Construction is one of Australia’s fastest-growing industries. It is becoming one of the major industries employing young people with all sectors expected to increase rapidly in the coming years.

The stats

The construction sector employs around 1,177,100 people, which accounts for 8.7% of the total workforce. Over the past five years, employment in the industry has increased 7.3 per cent. It is also expected to steadily increase in the next five years, with predicted growth of 6.8 per cent.

The median weekly earnings for those working in construction are around $1,305 per week. This is higher than the median weekly earnings of $1,209 across all industries.

Around 15 per cent of construction workers are aged between 15 and 24, while a further 26 per cent are aged between 25 and 34.

We also see more women on the worksites and taking on leadership duties. Currently, 13% of the workforce is female. We are looking at the numbers slowly increase, thanks to new measures and policies.

Women’s participation in the workforce is crucial to the economic prosperity of Australia; they play a vital role in addressing skills shortages in key industry areas and occupations. It is the industry’s goal to ensure more young women find the trade appeal. They will have full access to opportunity and choice; are valued for their diversity; and recognised for their contributions and are able to participate in all aspects of life freely and safely.

Navigating the sustainable future

Research from Allianz revealed that young Australians will put sustainability first when living in and building their future homes.

The Future of Living report, commissioned by Allianz in partnership with University of Technology Sydney, has also revealed how the socioeconomic and environmental factors of younger generation are navigating, will affect house design and home-living.

Key findings include:

Sharing life – driven by friendship, housing affordability and changing family models, Australians will soon be creating ‘living arrangements’ featuring new approaches to communal spaces and shared resources.

Managing climate – with concerns around the environment, recycling, and carbon emissions top-of-mind, Australian will be looking at sustainable options used for the interior and exterior fabric of their homes.

Naturalised interiors – future homeowners can expect to see native greenery rife throughout interior and exterior structures, as domestic spaces become part of the Australian landscape and biosphere at large. Buildings will become much more aligned to the landscape outside, to create a more fulfilling lifestyle, to meet increased appreciation of the world around us.

Reusing new materials – a shift toward more sustainable standards in the construction industry, with locally sourced timber removes the need for global importation, which brings about many economic and environmental impacts.

Austerity chic – in consideration of not only environmental but economic factors too, interior design will become an inconspicuous, mismatched collection of items found between second-hand and mass-market furniture stores.

Calling on young Australians

Perhaps the most attractive aspect of the construction industry is that there is boundless room to grow. Today’s young people will have their choice of career opportunities as the competition will be so low in the future. The industry offers young people the chance to learn meaningful skills, work with their hands, and dabble in self-management.

Education is essential to consistent success. By training and retraining your skills, you will pursue a successful career in the Australian construction industry. And you can be confident as you are prepared for any major shift in the market.

If you’re interested in a career in the construction, the skills you want to work with on are language, literacy and numeracy skills, learning agility and self-management, thinking critically, solving problems, communication, and technology.

Government assistance is available to support young people to gain the work experience and skills they need to get and keep a job. Below are a couple of programs that we recommend:

• Youth Jobs PaTH – young job seekers can undertake practical face-to-face training, tailored to their needs, to improve job preparation skills.
• Australian Apprenticeships – offers job seekers the opportunity to explore a new job, gain new skills, work flexible hours and receive a qualification.