Core technical trades of plumbing, electrical and carpentry are running headlong toward crisis as the latest ACT enrolment data revealed a huge decline in the number of first-year apprentices.
Data released by the government shows that plumbing and electrical are two of the hardest-hit ACT trades in loss of enrolments, both down 54 per cent this year from last year.
However, the future looks similarly grim for carpentry, with 48 per cent fewer first-year enrolments.
Master Builders ACT, which conducts its own apprentice training program as an adjunct to the government-run Canberra Institute of Technology classes, said these alarming 2024 enrolment numbers should deliver an immediate wake-up call, especially given that across these industries the exit rate of trained workers is about 8 per cent per year.
The MBA says that about half the people leaving these trades are being replaced at the training level and the shortfall is reaching chronic levels which will ramp up as the years progress.
While this year's National Skills Week, launched by member for Monaro Steve Whan, attempted to paint a positive picture of government investment, at the coalface of the construction industry, reactions were grim.
In its 2024 budget, the ACT government offered a paltry $250 as a one-off cost-of-living payment to apprentices.
"While no one is going to say no to an extra $250, from our perspective, this amounts to a couple of tanks of fuel in the work ute," MBA ACT acting CEO Ziad Zakout said.
"It does not represent meaningful action."
Builders in the ACT says fewer apprentices in these core technical areas will have a massive knock-on effect on building delays, quality and safety - because untrained people will attempt to fill the void - and cost.
The MBA says change has to start now, with a tiered wage subsidy system to encourage mature-age apprentices, an overhaul of funding and quality of career education in schools, and incentivising schools to offer clear, practical and well-structured vocational training as a genuine alternative to a university degree.
Fyshwick-based builder Sean Hardwick said he knew the apprentice enrolments were down, but was shocked at how far they had fallen in 2024.
"Fixing that issue surely has to be a priority because that trajectory is really bad news for the industry and the consumer," he said.
"I often think that the industry now is driven far too much by expediency and efficiency; there's less attention to nurturing, guiding and rewarding talent like there should be.
"I learnt my carpentry and joinery from an old-school builder but there are fewer and fewer of those about now."
His third-year apprentice Amber Mollison, 22, joined Hardwick Projects after starting out in shed building because she wanted to work with timber projects.
"I love this work and I think there's a lot of girls who would, too, if they wanted to stretch themselves and do something different and challenging," she said.
"It can be a bit nerve-racking at first, particularly learning the right way to use new tools. But the more you use them, the easier it gets and the more confident you become.
"In Year 11, I didn't know what I wanted to do but I feel very glad to have landed here."
