![\"Anna](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/mba-anna-neelagama.png\")
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Master Builders ACT CEO Anna Neelagama. Photo: Master Builders ACT.<\/p>\n
If Canberra is serious about building more homes, it must be just as serious about training the people who will build them.<\/p>\n
That is why Master Builders ACT has long called on the Barr Government to invest properly in skills and training. Without a stronger workforce pipeline, Canberra\u2019s growth agenda will remain just that: an agenda.<\/p>\n
The scale of the challenge is clear. BuildSkills Australia projects the ACT will need another 7800 building and construction workers simply to deliver existing infrastructure commitments and help meet the government\u2019s target of 30,000 new homes by 2030.<\/p>\n
Yet the workforce pipeline is heading in the wrong direction.<\/p>\n
Apprenticeship commencements in the ACT for July to September 2025 show a clear weakening in the pipeline. Commencements were down 9 per cent on the same quarter a year earlier, and in-training numbers were down 17 per cent year-on-year. Compared to five years ago, the training stock remains 23 per cent lower despite some quarterly fluctuations in starts.<\/p>\n
There are now fewer construction trades apprentices in training in the ACT today than at most points in the past decade, despite significant population growth.<\/p>\n
This is not a short-term wobble; it is a warning light flashing red.<\/p>\n
The decline in apprentices has continued despite new places and incentives, including fee-free courses at the Canberra Institute of Technology and payments of up to $10,000 over the life of an apprenticeship in a housing construction trade.<\/p>\n
More of the same will not deliver a different outcome.<\/p>\n
Too often, the system is geared towards reporting enrolments rather than showing how many people go on to complete their qualification.<\/p>\n
Across much of the sector, construction apprenticeship completion rates remain stuck at around 30 to 40 per cent, despite the scrapping of fees and the introduction of incentives.<\/p>\n
Governments are funding enrolments rather than producing qualified tradespeople.<\/p>\n
And if the ACT Government is serious about workforce shortages, it must also get serious about women in construction.<\/p>\n
Chief Minister Andrew Barr has acknowledged the link between skills shortages and gender imbalance, and has called it a priority to get more women working in construction. But right now, the only response is a try-a-trade program in schools. After that, young women are left to navigate the industry alone.<\/p>\n
There is still very little meaningful support for women entering the workforce, and too little support for employers prepared to recruit, train and retain female apprentices and workers.<\/p>\n
Other jurisdictions are investing in mentoring, retention programs, employer incentives and workforce participation initiatives. The ACT is still lagging behind.<\/p>\n
There also needs to be a more honest conversation about workplace flexibility and industrial settings. If governments genuinely want more women in construction, they cannot ignore rigid workforce models, inflexible hours and outdated structures that make participation harder for parents and carers, regardless of gender.<\/p>\n
The industry is ready to adapt, but the government\u2019s own workplace settings and procurement settings are not keeping pace.<\/p>\n
If the ACT Government wants 30,000 homes by 2030, it must invest in the people who will deliver them, not just in the headlines announcing them. That means looking beyond just fees to a broader skills strategy built around commencements, completions, retention and participation.<\/p>\n
Because without skilled workers, Canberra\u2019s housing ambitions will remain a pipe dream.<\/p>\n
Anna Neelagama is the CEO of Master Builders ACT.<\/p>\n
On 24 June, Master Builders ACT is hosting the inaugural Master Builders ACT Sustainability Expo \u2013 a practical, industry-focused event dedicated to advancing sustainability in the ACT building and construction sector. Find out more at Master Builders ACT<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Master Builders ACT CEO Anna Neelagama. Photo: Master Builders ACT. If Canberra is serious about building more homes,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":718743,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[64,63,75,128],"class_list":["post-718742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=718742"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718742\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/718743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=718742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=718742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=718742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}