Putting numbers on construction’s needs
Work is under way to get a better picture of the number of construction and infrastructure workers needed over the next 15 years.
The project will forecast workforce demand and cover residential and commercial construction as well as civil infrastructure like roading, water, hospitals and schools.
‘‘With infrastructure being an integral part of our post-Covid recovery this is an important project,’’ Greg Durkin, the Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation’s (BCITO) interim chief executive, said. ‘‘The brief is to determine the workforce needs of the entire construction sector, not just the people ‘on the tools’.
‘‘We’ll be looking at all aspects of the construction workforce, and the skills required from the drawing board to the building site including architects, environmental consultants, planners, engineers and surveyors.’’
Before Covid, construction consultant Rider Levett Bucknall was projecting a looming shortage of about 57,600 workers. And in September, a survey by recruiter Hays showed most construction companies were finding it easy to find entry level workers, and leading hands, forepeople, health and safety managers and site engineers were in reasonable supply.
But nearly 70 per cent of firms were finding it very difficult or hard to recruit senior managers, and at least half were having difficulty attracting project managers, construction managers, estimators, quantity surveyors, site managers and project engineers.
The new forecasting work being done by BCITO and other agencies builds on one done for Otago, which is enjoying a building boom.
More than 120 major construction projects are earmarked for the region, and the report found that between 1500 and 2500 extra workers would be needed at any point in time in the next five years.