Cost of building & renovation set to increase

[shazza]

Articles in yesterdays AFR:
'If you think your renovation is pricey, wait 5 years.
In Dec, the fed Dept of Employee & Workplace Rel. reported national skills shortages among carpenters, joiners, plasterers, both fibrous and solid, bricklayers and plumbers. But it is going to get worse. Those tradesman are ageing. By one count, the average age of a bricklayer is 45.
On the federal govt numbers, 80,000 tradespeople will leave the industry because of ageing over the next 5 years, but only 36,000 workers will step in to replace them.'
Another article reports that it was cheaper for a developer to have a Sydney company make and install kitchens in his Bargara project than the local Sunshine Coast firms.
And apparently the skills shortage in WA is so bad that builders are poaching contractors from other sites. Contractors, such as electricians and carpenters, apparently think of a number and double it.

Now, is this a media beat-up or is supported by experiences that formites have had?

cheers Sharyn

 

[willair]

Shazza,
i have to agree on this,you dont see many bricklayers laying blocks at 45
i only know from a plumbers side of things,if a person male or female
wanted to do the time 4v years,and become a tradesman then the sky is the limit
the only down side is so many dont even make it to 45,one person a day is killed
on building sites in australia,so the balance is on the other side, and i still think its only a matter of time before cheap overseas labour companys come into this country
and complete the total job themselves,without any australian labour at all
only aussie materials..if the unions dont make a stand very quickly than the unions will be finished..
good luck
willair..

 

[Bear924]

Hi all, I work for a v. good company who employees electrical tradesmen and para professionals. We pay significantly better then the average contractor down the street however we have huge problems keeping electrical staff. The problem that I see is that anyone who is under 30 has been brought up to believe that you are a nobody without tertiary education. Therefore we even have trouble recruiting apprentices with decent marks in maths/ science (please note - our electrical circuits are much more complex then typical house circuits). In our organisation uni. degree qualified people are paid higher then your typical tradesmen, thus reinforcing the view that you need a degree. That said we also have trouble obtaining experienced engineering staff, basically because all the $$$ is in the management side of things.

The Howard gov. is talking about changing industrial relations laws, however I don't believe the problem is with that. It appears to me that business need to employ more apprentices and pay them enough to keep them in the trade. Why would anyone work as an electrican with all the stress/ potential liability that the job entails when they can earn nearly as much money driving around in a forklift. Young people also need to be encouraged to look at completing a trade, when I left high school (94) the only people who went and undertook a trade were those who couldn't get into a educational course somewhere.

Re unions: After years of membership declines union membership has now maintained growth over the last few years. IR changes will probably encourage membership even further.

 

[archizen]

Hi all,

We are architects in Sydney. Our personal experience indicates that building prices have risen about 20-25% in the last 12 months.
Obviously the lack of skilled tradespeople is a major influence. But so is the rise in building materials and especially the Home Warranty Insurance in NSW. Many builders in Sydney, that I know have gotten jack of the situation, and moved to Queensland.

ArchiZEN