Don’t be fooled by a dip in the construction boom. The long-term prospects for the construction trades have never been better, writes Philip Aldridge, Chief Executive of Waihanga Ara Rau, the Construction and Infrastructure Workforce Development Council.
It’s easy during times of recession to focus on the slowdown of activity in the building and construction industry. This year has seen a regular stream of bad news about construction project delays, cutbacks and workers leaving for Australia. It’s not hard to become pessimistic about the prospects of the industry.
For young New Zealanders considering their career options, this uncertainty may well be a deciding factor in choosing not to pursue opportunities in building and construction. But that would be a mistake.
Earlier this year, a summit called Future State was held in Auckland to explore how technology will transform work in the coming decades. One of the speakers was Professor Scott Galloway from New York University, a world‑renowned expert on how people will earn a living in the future. His view was the ultimate endorsement of the future for anyone in the building and construction industry.
The New Zealand Herald asked what he thinks a hot career choice would be today. His unequivocal answer? The trades.
His point was that, unlike those whose jobs could be taken by artificial intelligence and related technologies, people with practical skills like plumbing, electrical and building will not only have the lion’s share of future job opportunities, but they will also command increasingly big pay packets.
Although he was speaking about the United States, we know the long‑term outlook for the trades is just as strong here in New Zealand.
Over the next five years alone, we’ll need to build more than 122,000 homes to keep up with population growth. Beyond residential, we have a vast national pipeline of construction and infrastructure projects – from building new hospitals, transport connections, electrification (and associated new infrastructure for generation, networks, and technology), to increasing our resilience against extreme weather events. Plus, upgrades are needed for sustainability and retrofitting existing homes and buildings. What we don’t have is enough skilled people to get all this work done.
Waihanga Ara Rau, the Construction and Infrastructure Workforce Development Council, is the organisation tasked with growing the workforce we need to do this critical work. Since the organisation was established in 2021, it has helped large numbers of Kiwis enter the industry by listening to employers, and developing training and qualifications that deliver the skilled people they need.
As the bridge between the industry and training providers, Waihanga Ara Rau is uniquely positioned to tackle New Zealand’s looming shortage of skilled workers in building and construction. As the voice of people in construction and infrastructure, Waihanga Ara Rau wants to see career pathways and progression for current workforce and career changers.
What’s clear is that the current downturn is temporary. We’re urging the industry to be positive about the future, and young Kiwis and their parents to understand that a young person with a trade can look forward to a lifetime of high demand for their skills, and a huge range of lifelong career opportunities with strong earning potential.