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Master Builders Australia supports measures to diversify the education opportunity mix for young Australians to encourage more people into trades.
It will be important for this initiative to complement existing school-based and other VET pathways.
An elected Coalition Government has committed to building a new national network of Australian Technical Colleges.
These colleges are specialist skills schools for years 10-12 who will be enrolled in school-based apprenticeships or traineeships as well as academic and business courses that lead to a Year 12 certificate.
Master Builders Australia has long called for measures to encourage more school-aged students to pick up the tools, including through school-based apprenticeships, to help dispel some of the cultural barriers between university and vocational education.
Attributable to Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn:
“Technical colleges play an important part of the skills education mix and support students in learning the necessary skills to start a career in building and construction, while not giving up the opportunity to attain the high school certificate.
“Australia’s building and construction industry faces the enormous task of delivering the homes, infrastructure, and services needed to meet the demands of a growing population. Labour shortages remain the biggest handbrake on this ambition.
“Over the next five years, the industry will require more than 500,000 new entrants to replace those retiring and to expand its workforce sufficiently to meet future housing and infrastructure needs.
“Every extra apprentice gets us closer to meeting our workforce and housing goals.
“There is a real problem where too many kids are being encouraged into university over vocational education, and of those that do start a trade, around 50 per cent don’t complete their training.
“That’s not good enough—not for industry, not for young people, and certainly not for Australia’s housing future and economy.
“Fixing the housing crisis starts with people. It’s time for governments, industry, schools, and communities to work together to ensure we can support the next generation of builders and tradies to pick up the tools and help build more homes for Aussies.
“While the industry supports efforts to re-introduce an Australian Technical College model, this must not be at the expense of other measures like free VET.”
Media contact: Dee Zegarac, National Director, Media & Public Affairs
0400 493 071 | dee.zegarac@masterbuilders.com.au