The Australian construction and trades industries face a huge skilled workers crisis with more than 100,000 unfilled construction roles in Australia in 2023 according to Arcadis.

The construction industry has the fourth highest turnover of 14 sectors measured, with more than 110,000 employees leaving their positions within a 12-month period per the Australian Bureau of Statistics. This labour shortage is expected to have a massive long-term impact, slowing growth by 5.5% year-on-year, despite rising demand for property development via Employsure.

One of the factors contributing to this crisis has been the limited upskilling and training provided to construction and trades workers, specifically around communication and digital skills.

Hedayat Osyan faced this challenge first-hand after he immigrated to Australia. He then discovered the vast benefits of tailored business training for his team through the free Foundation Skills for Your Future Program (FSFYF) funded by the Federal Government and delivered through Navitas Skilled Futures: “With help from the FSFYF program I have been able to grow my revenue, make my business more efficient and retain my staff. It has been a huge help to me, ensuring the success of my business, whilst also life-changing for many of my staff.

“I would say that this program is for everyone, it creates happier and safer workplaces with employees who feel more connected, can communicate better with each other, and who have a better understanding of their role and business outcomes. Everyone wins,” he says.

Since participating in the program at Navitas Skilled Futures, Osyan’s CommUnity Construction business has raised its profile of social enterprise within the NFP sector and increased referrals, including interstate. Osyan has also expanded from mainly tiling to include other work such as painting, rendering, and cleaning due to improved employee skills.

According to RMIT, employees who have undergone training are 8% more productive and have a 24% higher profit margin.

Navitas Skilled Futures stakeholder engagement manager Genevieve Lewis says: “This programme is like a secret silver bullet for construction and associated trades. Businesses large and small can tap into free and bespoke training, that we know reduces WHS incidents, improves staff retention and overall drives your business to grow.”

“It’s quite remarkable that this program is available totally for free, and is of the same quality that you’d get from training consultants that cost you thousands of dollars! Everybody wins.”