Master Builders' Australia (MBA) has argued that the reforms to the labour market announced by prime minister Julia Gillard are good news for the Australian property industry and will boost the country's economy as a whole.
Wilheim Harnisch, MBA chief executive officer, noted that the reforms could help free up the "bottleneck" problem which leaves many Australians struggle to gain sufficient education while the industry is faced with a dearth of skilled labour in many positions.
He noted that the building and property industry accounts for roughly nine per cent of all employment in Australia and expects to need 200,000 more skilled workers over the next ten years as it continues to expand.
"The training system must deliver high-quality qualifications relevant to students and employers, which requires more robust measures of training quality," suggested Mr Harnisch.
An initial grant of $3.5 million (£2.3 million) was recently awarded to the MBA in order to help it continue its apprenticeship scheme and provide mentoring to the 53,000 Australians involved in these kind of projects.
Posted by Steve Douglas
