More Lands more Builders needed

The evident growth in building activities has been discussed around the country. In particular to Auckland, it dominated construction for both residential and non-residential construction as it grows for the fifth quarter in the March period. There is a lack of sufficient manpower and lands to match the demand and supply of housing.
That is due to the rapidly-increasing population and the insufficient land supply, especially in Auckland for being the country’s biggest city. The increasing demands for housing has not been satisfied though there were 9353 new residential building consents for Auckland in the year through April, but it is still a long way to match the 13,000 needed to meet the growing population.
Various solutions and statements have been proposed but the recent new national policy statement (NPS) is aiming to set a directive for urban councils to provide the land capacity for new housing and businesses by requirement. Housing affordability problems will still persist but with the proposed policy changes, it might as well be a factor in slowing down the rate of house prices increase, Chief Executive of Property Institute of New Zealand, Ashley Church said.
As previously discussed, it is necessary to provide a better guidance and clear career pathways for potential workers of the construction industry. The government has set out to inject more funding for building apprentices. Different associations are also working on promoting the industry and what it can offer to people who are looking to enter as a construction professional. It is a vast sector with different facets which all contributes to construction.
Appointed by the government, The Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation (BCITO) develops qualifications and arranges training for a wide range of sectors within the construction industry. They are also looking to promote more apprentices into the industry and will be exhibiting at Auckland Build Expo 2016 in November. The construction event also looks into empowering apprentices, students and to interest potential and new comers to the building industry; universities and institutes such as University of Auckland, Manukau Institute of Technology are also exhibiting.
Advocacy associations for women construction professionals are also on board with the event such as NAWIC, National Association of Women in Construction as well as Architecture + Women New Zealand. ”We see a huge opportunity for woman in this sector, yet recent experience shows that the majority of female school leavers still consider the industry as men only. NAWIC looks to encourage females to think about this sector when looking at their career pathways going forward. A increased gender balance general diversity benefits the industry as a whole , as well as to industry outputs,” Jenny Parker, Chair of NAWIC said.