SA Housing Trust construction industry training programs have delivered jobs for more than 500 South Australians, helping to fill the state’s trades shortage.

The Trust’s Employment Pathway Program (EPP) has to date provided training for 1,733 participants, including 439 Housing Trust customers. Of these, 580 have gained employment, including apprenticeships, traineeships and industry contracts.

Additionally, a $5 million Apprenticeship Program is also delivering its first newly qualified tradespeople, with the program providing $5000 per year for each apprenticeship over four years.

The program initially aimed for 250 apprenticeship completions, but has attracted 270 apprentices, now learning construction trades in:

• 194 carpentry
• 23 bricklayers
• 19 electrical
• 10 painting
• 8 plastering
• 4 tiling
• 4 plumbing
• 4 cabinetmaking
• 2 roof plumbing
• 2 concreting
  Seventeen apprentices have already graduated and another six will qualify in coming months.

As well as helping to generate a new workforce in areas identified by the Construction Industry and Training Board as having shortages, the program aspires to support apprentices to achieve long-term employment and financial independence.

All apprentices work on Trust public and affordable housing building sites, as well as private building sites.

The program is supported by housing and construction industry stakeholders, including the Master Builders Association of SA, HIA Apprentices SA, Career Employment Group, Murraylands Training and Employment and Statewide Group Training SA, who recruited the apprentices.

This initiative follows the 2024-25 State Budget which included record investment of an additional $692.6 million over five years in skills funding for South Australians.

That lifts total funding, as part of the National Skills Agreement, to $2.3 billion in partnership with the Commonwealth.

The State Government has also committed to fee-free TAFE and vocational education for 12,500 training places to make it more accessible and affordable for people to train, retrain and upskill in key industries, including construction.

The Trust also runs introductory construction industry training programs Build Your Career, Building Links and Doorways to Construction. To learn more, go to:

https://www.housing.sa.gov.au/about-us/careers/employment-pathways-program

Quotes

Attributable to Minister for Housing and Urban Development Nick Champion

South Australia needs more tradies and this Housing Trust program has been well supported by the building and construction industry.

These skills are in high demand and learning a trade can be a job for life.

I want to congratulate the hundreds of people who have achieved employment outcomes from this opportunity and thank the many businesses and trades organisations who have helped these tradies learn the necessary skills to help them on their way.

As a state, we need to be building more homes faster and more tradies will help achieve this critical goal.