Feature
Issue No. 48 - August/September 2009
Construction Workforce passport to success
by Steve Larkins
Do you know a construction tradesperson or worker? If you are in the business services sector, perhaps you have a couple as clients. Next time you bump into them, ask for their take on the ‘state of the industry’. Chances are they’re pretty busy despite the Global Financial Crisis.
Construction has had a reputation as a ‘boom / bust’ industry. Thanks to a range of circumstances, the construction industry in SA is weathering the GFC in reasonable shape, compared to elsewhere in Australia.
There are two things the industry needs to maintain momentum: investment to fund projects and a skilled workforce to build them. The last thing we need is for tradespeople or apprentices to be laid off in a period of downturn.
Ask your construction industry contacts if they have a Construction Industry Training Board ID card, otherwise known as the Training Passport. If not, they should, because it carries some useful benefits.
A key aim of the CITB is to protect the investment already made in our tradespeople-in-training. We want to keep them in work and in training so we can reduce the likelihood a skills shortage when the economy starts growing again.
There are generous support measures in place for employers and their apprentices. Up to $3200 per annum in support funding is available to employers for each of their apprentices.
• CITB also subsidises each apprentice for the cost of their training up to $1600 over three or four years. By pr...
