Housing costs soar with skills shortage
By Cameron Houston and Ben Schneiders - The Age March 29, 2007
A NATIONAL skills shortage has contributed to soaring building costs and the decline in housing affordability, with industry bodies about to investigate ways of recruiting and retaining tradespeople.
Research by Reed Construction Data revealed that construction costs in Victoria had surged by 44 per cent since 2000, or nearly twice the pace of inflation.
It was a similar tale across Australia, with construction costs outstripping inflation in every state surveyed.
Reed Construction Data national manager Mike Bartlett said a dire shortage of skilled tradespeople accounted for most of the rise in building costs.
Housing Institute of Australia acting executive director Caroline Lawrey said the crisis would have serious implications for the Victorian economy and employment rates if the building industry and government failed to tackle the problem.
The institute will meet Skills, Education Services and Employment Minister Jacinta Allan today to investigate ways of attracting young people, particularly women, into the trades.
"The housing industry faces a skill deficit of 150,000 (tradespeople) over the next five years and the average age of a Victorian builder is now 47 years of age," Ms Lawrey said.
"We need to make the building and construction industry more attractive to young people and more accessible as a life-long career."
The Housing Institute of Australia is set to launch a national campaign to attract tradespeople to Victoria and counter the drain of skilled workers to Western Australia and Queensland, which are both in the grip of a construction boom.
Western Australia recorded the sharpest increase in construction costs, which jumped 58 per cent since 2000 as workers were sucked from construction to the higher-paying mining industry.
In Queensland, construction costs had risen 50.2 per cent since the start of the decade.
With housing affordability at record lows, Australians for Affordable Housing spokesman David Imber has called for an integrated response from federal and state governments.
"I'm not sure that either government is taking this issue seriously," Mr Imber said.