Jobs for locals focus during coronavirus recovery as Government prepares to host construction roundtable

The race is on to ensure as many locals as possible benefit from big spending during Tasmania’s coronavirus recovery as the Government prepares to host a roundtable to help “map a skills plan” to deliver the state’s construction “blitz”.

THE race is on to ensure as many locals as possible benefit from big spending on construction and training during Tasmania’s coronavirus recovery.

The construction sector continues to haemorrhage workers as companies wait for a promised pipeline of public projects and for housing stimulus packages to translate into new home building.

Industry figures say that could leave Tasmania short of vital workers and skills once “big ticket” jobs come online.

On Wednesday the Government will host a roundtable with TasTAFE, unions and industry stakeholders to help “map a skills plan” to deliver the state’s construction “blitz”.

The recently formed Economic and Social Recovery Advisory Council is also due to release its initial report by Tuesday, and a stakeholder meeting in coming weeks will look at the broader skills and workforce measures needed to aid the recovery.

UP-SKILLING LOCALS

With more than 1500 jobs lost from the construction industry since COVID-19, Master Builders Tasmania executive officer Matthew Pollock said the construction boost would allow companies to re-employ displaced workers, as long as the jobs came online quickly enough in the regions that had been hardest hit.

Master Builder's chief executive Matt Pollock with builder's apprentices Joel Millhouse and Oscar Bresnehan. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

He said there were also great opportunities to capture workers lost from tourism or export-dependent sectors, particularly in regional areas, if training capacity could be ramped up.

Mr Pollock said “upskilling” as many locals as possible was essential to ensure that engineering and trades roles went to Tasmanians.

“In the past we have had to bring in skilled people from elsewhere and that will still be needed, but as much as possible we want to maximise jobs for Tasmanians,” Mr Pollock said.

He said extra government investment in TasTAFE’s trades and water centre at Clarence would boost plumber numbers, but more carpenters, brick layers, plasterers and painters were also needed.

Civil Contractors Federation vice-president Ashley Cooper said the industry was “losing capacity daily” and young tradespeople would be lost for good if work did not start flowing soon.

“History tells us that capacity lost over several weeks or months from the Tassie market can take years to recover,” Mr Cooper said.

‘BROAD’ SKILLS FOCUS

Workforce demographer Lisa Denny argued that training and skills policies that focused on workers’ needs, rather than just industry needs would help insure Tasmania against future shocks.

Lisa Denny. Picture: MATT THOMPSON

“Historically, industry has been reluctant to support training in broader skills and transferable skills for fear of losing staff … so workers’ job options narrow and don’t enable them to seek out other opportunities or career development,” Dr Denny said.

“In the case of external shocks or economic downturns, the government response is then to initiate a rapid response skills training package, and almost desperately try and find jobs for people or put them in training in the hope that they would find a job eventually.

“If skills training had been broader and also invested through the lens of the worker and the broader community, then the shock may not be so bad and workers may be able to transition to other roles in other industries if they had a more complete and complementary set of skills,” she said.

TRAINING FOR FUTURE

Tasmania’s business lobby is urging the State Government to get “more bang for its buck” by redirecting skills funding away from “sunset industries”.

Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Michael Bailey said Tasmania’s training sector needed tweaking so that subsidies were focused on areas of demand and growth.

“There is no lack of money for training or good intent, but we could be making the money work better,” Mr Bailey said.

“For example it may be better to put more money into aquaculture training than it is to put it into motor vehicle mechanical repair training.

“In dairy farming it’s no longer a matter of getting up at 4am to milk cows, it’s a matter of understanding robotics and computer programming. In mining we need people who are skilled in robotics, autonomous vehicles and GPS,” he said.

Huon Aquaculture executive director Frances Bender said her industry was “forever in a technology arms race”, which meant new roles and career opportunities were always being created.

Huon Aquaculture's Frances Bender. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

“At last count, we are supporting more than 110 staff to undertake professional development including VET sector training,” she said.

ONLINE DEMAND

TasTAFE chief executive Jenny Dodd said her organisation was already working closely with the construction industry to meet skills gaps, including in growth areas such as Global Navigation Satellite System training.

Jenny Dodd. Picture: ZAK SIMMONDS

Meanwhile, she said there had been more than 300 enrolments in the first round of short online “SKILL-UP” courses which begin tomorrow, designed to help people gain skills in areas such as health, business, ICT and tourism and hospitality.

“Demand for the Basic Computing Essentials course was particularly strong and to meet demand, TasTAFE [is] making a second course available for a July 20 start date,” Ms Dodd said.

“We have now also opened up applications for a second round of some other SKILL-UP courses, beginning in August.”

Visit www.tastafe.tas.edu.au /skill-up

Younger workers need role models

TASMANIA’S construction industry needs to focus more on peer mentoring to safeguard the future of the workforce and wider economy, two key industry players have warned.

Master Builders executive officer Matthew Pollock and Civil Contractors Federation vice president Ashley Cooper said mentoring would be crucial to the success of Tasmania’s construction-led coronavirus recovery.

“Tasmania has quite an ageing construction workforce and we need to focus not only on getting people into training, but also training outcomes,” Mr Pollock said.

He said Tasmania had “dreadful completion rates” of apprenticeships and younger workers needed greater support and guidance from their more experienced peers.

“A career in construction is rewarding but it’s not easy,” Mr Pollock said.

“It’s early mornings and, particularly with civil construction it can involve a lot of regional work.

“The more we can do to connect the experienced people with up-and-comers, the better.”

Mr Cooper urged the industry and Government to provide incentives for older, potentially retired or semi-retired, workers to take on a mentoring role to ensure the industry had adequate skills to carry out the planned influx of construction work.

Mitch Direen is the site manager for Fairbrother, overseeing construction of a community housing development on Goulburn St, Hobart.

He has four apprentices on site, including third-year Joel Millhouse and first-year Oscar Bresnehan.

He said career opportunities within big companies were many and varied, “whether you want to stay on the tools or step up into project management”.

Mr Cooper welcomed this week’s planned skills roundtable, but highlighted the challenge construction businesses faced in funding staff training during the current downturn.