Building skills for tomorrow, today

In late 2020, the Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation (BCITO) reached the milestone of 16,000 apprentices actively training. As its new Chief Executive, I am seeing first-hand that this is helping, but demand for skilled workers is still outstripping supply.

This milestone is a great achievement and shows we are moving in the right direction to grow the number of skilled tradespeople in New Zealand. Although we are seeing a positive shift, there is still more work to be done. Many more people are needed to start formal training now, if we are to match New Zealand’s demand. Government, industry and vocational providers are all working on multiple fronts to address training needs, and the Government’s Apprenticeship Boost and Free Trades Training have significantly increased interest in apprenticeships.

Perception of trades careers

Public perceptions are changing and trade careers are gaining in popularity for career seekers and career changers alike. The combination of more work being available, and the Government’s support for apprenticeship costs, have directly driven more people into the trades and are encouraging more employers to train. For a sector still challenged with a skills shortage, this is great news. IPSOS research shows the biggest improvement in perception in 2020 was within the Māori community, where positivity toward trade careers rose by 7%, showing our diversity and inclusiveness strategies are having an impact.

It is fantastic to know that trade careers are being viewed as vocations where talented people can excel, achieve professional qualifications and become valuable contributors in our industries. What drives us is seeing people get qualified and the smiles on their faces when they cross the finish line. They are successful; they are the right person, in the right place at the right time with valuable skills on board and this is what makes BCITO people get up every morning and go to work – it’s incredibly rewarding being part of their journey.

We have an opportunity here to contribute to one of the biggest reform of vocational education New Zealand has ever seen.

Change brings challenge

There have been many challenges in the past year for businesses from so many angles. We get that even if you’re in a growth sector, ongoing growth brings its own challenges in terms of workload, a stressed workforce, and scaling up without falling over. We get that growth has to be built on strong