Master Builders Australia has been invited to attend the Federal Government’s Jobs and Skills Summit this week at Parliament House. The Summit will bring together key stakeholders including unions, employers, communities and governments to address shared economic challenges. 

The Summit is a precursor for the development of an Employment White Paper. The Summit and White Paper will focus on: productivity; increasing wages; job security; employment opportunities; skills shortages; migration; climate jobs; closing the gender divide; and vocational education and training (VET). 

Master Builders estimates the building and construction industry will need 477,000 workers to enter the industry in the next four and a half years to meet forecast growth and replacement. 200,000 of these workers will be in the trades, with current apprentice completion rates below 60 per cent, around 350,000 apprentices will need to commence to attain 200,000 completions.

Master Builders has four key policy priorities for jobs and skills in 2022-23 and beyond

• Establish a Building and Construction Industry Cluster: to lead workforce planning and training development
• Clarify and address current and future workforce needs: so the industry can attract, train and retain workers
• Improve workforce mobility: so workers can undertake comparable work anywhere in Australia
• Improve transparency in VET funding and governance: to incentivise quality and improve value for money