Moreton Bay Today - Construction Skills Queensland CEO Geoff Clare talks Workforce Development

Queensland’s construction industry is set to boom, but there aren’t enough skilled workers to keep up. A shortfall of 50,000 tradespeople is expected by 2026–27, putting big projects at risk. CSQ CEO Geoff Clare joins us to talk about what’s behind the skills shortage and how their new $60 million training plan could open doors for people looking to get into the industry.

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SPEAKER_00 0:00

It's Morton Bay today. My name is Travis Groves, and Queensland's construction activity is projected to climb 45% from $53 billion in 2024 to 25 to a peak of $77 billion by 206-27. However, workforce demand is expected to outpace supply with a peak shortfall of 50,000 workers anticipated by 206-27, threatening, of course, project timelines and costs.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

Nice to chat, man.

SPEAKER_00 0:52

Plenty of construction work in the pipeline in Queensland, not enough skill workers. Is that the bottom line?

SPEAKER_01 0:57

Yeah, we're blessed, Travis, that there's a tremendous pipeline of work over the next sort of seven, eight, even ten years. But in order to ensure that we sort of get that work completed, we've got to make sure we've got the the workers to undertake the work. So Yeah, there is a challenge ahead. CSQ's role is through our sixty million dollar investment in twin twenty-five-26 is to try and help that workforce get trained, attract them into our industry so that we can address this shortfall and make sure we get

Plenty of construction work, not enough workers?

SPEAKER_01 1:37

the work done.

SPEAKER_00 1:38

What is the cause, Jeff, of the workforce shortage in this country? I hear a lot of business owners say, oh, people just don't want to work hard anymore, they quit after a day, a week or a month.

SPEAKER_01 1:49

Oh, I guess there's probably some element of that, but I guess you know they've been talking about it for sort of five to ten years of an aging workforce, and we're not necessarily getting that same birth rate that's come through that we probably had in the last sort of forty, fifty years or such. So we've sort of got that generational impact. Dramatic changes, I guess, in in terms of how our workforce is operating as such. But you know, we're we're through our construction pathways um schools activities. We're you know, there's some fantastic um students out there and young people who are actually coming into our industry. So so rather than I guess talking down that generation, we think there's some fantastic ones actually coming through. Um and part of that work in the schools is to help them understand that, yep, university's certainly an option, but there's enormous opportunities within our construction industry and y and and if you think about the fact of the the changing workforce and AI coming in, you know, there will be there will be that digital impact within our industry, but there's so much work within our industry that for any young people out there, construction industry is the future.

Reason for construction worker shortage?

SPEAKER_00 3:02

You know, going to uni, I think most people would agree that have degrees, such as myself, that uh if you know, in hindsight, if I would have done a trade, I'd be earning a lot more money uh in this day and age. If you've just tuned in, I'm chatting with Construction Skills Queensland CEO Jeff Clare. Construction Skills Queensland's an independent, non-profit, industry-funded body supporting employers, workers, apprentices, trainees, and career seekers in the building and construction industry. Now, Jeff, I mentioned your organization recently launched its 25-26 annual training plan, committing $60 million in workforce development initiatives. Can you walk us through this new training plan, explain why the increase is important in funding and how workforce initiatives will address the key challenges ahead?

SPEAKER_01 3:47

Yeah, thanks, Travis. Probably the the couple of key focuses um of our training plan is one, attracting new workers in, and that's that um schools program that we work that connecting with industry. The other big part of our investment, which is over forty million, is in um accredited training. Within our industry, we want to make sure that not only attracting workers in, but we can

CSQ $60m Annual Training Plan 2025-26

SPEAKER_01 4:12

upskill those workers already in the industry and also assist in retaining them in the industry by um providing them with the skills that they can, you know, take on other roles within their organization or across the industry. Um and so there's over 200 courses that CSQ provides to existing workers within the the industry, which is a across uh licensing, um a lot of it's around workport workplace health and safety. Not only do we want to get the work done, we want to make sure it's done safely. So the investment in our existing workers is such a critical part of addressing these shortages as well.

SPEAKER_00 4:53

And finally, for anyone listening, uh Jeff, who wants to take advantage of the initiatives, how can they get started?

SPEAKER_01 4:59

Well jump on our website, csq.org.au. Um, for those who are interested in actually getting involved and have never been involved with our industry, we've also got constructionpathways.org.au, which is a wonderful site to to give you lots of information and intelligence around well, how do I get into the industry, what are all the opportunities. There's over 72 trades within our our industry and just so many roles that there we sort of think that there's a role for everyone within Queensland's building and construction industry.

SPEAKER_00 5:32

Yeah, there's certainly plenty of work uh coming down the pipeline. Construction Skills Queensland CEO, Jeff Clare, thanks for joining us on Morton Bay today. I appreciate your time.

SPEAKER_01 5:40

Thanks so much for your time, Travis. Have a great day.