There are more people studying a vocational qualification in the built environment than ever before, according to the latest data compiled by BuildSkills Australia.
BuildSkills Australia, established under the Federal Government’s $442 million Jobs and Skills Councils initiative, is tasked with creating a strong, skilled workforce across the construction, property and water industries.
BuildSkills is the nation’s leading body for workforce planning, vocational training and research for these sectors, and this new data dashboard looks at the occupational profile of workers within the built environment.
BuildSkills chief executive officer Brett Schimming said the research and planning team had been busy crunching the numbers to produce a new data dashboard that provides a unique insight into the nation’s building and construction industry.
“The dashboard will be regularly updated and includes data on the number of people employed in built environment occupations, as well as key indicators around apprenticeships and training,” Mr Schimming said.
“More than 1.52 million people get out of bed each morning and go to work in an occupation that is critical to the delivery and operation of Australia’s built environment,” he said.
“Right now, there are more than 300,000 enrolments in a built environment Vocational Education Training (VET) program, including almost 76,500 apprentices and trainees.
“Approximately 57,000 of these participants are studying carpentry, making it the most popular course and by a significant margin.
“The second most popular course is for aspiring real estate agents with more than 30,000 people enrolled in a Certificate IV in Real Estate Practice.
“This makes a lot of sense, with Australia’s demand for housing continuing to increase, we’re seeing more and more people wanting to learn how to build and learn how to sell houses.”
Rounding out the top five courses, there are 23,000 people enrolled in courses for civil construction plant operations, 22,500 people pursuing a course required to become a builder, and 21,500 people working toward becoming a plumber.
The clickable, one-stop-shop of data and insights is published on BuildSkills Australia’s website at www.buildskills.com.au/data-and-insights/interactive-data.
This data dashboard is the first of a series, with upcoming insights to be collated around built environment industries, as well as a deep dive into state and territory data.
Mr Schimming said BuildSkills Australia is also working on the first ever national workforce plan for the construction, property and water industries.
“The comprehensive plan, set to be released in coming weeks, will support Federal Government policy making and skills and training needs across the sectors,” Mr Schimming said.
“BuildSkills Australia’s workforce plan will place a priority on ensuring the skills and training of today meet the needs of the future,” he said.
For more information visit www.buildskills.com.au.
ENDS
Media Contact: Chris Reid | +61 411 284 474 | chrisr@buildskills.com.au
Photo credit: Hutchinsons Builders
