Construction Skills Shortage: 35,000 Workers Needed by 2028

0:00What's up, I'm Cory with the story, and these are your headlines from Sydney News today. A new report from Construction Skills Queensland warns of a huge shortfall in construction workers. The gap is expected to peak at 35,000 in 2027-28. That's driven by a supercycle of demand ahead of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Demand for labor will jump 17% that year compared to now. Key projects include billions in games infrastructure, like a 63,000-seat stadium at Victoria Park, population growth, and the shift to new energy systems are adding even more pressure. Industry leaders say shortages risk major delays and cost blowouts on these projects. They have hard deadlines that can't move. Bacon sees already topped 5,600 last November, up 40% from five years earlier. This forecast revises last year's prediction of 50,000 short in 2026-27. The change comes from a split peak, with building work topping out first,

1:01then engineering like roads and bridges later. No silver bullets exist, but fixes include boosting apprentices, easing migration for interstate and overseas workers, and incentives for women and others. The state government has a $19 million subsidy pilot, and leaders call for collaboration to get more boots on the ground. This episode is brought to you by our sponsor. See the episode description. Headphones in a pillow. Once you try it, it just makes sense. S-O-L-I-SOLYPILLOW.COM