BUILDERS and the construction industry have accepted indirect praise from the federal government for “powering” the Australian economy after a focus of its budget was centred on infrastructure building, apprenticeships and job creation. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has committed a further $2.7 billion to its HomeBuilder program that will expand the Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements wage subsidy amid a $285 million commitment to support skills reform in a raft of stimulating job measures. Master Builders ACT have reported more than 3000 applications for the HomeBuilder grant scheme around Canberra’s streets, which has supported around $1 billion of the residential building activity that directly has kept 8,780 locals in jobs.