Infrastructure News: June - July 2022

Page 4

JUNE - JULY 2022

Skills shortages require pragmatic response

T

he Russian invasion of the Ukraine is forcing millions of families to seek sanctuary throughout Europe. Many will not return to their homeland, preferring to establish new lives in countries offering safety and an improved quality of life. In return, these refugees provide their expertise and gratitude for the opportunity they are being offered – similar to other refugees who have successfully settled in New Zealand since the early 1860s. Explorers and sealers, followed by traders, farmers, tradespeople, administrators, retired military and refugees involved many ethnic groups contributing their culture and determination to achieving a more rewarding lifestyle, where their expertise and skills were an invaluable contribution to a young colony with high aspirations. These adventurous participants helped make our country what it is today. 4

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Fast forward to 2022 and a pandemic, together with a faltering infrastructure delivering sub-par results in our schools and trading establishments, combined with convoluted immigration policies and the lure of better paying jobs in neighbouring Australia, means a steady erosion of the key skills necessary to improve productivity and deliver the required services. Unfortunate natural disasters, political and military actions in many countries have created a tidal wave of migrants, particularly those fleeing war zones and not forgetting those seeking a superior lifestyle in a country with attributes we defend, as we also under-value their importance. As the “kind and friendly” nation of international repute, offering a haven and a fresh start to those who have lost everything, we should also recognise the opportunity to embrace those refugees who will repay our kindness with

their loyalty, skills and work ethic. Engineers, builders, teachers, healthcare workers, fishermen and even drivers will greatly advance our urgently needed infrastructure development. Reports of training 40,000 apprentice carpenters, electricians and plumbers is a commendable achievement which will be wasted without jobs where they also receive competent supervision and mentoring to achieve their full potential. There is also the constant threat from higher paying offshore employers, luring professionals, especially where healthcare and commercial building is rapidly expanding. Our erratic immigration policy reacts to interest groups needing to fill shortfalls in critical export sectors. Visas available to relieve short term, low skilled seasonal labour shortages such as harvesting fruit export crops while ignoring long term, higher

skilled workers desperately needed to sustain national development. The latest relaxation is another 1,500 skilled workers for farms, meat processing and forestry throughout our critical and increasingly stressed primary and food processing industries. The unfolding disaster in the Ukraine presents a mutually beneficial opportunity for both the war refugees and for New Zealand. History proves our migrants become valuable citizens, repaying our hospitality with their skills, commitment and loyalty. Increasing our population makes economic sense. As a wealthy nation with GDP per capita higher than the UK and many Asian and European countries, we can afford to increase our population by stepping up acceptance of war refugees. A growing population encourages more competition in products and services dictated by monopolies supplying increasingly ex-


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Articles inside

What you need to know about Covid-19 reinfection

5min
pages 66-68

Vocational training leader applauds budget

2min
page 62

Chemical safety relies on meaningful cooperation

2min
pages 64-65

Why video calls are bad for brainstorming

1min
page 63

Nurses not monoliths are the backbone healthcare system

6min
pages 52-55

The great unlearning

6min
pages 58-59

One thing we all have in common is that we will all age

3min
pages 56-57

How upskilling your staff can future-proof your business

4min
pages 60-61

There is no known safe level of exposure to welding fumes

2min
pages 50-51

No better investment than chemical safety training

2min
pages 48-49

The growing importance of ESG in property

5min
pages 43-44

Site Safe congratulates 2021 construction health and safety champions

1min
pages 41-42

Cutting-edge solutions to handle building waste

2min
pages 45-47

Office market strategies changing

2min
pages 39-40

Industry leader in soft fall protection on construction sites

1min
page 38

How to solve the problem of slumping commercial property values by acting now

14min
pages 33-37

SiteRight – It’s the right fit for your business

1min
pages 31-32

Hard work gets results

4min
pages 27-30

Skills shortages require pragmatic response

7min
pages 4-7

New dam safety regulations

2min
page 24

Money alone will not solve New Zealand’s infrastructure woes

5min
pages 20-21

New Zealand roading project wins top engineering prize

2min
page 15

The construction conversations we should be having

8min
pages 16-19

Infrastructure strategy cannot wait

4min
pages 22-23

A start to solving our poor record on low carbon cement replacement

4min
pages 25-26
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