- Hon Poto Williams
The Construction Skills Action Plan has delivered early on its overall target of supporting an additional 4,000 people into construction-related education and employment, says Minister for Building and Construction Poto Williams.
Since the Plan was launched in 2018, more than 9,300 people have taken up education or employment opportunities in the construction sector through cross-government initiatives.
"This is an important milestone and a positive step towards meeting New Zealand's current and future construction needs," says Poto Williams.
"Our priority is addressing New Zealand's current skills shortage, so that we have the capability and capacity to meet increasing demand. By surpassing our overall target to get an extra 4,000 people into the sector, we are confident we are well on the way to creating the conditions for a high-performing construction sector in Aotearoa New Zealand."
The Construction Skills Action Plan, managed by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), addresses issues around size and skills of the workforce to ensure the construction industry is well placed to deliver the buildings that New Zealand needs now and in the future.
The Plan is a three-year programme of initiatives led by the Ministry of Social Development, Tertiary Education Commission and MBIE.
"I'm also pleased to report that three of the initiatives have met their three-year targets early - Mana in Mahi has achieved more than 2,200 placements in the construction sector, Skills for Industry has supported more than 1,600 participants, and Growing Careers and Credentials has supported more than 5,200 enrolments," says Poto Williams.
"I'm proud of what this Plan has achieved so far - we are reaching into our communities to give people the support they need to build their own futures in construction."
Further initiatives to grow the capacity and capability of the workforce are being supported through the Construction Sector Accord's people development workstream via the Accord Transformation Plan. The workstream is focussed on attracting a more diverse range of people into construction opportunities, growing the size of the workforce and supporting the upskilling of people and businesses in construction.
