Skilled professionals and tradespeople across the architecture, engineering and construction sectors are in massive demand amid a huge volume of work in detached home building and civil infrastructure, the latest data has found.

Released by the National Skills Commission, the March monthly job vacancy data has revealed a worker shortage of unprecedented proportions across many design and construction roles.

In particular demand are tradespeople, machinery and equipment operators and other manual laborers. The number of vacancies for many of these roles sit at levels not seen since the data began in 2006.

Meanwhile, unfilled vacancies across construction management and many types of engineering are their highest levels since the mining boom.

Simon Bristow, Senior Regional Director at leading recruitment firm Hays, says there is a candidate shortage of a magnitude which has not been seen before.

Bristow says there are shortages across all areas of trades and labour as well as many areas of skilled engineering.

He says factors driving the shortage include lower than normal levels of overseas and interstate migration, a competitive job market for school leavers and graduates and demand pressures arising out of high levels of activity on public infrastructure projects and residential construction.

“Right now, we’ve never seen such a candidate short job market,” Bristow said.

According to the data (also see charts), in the month of March:

• Job vacancies for construction managers and engineering managers registered their highest March monthly reading since before the GFC in 2008.
• In professional roles, vacancies for civil, industrial/mechanical, electrical and mining engineers registered their highest March reading since the peak of the mining boom in 2012. Meanwhile, vacancies for architects/landscape architects, interior designers and urban and regional planners are back on the rise but remain below levels seen during the apartment building boom of 2016 to 2018.
• In technical roles, vacancies for architectural, building and surveying technicians registered their second highest March level since March 2008. Meanwhile, vacancies were at their highest were at their highest March level since the GFC/mining boom period for civil engineering draftspersons and technicians, electrical engineering draftspersons and technicians and mechanical engineering draftspersons and technicians. Unfilled vacancies for safety inspectors were at their highest March level on record.
• In trades, vacancies for carpenters, electricians, plumbers, painting trades workers, glaziers, and air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics registered their highest March monthly reading since the data began in 2006. Vacancies for carpenters and electricians sit at levels which are around twice and more than twice historic averages. Vacancies are also at elevated levels for electronics trade workers and telecommunication trade workers.
• In plant and equipment operations, vacancies came in at the highest March level on record for forklift drivers, earthmoving plant operators, drillers/miners/shot firers, crane hoist and lift operators, other stationary plant operators and other mobile plant operators.
• For other manual laboring roles, vacancies stood at March record for structural steel construction workers and building and plumbing labourers and are at elevated levels for concreters, insulation and home improvement installers and other construction and mining laborers.

Going forward, Bristow said the outlook is difficult to predict given uncertainty around geopolitical factors.

Whilst border reopenings are freeing up availability in some areas, Bristow says the number of new arrivals may be negated by the number of departures. As a result, he feels that net migration will not completely address the imbalance between supply and demand.

Asked about strategies which candidates and employers can adopt to generate optimal outcomes, Bristow says there are several.

“Now more than ever it’s important for professionals and trades people to have a well-presented resume as well as an updated social media profile,” he said.

“The job market is moving rapidly and there are multiple opportunities for candidates so it’s important for them to be well prepared and ready to respond quickly when an opportunity arises.

“For employers it’s important to be competitive on salary, benefits and also where possible offer flexibility for roles where there is an option to work from home.

“During the recruitment process employers need to be agile and prompt when dealing with candidates, interviews and offers of employment so they don’t miss out on securing candidates.”