Golden Age: Attitudes need work for building sector to shine on Gold Coast

A LOCAL builder is warning that while there is a great market on the Coast for tradies at the moment, there is a major issue holding the sector back.

THE future is looking bright for tradies with the right experience on the Gold Coast, according to builder Paul Harms.

But he warns apprenticeship training and apprentice attitudes have to improve.

The director of the Gold Coast-based construction company PJH has seen his decade-old company move from a high end renovation and custom build service into the beginnings of a successful development firm.

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Paul Harms and wife Nicki Galway say the future is bright for the building sector on the Gold Coast. Photo: Richard Gosling

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“The market has changed a bit for us, from where people would take anything, now you can pick and choose,” he said.

“I think it has steadied out. We are at a point where we are booked out for the rest of the year.

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“The work has gone to more high end, from 12-20 renovations a year to three to four new builds, which simplifies it for us and gives us more control,” he said.

The Burleigh business recently moved into developing its own properties.

“My argument is, there are people constantly moving here and there will always be tourists here, so I think it is a reasonably safe market going ahead,” he said.

“Interest rates are holding, housing prices do make it hard to get into the market, but I think it will keep kicking along.’’

Cranes at work on the Jewel development. Photo: Steve Holland

Mr Harms said despite the training available, he had seen a change in the quality of new apprentices as “the best tradies don’t always make the best teachers”.

“The are a lot of gaps in training. We see lots come in as god’s gift but after two weeks you find out they are not much chop,” he said.

But Mr Harm, who has put eight apprentices through since he began, said not all had disappointed.

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“I put it down to attitude,” he said.

When it came to challenges, Mr Harms said time management was one of the biggest problems for the industry, but the council had worked to tackle this from its end.

“I think the local government is doing all they can for the building industry. I am a bit of a fan of (Mayor) Tom Tate actually, I think he is going all right,” he said.

“(Development applications) come back pretty quickly, especially when they are to code,” Mr Harms said.

“I hear of other cities taking six months to turn anything around,” he said.