Jack of all trades 'on the way out'

Yadeed Lobo spent 18 months writing a thesis on the building industry's demand for future skills. Picture / Paul Estcourt

Building-industry workers will become increasingly specialised during the next 20 years and jack-of-all-trades builders are a dying breed, a study says.

The study, by Yadeed Lobo from Auckland University's department of civil and environmental engineering, found the imminent introduction of builder licensing would encourage more training and education in an industry which had a rising demand for specialist skills.

It said the sector was depleted of skills, partly due to the collapse of apprenticeship training schemes in the past decade.

A push to train building-sector employees was changing that but more changes were imminent. "Increasing specialisation will be the trend at all skill levels," said Lobo, who spent 18 months writing a thesis on the building industry's demand for future skills.

Technology was driving this specialisation and new careers would emerge in the building sector that were not apparent today.

Lobo's findings contrast with moves in Britain and Hong Kong to employ more generalist practitioners. He also identified areas where skills were most or least plentiful.

Architects were plentiful but this sector would evolve in the next two decades as demand emerged for concept architects and back-of-house design architects.

"The architecture profession had the best outlook, being the only occupation having more than one suitable applicant for every job advertised," he said.

But there was a shortage of project managers - with employers keenest on specialists with five to 10 years' work experience in this country.

Lobo also found a shortage of engineers, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, building officials and bricklayers - but Government changes could soon help to alleviate some of those problems.

Building Issues Minister Clayton Cosgrove announced the new builder licensing regime to regulate the industry this year, adding the sector was about to change.

"I'm trying to change the industry from total deregulation and an anything-goes attitude after the destruction of apprenticeships," he said. "We're licensing builders so not everyone can slap on a tool belt and call themselves a builder."

This licensing regime is being phased in gradually: voluntary licensing begins next year and compulsory licensing starts in 2009.

Fletcher Building has been recruiting overseas for most of this decade, hunting for project managers and quantity surveyors in particular. It has brought British and South African migrants here to fill gaps on its sites.