50,000 tradies needed for building boom

‘‘Auckland will grow by the equivalent of Whangarei every three years’’

New Zealand is going to need about 50,000 more tradies by 2021 to fuel its $200 billion building boom - with Auckland leading the charge.

A Government report into construction said about 50,000 more people will be needed in construction-related occupations in the next five years.

The trades that are expected to have the largest growth are electricians, plumbers, and civil engineers, Building and Housing Minister Nick Smith said.

The projections are off the back of the National Construction Pipeline Report 2016, which draws on 2013 Census data. The report, which provides six-year national and regional forecasts of residential, commercial and infrastructure activity, predicts the total value of building and construction work to top $200 billion.

It said construction has been growing at more than 20 per cent a year in Auckland for the past five years and is projected to reach an alltime high of 13,332 homes in 2017.

‘‘The scale of this growth is unprecedented and equates to Auckland growing by the equivalent of Whangarei every three years,’’ Smith said.

Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce said the Government is actively supporting the industry to train more skilled workers to meet the demand for new housing and construction.