5 July 2024
Booming Southland needs to find 2800 skilled workers
Hot on the heels of Southland’s newfound status as the strongest growing region in the country for the first part of the year comes a double-barrelled challenge – to find and house 2800 additional skilled workers in the next five years.
The ASB Bank regional economic scoreboard for the first quarter showed Southland leaping from 10th to first of the 16 regions.
The ratings are based on 11 measures including employment, construction, retail trade and house prices.
The bank has highlighted Southland’s booming construction and housing sector, defying the national trend of construction slowdown, as a factor impelling the region’s spectacular rise.
However, it will need more than 2800 additional skilled workers to meet the projected surge in demand from a $3.9 billion pipeline of work, according to Waihanga Ara Rau, the Workforce Development Council for Construction and Infrastructure.
This work includes the $687 million remediation of Tiwai Point, a new wind farm at Kaiwera Downs, and the T4 Group Data Centre in Invercargill.
Some 5041 new homes will need to be built to accommodate a projected 13,100 new Southland residents by 2029.
Waihanga Ara Rau chief executive Philip Aldridge said getting more locally trained workers will be essential to sustain Southland’s growth.
“Southland’s five-year construction pipeline is growing, bucking the national slowdown since December 2022. However, this growth is at risk if the skills shortage isn’t overcome through a team effort from the government, employers, and training providers,” Aldridge said.
“For young people in Southland, there will be well-paid work available for those who choose to enter the construction industry,.
“It’s a chance to secure a stable career and be part of the region’s development.’’
Invercargill Deputy Mayor Tom Campbell said the issue had been well recognised by Southland’s four councils since 2015 when they approved the combined strategic plan, the Southland Regional Development Strategy (SoRDS), to increase the region’s population by 10,000 within ten years.