A peak Australian construction body has questioned the federal government’s focus after it released a draft list of the type of workers it hopes to attract internationally.
The Jobs and Skills Australia draft places yoga instructors and dog handlers under the “need” category, above trades such as bricklaying and plumbing, which are “under consideration.”
This is despite Australia enduring extensive building and labour shortages. Further in August last year, the Albanese government pledged to oversee the construction of 1.2 million new homes within five years.
Other professions listed as needed include television journalists, university lecturers, medical professionals, and instructors in the Chinese martial art of wushu.
Professions on the “confident off” list, or those considered to be least in need of migrant labour, include livestock farmers, vegetable and sugar cane growers, as well as university tutors and those teaching non-English speakers.
The “targeted for consultation” list of professions that could still go either way, includes bricklayers, stonemasons, tilers and plumbers, as well as numerous agricultural roles, urologists, general surgeons, and aeroplane pilots.
Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn held a media conference in Canberra on June 4 expressing concern about the list.
“It is critically important that skilled migration for construction is prioritised by this federal government,” she said.
“We know that we need 500,000 extra people into our sector over the next three years, if we’re going to build those 1.2 million homes, and the infrastructure around it. Skilled migration will be part of the solution.
“So we are incredibly perplexed as to why most of the trades that we need to build 1.2 million homes are not on the definite list for skilled migration.”
Labour shortages across the industry have been a contributing factor in building costs skyrocketing by as much as 40 percent since 2019.
Ms. Wawn said the government needed to focus on skilled migration in the sector, as well as incentives for more women to take up trades.
“We’ve had a problem in this country that is decades in the making,” she said. “Since the 1980s we have focused on tertiary education at the expense of vocational education and training.”
“People going through a trade are treated as second class citizens in this country. Enough is enough.”
Jobs and Skills Australia is still finalising the list.
The federal government approved 10,540 visas for tradespeople in the 2022/23 financial year.
The Australian Department of Immigration states that skilled migrants make a significant contribution to the economy, fill positions where no one else is available, and help to create jobs through economic growth.
Federal Minister for Housing Julie Collins was contacted for comment.
