*sigh*
Sadly the shortages are not just in public infrastructure.
And sadly, AVL does not even gaveEOA approvals so how can it book contracting crews to schedule in the mine infrastructure builds?
But season’s greetings to all the good people out there : )
Persistent labour shortages and accelerating cost increases are testing the delivery of a $200 billion pipeline of major public infrastructure projects, including a swath of renewable energy developments.
Infrastructure Australia’s latest annual capacity report shows that while labour pressures have eased over the past year as big transport projects peaked, infrastructure construction is expected to be hampered by a shortage of 197,000 workers over the next five years. In WA, the deficit is seen at 13,000 workers, notably construction labourers and project managers.
Industry expects the shortages to worsen.
“With ongoing skills shortages we simply don’t have the people power we need to get the job done on time,” Infrastructure Australia chief executive Adam Copp said.
The Federal Government body’s analysis shows seven per cent of the $213b, five-year pipeline of major public infrastructure projects has been hampered by project delays, sparking concerns about the timing of Australia’s clean energy transition.
“There will be a sixfold increase in renewable energy projects across all construction activity in Australia over the next five years, highlighting the drive of both governments and the private sector in this space,” Mr Copp said.
“Governments have done well to manage demand in their pipelines and take some pressure off the need for so many workers, however, this is only half the battle.
“We need to increase our focus on attracting and retaining workers, and this starts with addressing the systemic cultural problems that are impacting the sector.
“We also need to look at improving productivity growth and how the construction sector can do more with less, including by looking at modern methods of construction and leveraging data and technology.”
Mr Copp said expanding the potential construction workforce by luring more women was key to addressing the labour shortages.
“This should be an industry of choice, but the reality on the ground is it’s a harsh working environment — we see burnout, stress and incredibly poor mental health and wellbeing,” he said.
Exacerbating the sector’s labour concerns is the belief of businesses that non-labour costs have still to peak afterthe “extraordinary escalation” since COVID-19.
According to the report, construction materials on average cost about 30 per cent more than they did three years ago.
And while there are signs costs are easing, including for steel, that is at odds with the views of business surveyed and interviewed for Infrastructure Australia.
Some 62 per cent said price escalation for non-labour costs had increased over the past 12 months, with 64 per cent of those saying prices had risen between 10 per cent and 20 per cent.
Within civil contracting firms, 45 per cent said they were seeing increases up to 25 per cent.
Total construction activity in Australia is put at $1.08 trillion.
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