Long-term staff shortages concern CMEIG

Despite an estimated 20% increase in construction industry salaries in the last year, minimal numbers of young people are joining the industry, according to the Construction and Mining Equipment Importers Group.

Government statistics indicate that the retail, business services, hospitability and transport sectors have taken up 50% of the training packages in Australia in the last year. But the general construction sector has taken up only 3.6% of the packages.

Has the trend for more high school students to stay on and complete year 12, changed their perceptions of career paths, with construction and mining equipment manufacturers and dealers?

“It looks like that,” says the president of the CMEIG John Reid. “What we need is to work with careers advisors in high schools and parents, and show students the variety of career opportunities in the industry.”

Support no dole

One strategy being evaluated by CMEIG is to follow the lead of the Beacon Foundation, and support the concept of a no-dole scheme for high school students.

“If we can convince students that jobs and a career path are available with many local and global companies, and encourage them to take on the training packages, we would have done our job,” Reid says.

Volvo Construction Equipment's Sean Taylor, notes that the shortage of skilled people in this sector is world wide. “There are great opportunities to work in other countries with companies such as Volvo,” he says.

CMEIG CEO George Vorobieff says, “At the risk of stating the obvious, construction and mining equipment has become highly sophisticated, with the operations of most modern machines being managed by computers. And given the advancement in technology, it also has become very obvious that we need highly skilled technicians to service, maintain, repair and overhaul these machines.”

20% deficit

He estimates the industry has 20% fewer technicians than it needs and the number is growing due to the poor take up of apprentice places across all sectors of the mechanical repair industry.

In light of this, the CEMIG Education and Training Working Group has identified several goals that need to be pursued.

These are to:

Work with high schools and other allied associations to provide tools for careers advisors to demonstrate the breadth of job opportunities;

Liaise with the new ANTA skills councils, to improve the level of training and career paths for all people employed in the industry;

Determine training requirements of member companies which are not currently being satisfied and influence the development of suitable training qualifications and training arrangements; and

Lobby government to embrace education and training as a whole of government responsibility for our industry.

Further information: CMEIG, 02 9884 7236, inquiry@cmeig.com.au

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“There are great opportunities to work in other countries with companies such as Volvo”