Roads construction and infrastructure is forecast to show strong sustained growth until 2019.
The announcement of a new trade certification for their sector has been welcomed by Bay civil contractors.
Civil Contractors New Zealand Bay of Plenty chairman Richard Kettelwell, a Sharp Tudhope Lawyers partner, said the sector played a key part in the local economy and jobs market.
"Total building and construction activity in civil infrastructure is forecast to reach $5.2 billion annually in the Waikato-Bay of Plenty area by 2017," he said.
"Non-residential construction, including roads and infrastructure, is forecast to show strong sustained growth of 30 per cent from now through until 2019, with no indication of any slowdown beyond that."
The new qualification will be administered by infrastructure training organisation Connexis.
Its central region manager James Cameron said a lot of the training in the sector was done on the job, and there was not a great deal of formal qualifications or regulation within the infrastructure sector, compared with other trade certifications, such as builders, mechanics, plumbers and electricians.
"They all have to get to a level for qualification then get registered with a full trade certification."
By contrast, in part because the sector covered a number of different roles, there was no comparable certification process for infrastructure workers.
"We've got a huge number of people who are highly skilled in this industry but who have never been recognised for it in terms of qualifications.
"The industry got together and said let's do something about that."
The certification was expected to follow three streams, with an initial process of recognition of current competency for workers well-established in the industry who had reached supervisory roles.
There would be a stream for sector newcomers identified as potential future project managers and supervisors, who would undergo 8000 hours' training, and a middle stream for workers who were partially qualified in the industry, to bring their skills levels up to the level where they could be certified under the new scheme.
"The feedback we are getting all around the region is very positive," said Mr Cameron.
Gavin Frost, regional manager for engineering consultancy Beca, said there was a lot of civil infrastructure development going on and an "unprecedented" level of commercial building construction.
"In terms of the infrastructure, there's been a sustained period of investment in the area for quite some time, and it's continuing, which is fantastic for the region," said Mr Frost.
"It's that infrastructure which really underpins our ability to grow the region and attract business and people here."
Civil construction scheme rolls out
School leavers and their parents expect a good career path will include some form of formal qualification and the new apprenticeship scheme will provide it, says Civil Contractors New Zealand Bay of Plenty chairman Richard Kettelwell.
"The reality is that a career in civil construction is one of the best kept secrets for capable people prepared to work hard, take a calculated risk and apply themselves."
"The civil construction sector employs a broad range of skill sets, from casual labour through to skilled machinery operators, foremen, quantity surveyors and project managers. A good excavator operator can earn $75,000 a year plus a vehicle, and good foremen can do even better."
The new certification scheme will initially cover five specialist skills at Level 4 - equivalent to trade certification - civil works, utilities maintenance, pipe installation, bituminous servicing and bituminous product manufacturing.
James Cameron, central region manager for Connexis, said the infrastructure training organisation would begin rolling out the new certification with a pilot scheme involving five to 10 workers across New Zealand who had been identified by industry as eligible for certification via the recognition of current competence route.
"These will be people that are recognised by the people around them as having the right level of skills," he said.
"We're going to work them through the process, recognising their competencies and checking their abilities, experience and understanding. We'll use this as a pilot, see if there is anything we need to change, then roll it out to the industry."
Connexis
* Established in October 2013 through the merger of ESITO (The Electricity Supply Industry Training Organisation) and Infratrain (a civil construction industry training organisation), to manage training for the infrastructure sector.
* Connexis has also just acquired responsibility for the water sector, including water reticulation and water and waste water treatment workers.