HIA
THE Housing Industry Association (HIA) says encouraging new apprenticeship completion figures show that Australia’s construction workforce is heading in the right direction.
But it also warns thant tens of thousands more skilled tradespeople are still needed to meet the nation’s housing targets.
New figures from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) show almost 59 per cent of trade apprentices are now completing their apprenticeships, with completion rates for carpenters, joiners and electricians continuing to improve.
The data follows recent NCVER enrolment figures showing architecture and building was the only major field of education to record growth in 2025, with almost 14,000 additional enrolments despite overall vocational education enrolments falling by more than five per cent.
HIA Executive Director of Future Workforce Mike Hermon said the results reflected growing confidence in construction careers.
“These figures tell a positive story. More Australians are choosing a career in construction and, importantly, more of them are completing their qualifications,” he said.
Mr Hermon said the positive trend demonstrated that investments in apprenticeships were delivering results, but warned governments could not afford to ease their focus.
HIA estimates Australia still requires around 83,000 additional skilled tradespeople to build the homes needed over the coming years.
Mr Hermon said residential builders were increasingly competing with major infrastructure, renewable energy, defence, mining and data centre projects for the same pool of skilled workers.
“Residential builders are no longer just competing with each other. They’re competing with major transport infrastructure, renewable energy projects, AUKUS, mining developments, transmission upgrades and the rapid expansion of data centres,” he said.
“Every one of those projects is chasing the same electricians, carpenters, plumbers and other skilled trades our industry depends on.”
Mr Hermon said governments should continue supporting apprentices and the small businesses that employ them by extending employer incentives, investing in quality training, improving apprentice retention and using targeted skilled migration to complement the domestic workforce.
“The latest figures show more young Australians are coming through the front door and more are making it to the finish line,” he said.
“If Australia is serious about meeting its housing targets, we need to keep growing the skilled workforce that builds our homes.”
