Better mental health supports for construction industry apprentices, encouraging women into trades and improving course completions are a key part of the skills overhaul underway for the State.
It comes as latest figures reveal only 45 per cent of Australians who start a course complete the qualification, while at the same time, there are national skills shortages and unmet demand across hundreds of occupations.
The Minister for Education, Training and Skills Blair Boyer is leading a national piece of work that focuses on improving completion rates of vocational education – of which mental health supports will form a large part.
The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), which works closely with the State Government, has released its 2023-24 Annual Training Plan (ATP) to allocate almost $30 million in initiatives to support apprentices over the next 12 months.
This includes incentives to train and directly support over 7,000 apprentices, support more than 14,000 existing construction workers and engage more than 1200 students on future career opportunities in the construction industry.
It comes as new data in the Skills Outlook reveals South Australia will need to deliver almost 100,000 vocational education training (VET) qualifications over the next five years to meet the skills demand of the State – with construction being one of the highest industries in demand.
The key direction of the ATP will be a greater focus on mental health and creating a more diverse workforce. It will provide opportunities for employers and industry participants to access fully funded short courses that promote mental health in the workplace.
Efforts around this were previously ceased by the former Liberal Government, creating concern in the industry that not enough was being done to ensure that people had adequate awareness of and education on mental health issues.
Initiatives supported through the ATP will make various programs accessible, helping to better equip employers in addressing the mental health of their workers and individuals better able to engage with matters that arise in the workplace.
As with many sectors in Australia, construction is facing workforce demand issues. This creates a greater need to attract and retain a broader workforce. For construction, this includes a need to focus on increasing female participation.
The ATP also includes a number of hands-on programs, such as doorways2construction, which works with schools to encourage them to understand the different opportunities and employment pathways that the construction industry can offer. The program has a focus on getting more women into construction.
The CITB will also work with industry as part of the ATP to develop new initiatives to help women looking to re-skill to pursue construction, as well as improve opportunities for those returning to the workforce.
As put by Blair Boyer
These important programs will help deliver the workers needed to keep building South Australia going forward.
With skills shortages across so many industry sectors impacting everyday Australians we have to consider from every angle how to get more people who start training to finish and ensure they are supported throughout.
The Malinauskas Labor Government has a strong focus on ensuring we have a strong skills industry all South Australians can make the most of the job opportunities being created in the construction industry from the work being done to support major infrastructure projects to new housing developments.
As put by CITB Presiding Member John Chapman
This work will support employers in the construction industry, provide training for apprentices and existing construction workers and also engage students on career opportunities in construction into the future.
The plan sets out an ambitious program to support a record number of apprentices over the next 12 months.
As put by CITB Chief Executive Holly Willcox
This plan shows that collaboration between industry, government and industry groups can help to generate initiatives to provide high-quality outcomes for the industry as a whole.
An increased focus in the community around mental health has provided the best possible confidence to provide this critical support within the construction sector. This is a win for everyone in the construction industry.
As demand for construction services continues, we must do more to look at the attraction and retention of a broader workforce. This plan focuses on that.
