Published to Industry Updates on Oct 23, 2018
Activity Levels: C
The Australian Industry Group/Housing Industry Association’s Australian Performance of Construction Index (Australian PCI) declined by 2.5 points to 49.3 points in September. The Australian PCI’s descent below 50 points signals contraction in the construction industry for the first time in 20 months.
In conjunction with the overall Australian PCI, the house building sector lost further ground in September, with the sector’s activity sub-index falling by 7.8 points to 42.0 points. This signals the lowest activity rates since August 2016. Apartment building has also seen a decline, with activity decreasing for a seventh consecutive month. However, engineering construction has continued to expand, marking the sector’s 18th consecutive month of growth.
Apprentice Intake: B
The National Centre for Vocational Education Research reported on September 3rd that as of March 2018, there has been an increase of 1.8% of apprentices in training compared to March 2017. However, there has also been an increase in the number of apprentices cancelling and withdrawing from their apprenticeships; an entire 4.1% compared to last year.
Despite the number of apprentices withdrawing from their courses, CSQ reports in their annual Industry Outlook (2018-2019) that the recent commencement and intake levels are delivering an ample supply of new tradespeople to meet industry needs in the future. Completion rates generally average between 60% - 70%, and this has delivered a strong and steady stream of new tradespeople into the industry.
As the demand for housing and apartment building drops over the coming years, apprentices can expect to find themselves in a fairly competitive labour market. Employers, on the other hand, will have the luxury of selecting from a reasonable pool of talent.
Diversity: B-
When it comes to diversity in the construction industry, women are still accounting for less than 3% of the workforce in construction and trades (CSQ Women in Construction, 2018). While there has been a slight increase over the last decade, it is still unknown when the disparity will even out. Compounding this issue is the fact that female apprentices are significantly less likely (12%) to complete their training and remain in the workforce than their male counterparts. According to research collected by CSQ, this may be due in part because of broader difficulties faced by women working in construction, such as sexism, bias, and in extreme cases, misogyny.
According to CSQ’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in Queensland’s Construction Industry 2018 report, Indigenous Apprentice intake has increased an average of 5.1% each year over the last five years, with one third of Indigenous workers more likely to be in construction than any other industry. However there is an income gap of 14%, on average, between Indigenous and non-Indigenous workers that remains unexplained, even when allowing for important demographic factors such as location and age.
Overall: C+
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