More investment in training needed to fix housing shortage
Jenny Salesa
MP for Manukau
East
Skills and
Training
MEDIA
STATEMENT
22 March 2017
More
investment in training needed to fix housing
shortage
Construction firms are reporting
it is harder to find skilled workers, showing the
Government’s failure to invest in training is contributing
to the housing crisis, says Labour’s Skills and Training
spokesperson Jenny Salesa.
“The construction
industry is finding it hard to get the workers it needs with
58% of firms reporting vacancies in hard-to-fill jobs,
according to Statistics New Zealand. Since 2008, the number
of people training in building-related qualifications has
risen by just 7%, despite surging demand for
houses.
“We need to build a lot more houses, and
that means a lot more construction workers. Labour will
introduce Dole for Apprenticeships to incentivise
construction firms to take on apprentices. We’ll also make
three years’ tertiary education and training fees free,
which will help more people get the qualifications the
construction industry needs.
“National passed up
a golden opportunity to expand and upskill our construction
workforce following the Canterbury earthquakes. Instead,
they chose to rely on imported labour. If we had built up
our construction workforce then, we would now have the
people we need to meet the demand for new houses nationwide
and fill the housing shortage.
“The shortage of
skilled workers is driving up build costs, and contributing
to reports of shoddy building work.
“Because of
National’s failure to invest in our people, the housing
shortage stands at 60,000 and is growing by over 1,000
houses a month. National hasn’t got a clue what to do. The
housing shortage is driving up rents and mortgage payments,
eating up the small wage increases families are
getting.
“Training and upskilling our
construction workforce is a key plank of Labour’s
comprehensive housing plan. It will facilitate our 100,000
house KiwiBuild plan and our commitment to building
thousands more state houses,” says Jenny
Salesa.