Concerns Wellington city construction projects will stall as workforce shortage hits 138% rnz.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from rnz.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Like Marlborough, Otago was finding it hard to attract and accommodate skilled workers for major upcoming projects during a growth period due to a housing supply shortage, he said. “If accommodation is an issue, the empty house audit is certainly one of the solutions that has been floated for other regions, to see whether there is a supply of empty buildings that could be better used.” Along with ensuring a healthy workplace culture, employer support could include helping workers find housing, and helping them connect with services such as schools and doctors, the Otago report said.
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BCITO insight and innovation manager Mark Williams says Marlborough is an interesting case study because it has a huge labour demand for upcoming projects, and a severe housing shortage, especially for short-term residents.
Scott Hammond/Stuff At 18, she got the chance to work in Blenheim, where her sister was living. After a brief stint in Australia, working across hospitality and retail, Moynihan moved back to Blenheim, “because everyone comes back to Blenheim”. She worked at the Quality Hotel restaurant and bar for two years, before becoming a sales agent for a rental car company at the ferry terminal in Picton. “I used to get a lot of interaction with international travellers and learnt about other people’s culture. It was fun. I like meeting new people”. After a year, Moynihan got pregnant with daughter Olivia and had a year off, with the odd job driving tractors in Marlborough’s vineyards.
Over 1800 workers needed to fill construction labour gap in Marlborough stuff.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stuff.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Samantha Buck of Inspire decorating company in Masterton said they took on an extra two apprentices thanks to the Apprentice Boost scheme. Samantha Buck, of Masterton-based decorating company Inspire, said schemes such as TTAF and Apprentice Boost helped them decide to take on more apprentices. “This time last year we were talking about whether we would be having to make redundancies with Covid.” Buck said finding skilled labour was a big issue before the pandemic as trades trainees were not coming through from secondary school. “Now being able to nab them and confidently say we can support you through your apprenticeship has been massive for us. It meant that we took on another two apprentices on top of the ones we already had.”