Master Builders Australia boss’ call for more female tradies amid housing crisis

A construction boss says the failure to attract female tradies into the workforce is hampering Australia’s ability to build enough homes.

Labour pressures and a failure to attract female builders, carpenters and electricians is hampering Australia’s ability to build enough homes, as the country grapples with the soaring cost of renting and housing.

Master Builders Australia’s chief executive Denita Wawn said the industry needed to attract “all the potential workforce,” and not just men wanting to enter trades.

“We historically have only attracted 50 per of the population – males – a such we need to be more focused on female participation,” Ms Wawn told the senate cost of living select committee on Monday.

Master Builders Australia says the industry had to attract ‘all the potential workforce,’ including women. Picture: iStock

Ms Wawn, who helms Australia’s peak industry body for building and construction, said apprentices and host employers also required more support including using subsidies throughout the duration of an apprenticeship, and not just the first year of the course, plus more flexibility in the four-year apprenticeship model.

“We have stuck to effectively our four-year apprenticeship model for many of our apprentices over a large period of time,” she said.

“While we should not move away from that, per se, there should be alternatives and we should be looking at skill sets. For example, if you just want to do form work, then why can’t you do say a two year training (course) rather than a full carpentry apprenticeship over four years.”

Speaking to the committee in Gladstone in regional Queensland, Ms Wawn said increasing housing supply was key to reducing the cost of housing and rent, however, this also meant the cost of construction needed to lowered.

“Addressing the inadequate supply of housing is paramount and it requires concerted efforts to reduce the cost and time it takes to build new homes,” she said.

Compared to pre-pandemic figures, Ms Wawn said the overall cost of building materials had increased by more than 33 per cent, while the cost of building a new home had risen by 40 per cent.

Ms Wawn said increasing housing supply was key to reducing the cost of housing and rent – a key cost-of-living issue. Picture: iStock

While the cost of building materials had decreased, labour shortages were still a “pressing concern.” She said this needed to be addressed with more policy initiatives, like streamlining migration pathways for skilled workers, and a “greater focus on vocational education”.

“It for too many decades has been considered subpar in comparison to a university career and we strongly disagree with that notion,” Ms Wawn told the inquiry.

“We need to work collectively with our governments to ensure that an apprenticeship is a fantastic opportunity for people in terms of their career progressions, and there was some phenomenally good stories about opportunities for anyone that starts an apprenticeship, and I’d like to see more schools to be promoting apprenticeships, as opposed to giving precedence over universities.”

The Select Committee on the Cost of Living was established in September 2022 to report on how the cost of living pressures have affected Australians, and what fiscal policies can be implemented to ease pressures.

It will travel to Canberra for its next hearing on March 1.

Originally published as Master Builders Australia boss’ call for more female tradies amid housing crisis