Hunt intensifies for 50,000 tradies paying up to $300,000 a year: 'Sky's the limit'
Queensland is on the hunt for 50,000 construction workers to help build stadiums, roads and tackle the housing crisis. Tradies including carpenters, painters and electricians are among the most in-demand, with six-figure pay packages on the table for some jobs.
The state currently has $53 billion worth of construction activity in the pipeline, but that figure is set to jump to $77 billion in 2026-2027. That's been driven by the state's growing population, which is expected to surpass six million by 2023, the upcoming Olympic Games, and the net zero transition.
A new report by Construction Skills Queensland found meeting these demands will be harder than ever before due to a critical shortage of tradies.
RELATED
Tradie boss wages war on promise of $10,000-a-week pay fuelling apprentice dropout crisis
Mark Bouris issues blunt retirement message for young Australians: 'Accept it now'
Retirees facing 'profoundly worrying' superannuation reality as Aussies' inheritance threatened
"What we're seeing is a shortfall of about 18,200 on average from now across the eight years, and that intensifies to about 50,000 shortfall in '26, '27,' Construction Skills Queensland director Kim Hetherington told 9News.
The building pipeline is forecast to average $40.2 billion over the next eight years, with about 95,900 workers needed each year to meet labour demand.
The engineering pipeline is projected to average $21 billion over the eight years, with an average workforce demand of around 26,700.The top five trades needed in Queensland right now are:
Carpenters
Painters
Electricians
Plasterers
Concreters
There's also a shortage of earthmoving plant operators, structural steel workers and crane operators.
Other jobs needed include building and plumbing labourers, plumbers, miscellaneous labourers, civil engineers and construction managers.
Hetherington said there were good pay packages on offer for construction workers.
But the salary does depend on the job in question.
"The sky's the limit if you want to go into construction management, you know, $300,000 and beyond," Hetherington said.
"But certainly, the trades are being well paid in this environment."
The average full-time worker made $1,975.80 per week in November 2024, or $102,741.60 per year.
Median employee earnings in a main job were lower at $1,396 per week, or $72,592.Sign in to access your portfolio
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
Tradie's 'cheap and easy' solution to Aussie housing problem
The ongoing housing crisis is a topic of conversation on the tip of most Australians' lips, whether you're a renter or a property owner. Many are quick to point to high demand, low supply and skyrocketing prices as causes of the problem, but few can come up with solutions that keep all stakeholders happy. A former tradie has been quietly working away on an answer to the problem, which costs under $100,000 and takes just 12 days to build. Brad Busuttil, an electrician turned business owner, transforms shipping containers into homes. The low-cost alternative to traditional housing won't be right for everyone, but select Aussies are snapping them up to put on their land, and freeing up housing stock elsewhere while doing so. Brad, from Victoria, told Yahoo News he built his first shipping container home "for a little bit of fun" before realising just how "cheap and quick and easy it was to do". With a background in affordable housing, he decided to offer the product to the public and has been astounded by their popularity. He now sells container homes to Aussies around the country through his business, Deluxe Tiny Homes, which cost between $45,000 to $70,000 to buy. This year, he's already delivered 15 tiny homes to clients around the country, with his main customers fitting into three different demographics. "There are investors, so people who have plots of land they don't know what to do with and don't want to do a half-million-dollar build," he explained. "There are then people who are about to build a new home, and rather than rent out another property for 12 months, they pop it in the backyard and live there. The third one, which is most common, is people with elderly parents close to retirement age," he said. Brad explained that the container homes are built "exactly like a normal house", with the same set of standards as a new build house. "That way we have no issues," he said. The shipping containers are brand new, and are "heavily insulated" and water sealed before framing, plastering, floorboards, as well as a kitchen, laundry and bathroom are installed. The entire build is done off-site, and delivered, where customers are given instructions on how to connect the electrical and plumbing. With the housing crisis an ever-present threat, he believes it's a short-term option for those in need. "People can't get into houses, this is a good short-term solution," he said, explaining that while the homes are "comfortable", they're " not massive". Despite admitting they are not going to be a long-term solution for most people, Brad believes his tiny houses will "outlive any of us". "There's a misconception they'll rust and fall apart, but a lot of people forget these containers are designed to spend their entire life out at sea with corrosive water," he said. 🏡 Aussie council makes major caravan rule change to tackle housing crisis 😳 Aussie homeowners warned after destructive find in roof 🥶 American expat exposes biggest problem with Australia Dr Peter Davies, a leading sustainability researcher at Macquarie University, told Yahoo News tiny houses have a place in helping Aussies afford housing. He'd like to see the concept used as "part of a suite" of solutions, but not a "reactive response" to a lack of housing supply. Davies believes that one factor exacerbating the housing problem in Australia is that, for the most part, people want larger homes. But smaller, and even tiny houses, are "generally something that needs to be explored more fully in the suite of housing solutions", he said. Davies said he wouldn't underestimate the value of the low time and financial investment needed to build a tiny home, but what he doesn't want to see is it being used as a "substitute for poor planning outcomes", and a longer-term solution is still required. So, what would a longer-term solution look like? Dr Heather Shearer, an engineering and built environment academic at Griffith University, believes that this comes as an increase in medium-density zoning in Australia's big cities. "It's what they call the missing middle," she said. These properties include smaller townhouses and duplexes as opposed to larger family homes or apartment complexes. "Suburbs need to have higher density but not vertical sprawl high rises," she explained. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Yahoo
Mayor Bass taps AECOM to assist with Palisades rebuilding
Nearly five months after a firestorm laid waste to a wide swath of Pacific Palisades, Mayor Karen Bass announced Friday that the global infrastructure firm AECOM will help develop a master plan for rebuilding the area, as well as a plan for reconstructing utilities and other infrastructure. The firm will work alongside both the city and Hagerty Consulting, which Bass tapped as a recovery contractor in early February, according to the mayor's office. Hagerty, an Illinois-based disaster recovery firm, has a yearlong contract with the city for up to $10 million but has faced persistent questions about the specifics of its work. Read more: As L.A. rebuilds from the Palisades fire, residents ask: What's the plan? The mayor's office did not immediately answer when asked Friday whether Hagerty's role was being scaled back. In late January, the mayor, along with four council members and other city officials, heard presentations from Hagerty, AECOM and a third firm also seeking to be the city's disaster recovery contractor. After Bass selected Hagerty in February, she said the city was still in discussions with AECOM about a separate contract. 'An unprecedented natural disaster requires an unprecedented, all-hands-on-deck response — all levels of government, philanthropy, the private sector and educational institutions coming together to support the community and rebuild as quickly and safely as possible,' Bass said in a written statement Friday. 'AECOM's expertise in long-term infrastructure planning and design will only further expedite our work to get families home.' The mayor's office also did not immediately respond when asked whether the city now has a contract with AECOM, or what the specifics of that contract, including the compensation, are. Steve Soboroff, a longtime local developer and Bass' former chief recovery officer, publicly criticized Bass' decision to choose Hagerty over AECOM as the city's initial disaster recovery contractor. In an interview in mid-April as he was leaving his post, Soboroff raised questions about Hagerty's role and said he thought AECOM should have been hired instead. Along with developing a comprehensive rebuilding master plan and supporting the Palisades' infrastructure reconstruction, AECOM will help coordinate broader public and private rebuilding efforts. The company will work on a "logistics plan for materials management in coordination with local builders and suppliers" as well as a master traffic plan as more homeowners leap into the rebuilding process, according to a news release. AECOM is also the "official venue infrastructure partner" for the 2028 Olympic Games, according to a March news release from LA28. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
21 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Mayor Bass taps AECOM to assist with Palisades rebuilding
Nearly five months after a firestorm laid waste to a wide swath of Pacific Palisades, Mayor Karen Bass announced Friday that the global infrastructure firm AECOM will help develop a master plan for rebuilding the area, as well as a plan for reconstructing utilities and other infrastructure. The firm will work alongside both the city and Hagerty Consulting, which Bass tapped as a recovery contractor in early February, according to the mayor's office. Hagerty, an Illinois-based disaster recovery firm, has a yearlong contract with the city for up to $10 million but has faced persistent questions about the specifics of its work. The mayor's office did not immediately answer when asked Friday whether Hagerty's role was being scaled back. In late January, the mayor, along with four council members and other city officials, heard presentations from Hagerty, AECOM and a third firm also seeking to be the city's disaster recovery contractor. After Bass selected Hagerty in February, she said the city was still in discussions with AECOM about a separate contract. 'An unprecedented natural disaster requires an unprecedented, all-hands-on-deck response — all levels of government, philanthropy, the private sector and educational institutions coming together to support the community and rebuild as quickly and safely as possible,' Bass said in a written statement Friday. 'AECOM's expertise in long-term infrastructure planning and design will only further expedite our work to get families home.' The mayor's office also did not immediately respond when asked whether the city now has a contract with AECOM, or what the specifics of that contract, including the compensation, are. Steve Soboroff, a longtime local developer and Bass' former chief recovery officer, publicly criticized Bass' decision to choose Hagerty over AECOM as the city's initial disaster recovery contractor. In an interview in mid-April as he was leaving his post, Soboroff raised questions about Hagerty's role and said he thought AECOM should have been hired instead. Along with developing a comprehensive rebuilding master plan and supporting the Palisades' infrastructure reconstruction, AECOM will help coordinate broader public and private rebuilding efforts. The company will work on a 'logistics plan for materials management in coordination with local builders and suppliers' as well as a master traffic plan as more homeowners leap into the rebuilding process, according to a news release. AECOM is also the 'official venue infrastructure partner' for the 2028 Olympic Games, according to a March news release from LA28.
