Demand for Construction Tradies and Professionals is on the Rise

As the industry prepares to deliver on HomeBuilder and manage a surge in activity on civil construction projects, tradespeople and professionals in construction are in huge demand.

Vacancies for electricians, have risen for eight consecutive months and currently stand at 1,958 – the highest number on record since late 2019. Vacancies for plumbers are at their highest levels since mid 2018, whilst those for painting trade workers stand at three-year highs.

On the professional side, vacancies for architects, construction managers and various categories of engineer are almost back to pre-COVID levels.

The data comes amid a boom in detached home building along with resurgent activity levels in civil construction. For builders, this has resulted in challenges in securing tradespeople such as concreters, bricklayers, carpenters and others.

Meanwhile activity continues to ramp up on civil construction thanks to a strong pipeline of road and rail projects.

Three factors that are driving the increase in demand are:

• First, the halt in international migration means that fewer workers from overseas are arriving on our shores
• Secondly, demand for workers in residential construction and on infrastructure projects is on the rise.
• Finally, many builders are playing catch up after long lockdowns. These builders still have the same pre-pandemic contract dates that need to be adhered to and need workers to ensure those deadlines are met.