Huge roads labour pain on horizon
Neglect of skills training is forecast to cause serious shortfalls, says Carol Brown
THE Liberals have spent years announcing and reannouncing infrastructure projects and kicking them down the road.
While Tasmania is stuck in traffic, they talk the talk but never deliver. A report from Infrastructure Australia now alerts us to another looming crisis due to neglect by the Morrison government.
For nearly a decade they have ignored infrastructure skills training. There are 115,000 fewer trainees and apprentices now than in September 2013.
They have ignored the concerns of the construction industry and ripped $3 billion out from the TAFE sector. Their track record is terrible.
The report ringing the alarm bell is Infrastructure Australia’s report on infrastructure market capacity.
This will be severe for the projects we have been waiting for under the Liberals because the trained workers just will not be there.
Neglecting the skills sector is one of the biggest risks to our future infrastructure development and Tasmania is projected to be one of the most affected states. It will impact jobs, spending, traffic congestion and our entire recovery out of the pandemic.
The report analysing this skilled workforce cliff points out that transport will be one of the worst affected. Major road projects account for 41 per cent of labour demand over the next five years, in which time $4 out of $5 infrastructure dollars are allocated to transport nationally. Transport and roads are the focus of almost all of Tasmania’s vital infrastructure projects.
The report states quite clearly Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania will experience the greatest risk of shortage. At points between 2021- 2025, all three will require a workforce that is about twice the size of projected supply available within their borders.
Tasmania’s project commitments require twice as many full-time equivalent jobs by 2022 than exist. The shortages will be in project management, engineers, scientists and architects, finishing trades labour and trades and labour.
The report outlined that in order to meet demand for these projects, it would require annual growth of 25 per cent over the next two years, which is more than eight times higher than the projected annual growth rate of 3.3 per cent.
The report calls: COLLABORATION between the training sector and industry to improve workforce sustainability and align training with industry needs
DESIGNING interventions across an industry and/or region
BUILDING the capacity of industry and training organisations to more systematically plan and manage skill development to avoid skill shortages.
These have all been areas of neglect.
Training workers for these jobs is vital and urgent. The labour shortages outlined need to be addressed, not kicked down the road. These workforce shortages will lead to more delays and less investment in the communities that need it. And, as the report states, Tasmania will feel it worse than most states.
For Mr Morrison every problem is someone else’s fault. Every crisis is someone else’s responsibility. When he’s called out on his failures, his response is always the same: “It’s not my job, mate.” He never shows leadership, just more spin.
Albanese’s Labor will tackle these issues head on. Labor believes in developing the skills and capacity of workers. If elected, Labor will fund and deliver its Future Made in Australia plan that includes creation of an independent body, Jobs and Skills Australia, to bring together business, states and territories, unions, education providers and regional groups to match skills training with industry.