Transcript A skilled construction workforce

Creating a skilled construction
workforce to rebuild Christchurch
The role of labour and skills in
Canterbury’s recovery
• Unprecedented impacts require a concerted
focus on rebuilding and developing Canterbury
• Construction workers will be needed at the right
time with the right skills
• Canterbury Employment and Skills Board is
working to CERA to coordinate and align effort to
ensure we have an appropriately skilled
workforce
• We need to work together with employers to
ensure that our efforts are well aligned
Skilled labour will need to come from a
number of sources
Existing
workers
Immigration
Employment
& skills for
construction
Labour
market
programmes
(e.g. Work &
Income)
Education
and training
The rebuild will require a substantial
increase in the construction workforce
• Workforce projections indicate around 30,000
extra workers for the peak over and above the
existing workforce
• Six occupations comprise almost 45% of this
number
• Actual numbers may vary depending on the
pace and scale of the rebuild, BUT
• We need to gear up for a substantial increase
in the construction workforce now
Six construction occupations will need
to be grown substantially
6000
5000
Shortage
4000
3000
5365
2000
2242
1000
1995
1716
1178
906
0
Carpenters and Joiners
Painting Trades
Workers
Concreters
Plasterers
Trade
Bricklayers and
Stonemasons
Wall and Floor Tilers
The role of the labour market
• The construction industry has attracted many
workers from similar industries and outside the
labour market during previous building booms
• Fewer additions have come from education and
training and people moving off benefit
• The Construction Industry has under utilised
capacity at present
• HOWEVER the rebuild of Christchurch will create
unprecedented demand for new workers
Responses to date
The Government has put in place extra funding to
meet the expected demand for skilled workers:
A $42 million Skills for Canterbury package to
fund extra trade training places
$5 million extra support through Work and
Income for supporting people into work
A combined skills shortage list has been
developed for Canterbury currently focussed on
skilled occupations
Where might extra workers come
from?
Occupational group
Qualification and/or experience
requirement
Possible sources of supply
Labourers
Work experience, some qualifications
ALMPs, some tertiary education
including industry training
Trades workers
Level 3 or 4 certificate, some diplomas
Polytechnics, industry training, some
immigration
Skilled workers/professionals
Degree, some diplomas
University, polytechnics and
immigration
Other (non construction specific
occupations such as management)
As above
No specific training requirements
expected for this group
Summary of the supply initiatives Govt
has leverage with
Supply area
Canterbury annual net
contribution
Rest of New Zealand
Total possible supply
Education and training
800
14,500
15,300
ALMPs
660 (plus up to 250 in
construction related training)
5,080
5,740
Immigration
230
2,200
2,430
TOTALS
1,690
21,780
23,470
What this all means …
• Most of the workers needed for construction in
Christchurch are already in the labour market
• Education and training initiatives, Labour Market
programmes and Immigration are all set to help – but
their combined effort will not provide all the workers
needed
• Govt has a clear priority to train and employ New
Zealanders first
• Good employer practices is needed to recruit and
retain a skilled construction workforce
• We need to work closely together to ensure that
employers can attract and retain the workers they need
Some caveats
• The total numbers of construction workers
needed may vary depending on the speed and
extent of the rebuild and repair task
• There may be leakage of skilled workers from
Canterbury & rest of NZ due to outmigration
and/or other labour market opportunities
• The ability to attract workers to Canterbury from
the rest of NZ and offshore will depend on issues
such as accommodation and the extent of further
seismic activity
Next steps
• Information and assistance is available for firms
wanting to recruit or train workers for
construction
• Please take this information and key messages to
your firms and supply chains
• We need further information about employers’
recruitment intentions and the skills they need
for their workforce
• Please indicate how you would like to be kept in
touch
Education and Training initiatives
• Provision for up to 20,000 full time equivalent
training places nationally
• Work and Income can provide pre-employment
training
• Polytechnics and private trainers focus primarily
on off-the-job training
• Industry training focus is on-the-job (via a
consortium of Built Environment ITOs)
• Universities focus on construction related
professionals such as surveying and engineering
Active Labour Market Programmes
• Work and Income can assist employers in a
number of ways including:
– Industry partnerships which can provide training
and wage subsidies
– 3 new programmes just for Canterbury
– Youth specific programmes
– Enterprise training for those starting businesses
– Limited service volunteers run out of Burnham
– Assistance for redundant workers
Immigration
• New skill shortage list for Canterbury
• Skilled migrant programme for permanent
residence
• Temporary work permits for occupations on
the Immigration Essential Skills in Demand
lists
• Accredited employer programme
• Assistance with trade fairs and promotion for
offshore markets
Sources of information and key
contacts
•
•
•
•
Education and training
Labour market programmes
Immigration
CESB Web Site etc