A staffing shortage is triggering alarm bells for tradespeople in regional Victoria, as the state government moves to build 800,000 homes across the next decade.

Peter Shields has been working as a glazier for 28 years, and two years ago moved back to his hometown of Dookie in the state’s north-east. 

He has worked up to 90 hours a week in the past month to keep up with growing demand. 

“Obviously we are under stress, and it’s long hours,” Mr Shields said.

“It adds frustration to the job that you can see where it [the industry] is going, and you think, ‘Jeepers, what’s going to happen in five years’ time?'”

A man in high visibility jacket, a vest, a cap and glasses in front of an industrial garage door.

Peter Shields says the pressure of working in a finishing trade may deter some apprentices. (ABC Goulburn Murray: Coco Veldkamp)

Mr Shields said the Shepparton region had just nine glaziers servicing a population of more than 130,000 people.

He said many of those businesses were likely to close in the next five years, due to ageing staff and a lack of new apprentices.

“As a trade that isn’t widely known, there isn’t a rush of potential candidates,” Mr Shields said. 

“Add to that the lure of better pay initially in retail, the pressure to be perfect with production because we are a finishing trade, the manual lifting and the occasional cuts, [and we] see employees leave the industry. 

“I have lost count of how many I have mentored, but only one is still in the trade full-time.”

Australian Glass and Window Association head of industry development Melissa Baker said the number of apprentices in the glass and glazing industry was extremely low. 

“With glass becoming an increasingly prominent feature in both commercial and residential buildings, the demand for skilled workers continues to grow,” she said. 

Builder at work

Trade industry bodies are warning the workforce may struggle to meet government housing targets. (ABC North Coast: Hannah Ross)

Wider trade shortages

The Victorian government’s target of building 800,000 homes in the next decade has some industries concerned about whether the goal is possible amid widespread staffing shortages.

A middle-aged man in a collard shirt and blazer smiling for a professional headshot.

Cliff Bingham says the construction workforce is already unable to keep up with demand. (Supplied: Cliff Bingham)

Jobs and Skills Australia assistant secretary of labour markets Cliff Bingham said trade shortages were a particular problem in the regions. 

“We also tend to see that, on average across the labour market, regional employers tend to have a slightly tougher time of it than employers in capital cities, particularly when you get out into small country towns,” he said.

Mr Bingham said that over the past two years, trade shortages had improved marginally, but were still well below where they needed to be.

A builder shovels gravel next to a digger.

Victoria is planning to build 800,000 homes in a decade. (ABC South East SA: Isadora Bogle)

“In the context of housing construction, we can’t build as many homes as we would like to because we just don’t have the size of the workforce that we need,” he said.

Mr Bingham said many factors contributed to trade skills shortages, including negative perceptions of vocational training, and differing opinions around policy settings for apprenticeships.

Barriers for women in construction industry

As Australia’s construction industry continues to suffer from a worker shortage, these female tradies say more women want to take up the tools but can’t due to sexist attitudes on the site. 

He also said industries dominated by one gender were more likely to have shortages. 

Master Builders Victoria chief executive Michaela Lihou said attracting new entrants into construction trades was important. 

“Our members across the state have let us know that it is harder to attract apprentices into trades than it was 20 years ago, and getting more people into apprenticeships is critically important to deliver the homes that we need,” she said.

“It is essential that every region across Victoria has access to quality training and clear career pathways into trades to support us meeting the Victorian housing target.’

A young woman in a hard hat and high visibility vest smiling.

Michaela Lihou has been the CEO of Master Builders Victoria since 2023. (Supplied: Master Builders Australia)

Barriers to training

During National Skills Week last week, the Housing Industry Association (HIA) called for “fresh thinking” to address the industry’s chronic staff shortages. 

“Not only is Australia facing a chronic shortage of skilled workers, but the competition for workers has never been tougher,” HIA managing director Jocelyn Martin said.

“This competition is only expected to increase with a number of significant infrastructure and big-build projects in the pipeline.”

New apprenticeship funding

The most recent data shows apprenticeship numbers haven’t kept pace with population growth, with more than half of apprentices not completing their training.

She said training access remained a barrier for young people in rural areas, with some having to travel up to four hours for trade school.

HIA said it had made numerous recommendations to the Victorian government, including a targeted program for school leavers to promote trades, a pilot program for accelerated apprenticeships, and funding to support skilled immigrants navigating regulatory requirements. 

A Victorian government spokesperson said there was more work to do to recruit staff to trades.  

“We’re taking action to build a strong pipeline of skilled workers to deliver the homes that all Victorians need, including in the regions,” the spokesperson said. 

“This includes investing more than $16 billion [in] new and base funding into our TAFE and training system since 2014, making sure Victorians have the right skills for the opportunities of the future.”