Australia's Housing Crisis Prompts Government to Cover Education Costs, Aiming to Boost Construction Workforce
Amid Australia's housing crisis, the government is addressing the shortage of skilled construction workers by covering educational costs. They also plan to recruit migrants to bolster the workforce in this sector.
(Photo : Unsplash/ Brett Jordan )
Addressing the Housing Crisis in Australia
As of February, the vacancy rate in Australia reached a new all-time low, and there are continued concerns regarding a supply shortage. Jim Chalmers, the government's treasurer, insisted that housing would be a priority even though there was less than a week before the budget's introduction. As mentioned, roughly $90 million will be included in the following week's budget to fund the educational expenses of 20,000 individuals. The government reportedly hopes this will help a sector needing additional personnel.
Moreover, the labor government's pre-existing fee-free TAFE (Technical and Further Education) program, which has already facilitated over 355,000 placements, will serve as the cornerstone for the newly proposed funding package. This comprehensive initiative reportedly allocates $62.4 million to support 15,000 fee-free TAFE and VET (Vocational Education and Training) placements, focusing on disciplines pertinent to the construction sector.
To address the current housing problem in Australia, the federal government is looking for tens of thousands of workers to assist in the construction of new dwellings. Accordingly, proper pre-apprenticeship training programs, described as introductory courses that welcome interested job seekers to the trades, will receive approximately $26.4 million.
The expediting of skills evaluations for prospective migrants, who may have obtained pertinent credentials abroad, will also receive an allocation of $1.8 million. As per Master Builders Australia, the new trades joining the construction sector cause concern among industry leaders. However, the organization hopes that the government budget will provide more support, including for small enterprises that are especially vulnerable to failure in a challenging economic environment.
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Australia Seeks Help Overseas
BuildSkills Australia estimates that 90,000 extra construction workers would be needed for the government to reach its goal of constructing 1.2 million new homes by the year 2029. Even though new housing units were being built at an average of 43,000 per quarter, according to BuildSkills Australia's Robert Sobyra, to meet the government's target, 60,000 would need to be built beginning in the first quarter of the new fiscal year.
However, given the current state of affairs, Denita Wawn, the head of Master Builders Australia, stated that those numbers were not attainable. Built Skills Australia, an industry-owned organization established by the federal government to collaborate with companies in addressing workforce difficulties within the construction sector, is where Sobyra serves as executive director of research and planning.
He stated that the make-up of the migration profile, rather than the sheer number of migrants arriving in Australia, is the primary concern that must be addressed to provide better support to the building industry. The reduction of difficulties in the visa procedure and the prioritization of the essential workers are all topics currently being discussed in real-time, as stated by Sobyra, given the new national migration tactics.
Minister of Housing Julie Collins said they actively seek alternatives to achieve the projected 1.2 million homes. She mentioned expanding fee-free TAFE to increase apprenticeship enrollment, which shows its dedication to housing issues by training qualified personnel.
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