Road workers and drainlayers are ditching New Zealand for Australia, where they can make more money and work all year round, industry figures say.
The “exodus” adds to fears for the roading and civil works sector as “massive infrastructure deficit and massive maintenance issues” plague the country, with two councils in the fast-growing Bay of Plenty saying shortages are affecting projects.
Graham Rodgers, of recruitment agency Success Group, said in winter, the civil workforce dropped as many projects were weather-dependent and “if it’s wet, they can’t work”.
Some employers tried to keep half of their staff and used labour-hire companies or people on short or fixed-term contracts as needed.
The civil sector was busy, but so were many other industries, “who all want to grab them, or they have gone to Aussie, where they get paid much more and can work all year”.
Rodgers said it had jobs for drainlayers, machinery operators, traffic controllers and truck drivers.
In March, Treasury said $210 billion would be needed to plug NZ’s current and 30-year-projected infrastructure gap.
Civil Contractors NZ chief executive Alan Pollard said the country had “massive infrastructure deficit and massive maintenance issues” and agreed it had been “losing people to Australia since the borders re[opened”.
Wages were generally higher there, residency paths for Kiwis had been made easier and Australia had a “phenomenal” amount of infrastructure development — much of it “actually committed”.
Pollard said it was doing all it could to grow the NZ workforce, but he believed too many school leavers lacked the right skills, aptitude and attitude.
“We are having to do programmes to prepare young Kiwis to go to work. A lot of them don’t understand what it means to get up every day, get dressed and go to work.”
Drainlayers were on the immigration Green List, but a big problem was general labourers, traffic controllers, and civil construction workers were not.
He wanted more action from the Government with regard to its plan to invest $71b in infrastructure over the next five years and $6b for cyclone recoveries and resilience.
Proposals needed to “turn into real projects” so the industry could ensure it had people with the right skills to do the job and the right equipment.
He said the “lag” to reach that stage was “significant” and put pressure on businesses waiting for decisions.
“It’s very hard to run a business with that level of uncertainty.”
Some companies could go under because of cost structures, inflation and the cost of wages, he said.
Tauranga civil engineer Liam McCord said the biggest labour shortage issue was being able to offer continuous work, as a lot of projects were held up by red tape — from resource consents to traffic management.
He had not lost staff to Australia, but knew of engineers, project managers and surveyors who had left.
He said he believed civil construction was not perceived to be a very attractive career compared to working as an electrician, plumber or builder.
“No one really considers the infrastructure trades, and in some instances, [they are] far more critical to the country.
“We ended up with this huge lack of resource, and there is not the young people coming through and being trained. We find it really, really hard to find skilled, drug-free staff … [for] this kind of work. I guess it’s the perception that people are standing on the side of roads with the lollipop signs, when in reality, the job is so much more varied and exciting.”
Bay Civil general manager Mike Speed said the biggest issue facing the sector was access to “home-grown” or “imported” skilled labour.
He said it could not stop workers from going to Australia, but needed to recognise investing in training was still worth the effort.
“For every person we train that moves to another business, we have to hope that others in the industry are training at similar levels so that when we recruit, we inherit staff with meaningful skills and experience.”
Master Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers NZ chief executive Greg Wallace said there was an “exodus of apprentices in our trade qualifying and then leaving to go to Australia”.
Wallace said the organisation had noticed young tradies going to Australia first to earn more money, then heading to the UK and extending their OE.
1st Call Recruitment managing director Phil van Syp said it supplied civil workers to all the major companies in New Zealand and it was a constant battle.
“It can be tough because you do away-jobs, the hours are varied, you can work at night and some of the roles are weather-dependent, but … [with the] skills or a willingness to learn, you can progress up the ranks fast.”
Tauranga City Council infrastructure general manager Nic Johansson said the labour market for the entire supply chain had been constrained and made “timely” recruitment more difficult.
“Contractors are struggling to find the right people for the right jobs, and this can have an effect on productivity.”
The council had more than 70 projects under construction, with another 60-plus being designed.
He said council projects faced the same consenting and funding issues as other projects, public and private.
Consenting could be “complex”, but it was “designed to ensure the proposed work is safe, durable and minimises the impact on the environment”.
“We have never invested as much into the city as we are now. Tauranga is a young city with relatively good in-ground assets. When it comes to this infrastructure, we have good data and analysis, so we’re aware of what maintenance is required. There has been an underinvestment in the roading network for some time, and our Long Term Plan will help improve the way we maintain this.”
Rotorua Lakes Council infrastructure and environmental solutions deputy chief executive Stavros Michael said a challenge for the civil works industry was young people showing little interest in pursuing engineering or trade skills and qualifications.
This meant the sector operated below capacity, leading to higher labour costs, an inability to handle multiple projects at once and fewer participants in open tenders.
For operations and maintenance and capital renewal, the council established long-term contracts spanning 10 to 20 years at a cost of about $60 million a year, he said.
About $200m a year was for upgrading services and civil service networks.
Minister for Infrastructure Megan Woods referred NZME questions to Waihanga Ara Rau - the Construction and Infrastructure Workforce Development Council and the Construction Sector Accord, which was established between the Government and industry in 2019.
Modelling supplied by Waihanga Ara Rau showed nationally in June 2023, civil infrastructure had a labour supply of 32,345 and a workforce gap of 2,444. In Bay of Plenty, the supply was 2,498, with a gap of 339.
Workforce Information Platform shows the number of learners enrolled in a relevant infrastructure qualification or programme jumped from 5,865 in 2021 to 6,770 in 2022.
Construction Sector Accord transformation lead Graham Burke said it played a role in connecting and co-ordinating the Government and construction sector to help address system-wide challenges, including workforce development.
“The accord has helped to address immediate skills gaps in civil construction by connecting with industry and providing advice to Government on priority roles to include in recent changes to the immigration Green List.
It had also funded an international marketing campaign to help the industry attract skilled migrants.
Carmen Hall is a news director for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post, covering business and general news. She has been a Voyager Media Awards winner and a journalist for 25 years.
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