Construction labour shortages represent a significant challenge in many cases. Indeed, the skilled labour shortage in Australia’s construction industry is something that’s only getting more pronounced with time.
However, businesses can implement several potential solutions to overcome these challenges, including offering more attractive job opportunities for labourers, investing in education and training for new entrants to the industry, and encouraging diversity within the workplace.
And in the meantime, bridging the labour gap with support from a specialist labour-hire agency can be an excellent solution to fill labour shortages or absenteeism.
The Scale of the Problem with Construction Labour Shortages
The construction industry is one of the largest employers within Australia by percentage compared to many other industries. However, despite the scale of the industry, it’s become apparent over the years that finding skilled labourers is becoming harder.
In fact, a report by the Guardian found that the construction industry itself, despite gearing up for a lucrative and productive year, has been facing major fears and concerns for the future due to absenteeism and the inability to fill job roles.
Indeed, while the construction industry employs over one million people, representing 8.7% of the total workforce and growing as of November 2021, there is no doubt that there is still a major shortage of skilled workers for Australian construction workers. In fact, as many as 72% of contractors have reported that the skilled worker shortage has impacted their ability to complete projects on time and within budget.
Unfortunately, this is placing a massive degree of pressure on construction industry businesses to continue operating as normal, despite the labour shortages. With that being said, while this is currently a difficult time for construction industry businesses, the future doesn’t have to be completely gloomy.
In fact, there are several steps that construction industry firms could take to begin tackling the labour shortages across the industry.
3 Simple Solutions to Tackle the Skilled Labour Shortage in the Construction Industry of Australia
The current construction labour shortages are becoming more and more influential, leaving many construction industry businesses unable to meet their staffing requirements.
However, with several simple changes, your business can implement new strategies to overcome the current limitations and develop a more thriving workforce for the future.
#1 Offer More Lucrative Job Opportunities
There’s a lot of hesitation to get involved with the construction industry due to perceptions of long working hours, high-risk working conditions, and poor returns. Indeed, in many cases, people can feel unmotivated to enter the construction industry due to incorrect perceptions of the state of the industry.
However, by tackling this and offering a more lucrative job opportunity for new staff, your business may help encourage new entrants to the industry (and, critically, higher-skilled construction staff for your business).
#2 Invest In Training
In order to attract new staff to the construction industry, it’s integral for construction businesses to invest in training. While this offers a longer-term solution rather than a quick fix, training apprentices in the field can help offer an opportunity for new workers to enter the field. As such, while this can represent an additional expense for your construction business initially, it may help quash future construction shortages in your firm.
#3 Encourage Diversity Within the Construction Industry
There’s a common belief that construction is a field solely for men – however, this immediately isolates around 50% of the Australian population from entering the construction workforce.
As such, construction businesses looking to hire new staff should take steps to encourage diversity within the workforce and encourage more women to enter the industry in numerous fields.
This would further help increase the number of people showing an interest in the industry and begin to tackle the current labour shortage in the Australian construction industry.
Tackling Shortages with Professional Labour Hire
While the above strategies are excellent ways to tackle the construction labour shortage in the long-term, they don’t necessarily provide a short-term solution for your current construction projects.
As such, if your business is struggling to meet its deadlines for construction, we highly recommend partnering with a professional labour-hire team (such as our experts here at Fast Labour Hire).
Labour hire offers rapid solutions when your business needs it most, whether it’s to cover absenteeism or to fill permanent job roles while training up new entrants to the industry.
What’s more, when you partner with a professional labour-hire team such as ours, you can count on reliable, professional, and experienced services from every one of our labourers – allowing your business’s construction project to progress seamlessly overall.
Final Thoughts
The ever-increasing scale of the skilled labour shortage in the construction industry of Australia is becoming more prominent.
However, by implementing a few simple changes, construction industry businesses can begin overcoming the skilled labour shortage.
If you find yourself needing professional support in the short-term perspective, please don’t hesitate to contact our professional labour-hire agency here at Fast Labour Hire – to tackle construction labour shortages instantly.
Our expert teams are among the most skilled labourers in the industry; as such, if you’ve been facing construction labour shortages, you can count on us for a practical short or long-term solution.
