Sign In / Register
Ryan Bridgens from Bridgens and Thompson Builders at work in Rodney Road.
By Rod CheesemanLocal builders are swamped with work as the region continues to expand, but shortages in materials and labour are causing delays for construction projects in Mahurangi.
According to Statistics New Zealand, the number of people employed in the construction industry increased by 36.7 per cent between March 2013 and 2016, going from 178,700 to 227,200 people. According to local builder Ryan Bridgens of Bridgens & Thomson Builders, that still isn’t enough and they are struggling to find skilled workers to keep up with demand.
“I know I will busy for the next four or five years at least, but getting staff is really hard,” Ryan says. “No one seems to be promoting the area for people wanting to work in the industry. There is also a nationwide shortage of tradies.”
The Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation (BCITO) works to encourage more people into the industry. BCITO chief executive Warwick Quinn says they aware of the shortage.
They are using industry data to predict growth within specific trades. This means that school leavers will be aware which trades have the highest skills shortage.
“We call this the 4 ‘R’s’ – the right number of apprentices, in the right place, at the right time, to the right standard. The key to this is promoting our industry sectors into schools so that career seekers can have up-to-date information at their fingertips,” Warwick says.
“We regularly engage with Mahurangi College and Rodney College providing pathways into employment.
“Our skills broker visits the schools to offer advice regarding the right pathway to gain employment in the industry.”
At just 24 years old, former Mahurangi College student Scott Yearbury already owns and operates his own company, Nailed-It Construction, and employs 12 builders. He says he decided to choose building as a career while still at school.
“I did a pre-trade course in East Tamaki for three days a week when I left school,” Scott says. “They gave me a scholarship so my training was subsidised. Because it was three days a week I was getting paid as an apprentice for the other two.”
Scott employs two apprentices and says he enjoys teaching them the trade. But he is concerned that young people don’t realise the construction industry is a good career with competitive pay rates.
“A lot of people get bullied into going to uni, but do you need to? Who says you’re not going to get paid well unless you go to uni?”
Both Ryan and Scott agree that apprentices have to be closely supervised by skilled qualified workers and they need fully qualified builders to do this.
“Bridgens & Thomson Builders could do with endless qualified guys at the moment,” Ryan says. “I’m getting phone calls about more work. I now have multiple advertisements year round to try and get staff.”
