After applying for as many trade roles as possible, Finn was referred to the HIA website and reached out to Toni, who recommended he join the cadetship program. 

‘Everyone on the program already had a Stratco dealer that they were aligned with, but Toni went out on a limb for me. With some help from Michael at Stratco, they got me an interview with a Stratco Dealer – Adaptit Group in Brisbane,’ Finn says. ‘I knew it was quite a way to travel, but I was willing to go anywhere for a chance.’

‘Once I complete the HIA-Stratco Cadetship Program, I’ll then continue to a full carpentry apprenticeship' 

Finn Manhire, 22

Finn says he was thrilled to receive a job offer. ‘Once I complete the HIA-Stratco Cadetship Program, I’ll then continue to a full carpentry apprenticeship. I have wanted this for so long and never felt like there was a clear path to achieving it. But this program has been life-changing – I am over the moon!' 

Toni describes Finn as incredibly hardworking and dedicated, something many young people are, but often don’t get the chance to prove until they are given the opportunity. She says it’s a big motivator for her work on behalf of the industry. 

‘Somebody asked me what is my “why”, and for me, it’s people’s journeys and progression,’ Toni explains. ‘I want to support them through the program and see them achieve their potential.’ 

Since the cadetship initiative between HIA and Stratco is proving to be a winning formula, Toni and Michael are already looking for next year’s candidates plus expanding it beyond Queensland to other regions, such as NSW and ACT. 

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