One of the fundamental levers to address the skills of workers within any industry is education and training. The building and construction sector has a long-standing tradition of training, most fundamentally, the apprenticeship model and more recently provider-based education as well. This tradition of training is a real strength as it ensures that people working in the sector have the required skill levels and also that specific skills and knowledge are passed down and retained in the industry.
However, there are areas that the industry could address to help improve productivity and to ensure that the industry continues to evolve and grow. The nature of training in the industry through both the traditional model of apprenticeships and specialised professional courses has meant that there can be significant barriers to enter the industry. This is particularly a problem for people who are unfamiliar with the industry or who have little work or life experience such as many school leavers. In addition, once people have completed their initial training pathways through the industry, the forms of continuing education are not always clear.
By developing well articulated pathways into the industry, a wider range of people will be able to enter the industry and entry will be much clearer to those considering the industry. Collaboration between different parts of the tertiary sector will ensure that education and training is taking place in the most efficient manner and that duplication is avoided. A third area that needs to continue to be improved is health and safety education. While this has been a focus for some time, the health and safety record of the industry is still relatively poor and needs to be addressed.
Pathways
There is a lack of clear pathways into the sector, between different parts of the sector, and to higher skilled parts of the sector.
The pathways between secondary education and tertiary education and work are of increasing importance. There is a challenge for the sector to create similar pathways into the industry for skilled migrants or people from other industries with relevant skills, and to create pathways to more skilled occupations for workers already in the industry.
More generally, the proliferation of qualifications in fields relevant to the sector that do not link to one another, and which are often highly specialised, has created barriers to people moving between jobs in the sector. This is particularly a problem given the boom-bust cycles in the sector that make it difficult for people to easily move to areas that are in demand.
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Develop and support career pathways from schools into work, education and training |
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Develop and promote career pathways for skilled workers to move into the industry, between different parts of the industry, and for whole-of-life learning |
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Identify and create pathways for groups of people working in other industries who may have transferable skills |
MBIE, ITOs, Careers NZ, industry associations and institutes |
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Create pathways for skilled migrants to more easily become fully skilled by targeted training which highlights information and skills specific to the NZ context |
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Collaboration across the tertiary sector
The building and construction sector will be more productive if the tertiary sector works more collaboratively. Different parts of the sector have different strengths in terms of delivery styles and perceptions, and some also have advantages at different stages of the economic cycle. Working collaboratively will ensure the best possible outcome for the sector as a whole, as well as for learners.
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KEY GROUPS INVOLVED |
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Through collaboration, set up Centres of Excellence in parts of the sector to promote innovation in building and construction design and practice |
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Develop and provide generic entry-level qualifications to replace the current multiple pre-trades qualifications which can be accessed in schools as well as in providers and workplaces |
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Share qualification development, review of qualifications and moderation of delivery |
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Improve transferability between qualifications and programmes being offered in different parts of the sector |
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Create an environment where learners can move between tertiary providers and ITOs to best meet the needs of both firms and individuals |
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Health and safety
The construction industry has had the highest proportion of work-related fatalities over the past six years out of all New Zealand industries. The sector also has a relatively high rate of non-fatal injuries.
The high rates of work-related injuries and fatalities have a negative impact on productivity in the sector. Loss of work time, skills and focus can all result from an even relatively minor injury, particularly in SMEs. Firms also face high costs from injuries in the industry, both at an individual firm level and at an industry level through high ACC levies.
A great deal of work is already being done to make the sector safer. One of the key workstreams in this area is the Construction Sector Action Plan which is a partnership between the Construction Safety Council, the Department of Labour and ACC and which aims to: make construction sites safer; to establish health and safety as an integral part of working on a construction site; and to increase productivity by working safer. The challenge for the sector is to work together to continue to reduce the number of injuries and fatalities in the future.
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Work with the Construction Safety Council to embed effective health and safety practices in firms and on projects |
MBIE, Construction Clients Group, industry associations and institutes |
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MBIE and industry work together to ensure a consistent enforcement role |
MBIE, industry associations and institutes |
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Promote the work of the partnership between MBIE, ACC, and the industry |
MBIE, ACC, industry associations and institutes |
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Ensure health and safety is embedded in all levels of education and training |
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Consider health and safety in procurement and contracting processes |
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Change the "She'll be right" culture to a "Safety first" culture |
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