“The announcement of a $10,000 incentive to boost the number of skilled workers in key housing trades is a welcomed response to the crippling labour short­ages the residential building industry has been faced with for decades. HIA has long called for milestone apprentice incentives to grow the domestic workforce,” said HIA Managing Director Jocelyn Martin.

“The five $2,000 incentive payments staggered throughout the course of an apprenticeship in the residential building industry will support the retention of an apprentice and combat the concerning non-completion rates we continue to see.

“Increasing the living away from home allowance could also see greater activity in regional areas that struggle to attract key housing trades.

“While incentive payments are a key piece to addressing skills shortages, it is just one tool in the toolkit government has to address this issue and make the delivery of housing a priority,” Ms Martin continued.

“The Strategic Review of the Australian Apprenticeship Incentive System released today clearly acknowledged the complexity of the problem. The Report made 34 recommendations, many of which focused on supporting employers including the role group training organisations have in supporting small and medium business (SME) to hire apprentices. The Report outlined that 60 per cent of apprentices are taken on by SMEs.

“Retention rates are also much better for apprentices through industry based mentoring programs, including group training organisations, where pastoral care is a key aspect. Mentors can offer support and guidance to young people entering the workforce.

“We need to attract more people to careers in the construction industry, we need to ensure that there are enough employers creating the employment opportunities and providing the on-site work experience, and we need well-resourced VET providers delivering high quality training.

"HIA’s All Hands On Deck found that if Australia is to reach the Housing Accord target of 1.2 million homes in the next five years there needs to be an injection of 83,000 trades people into the workforce.

“The residential building industry currently employs approximately 278,000 tradies across the twelve key trade occupations required for home building. The trades workforce needs to grow by at least 30 per cent to meet the Accord’s goals. That is over 83,000 additional tradies.

“We can only make housing a priority if we have a workforce capable of building the homes we need to reduce the barriers to home ownership,” concluded Ms Martin.