Industries in Australia Maintaining Strength
COVID-19 as a pandemic has had a tremendous impact on the global economy in general. As the current situation becomes more challenging, this global shutdown has the potential to revive some of Australia’s industries such as manufacturing and supply chain sectors. Manufacturing has always been an essential service to Australia and has so far not as impacted as many other industries by the coronavirus.
Aside from this, the country’s construction industry is still going strong unlike in many countries. As Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison says, he wants construction “to continue to be classified as an essential service and considers the sector vital to the economy and jobs.” This is opposite to what has been happening in many areas around the world, closing most of their construction industry such as in the US and the UK. Given the impact of Covid-19, there is no doubt that there will have been changes in the industry, but the Australian government wants to see that keep going, just like mining and resources and manufacturing.
It is interesting to know that Australian builders and tradies are still in high demand the past weeks while social distancing and other related policies were in place. According to Denita Wawn, the CEO of Master Builders Australia, “builders and tradies remain open for business and are complying with the social distancing and hygiene rules, in line with the latest advice from the government.” This is also related to confirming that building is an essential industry.
Also, it is not surprising that tradies are still in high demand, however, the surging demand for some trades from the homeowners during the coronavirus outbreak was apparent. According to the data gathered by online hiring platform Hipages, Australians want to make their homes safer with an increase in the instalment of alarm systems, security screen doors, and CCTV. Others needed tradies to help them work from home, from data cabling to television repairs.
Concerning the industries mentioned, there is still a demand for trades such as welders, fabricators and diesel mechanics, given that there has always been a shortage of skilled workers for these roles in the country. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 1.425 million workers are employed in metal fabrication alone. Also, as these trades are needed in construction, manufacturing and other industries, it is expected that there will also be a higher demand for them post COVID-19.
Tradies, in general, have not been added to the restricted services list.
The following are the government initiatives in different states about keeping the businesses and industries up and running and to cope up with COVID-19:
NSW - License fees for tradies have been scrapped in NSW to help them get through a downturn in business caused by the coronavirus lockdown. Tradesmen will not have to pay the usual fee when they apply to renew their license.
ACT - The ACT government is fast-tracking additional infrastructure projects to keep Canberra working through the COVID-19 pandemic. This program focuses on work that can start immediately and will support local jobs, businesses and communities
QLD - In response to the demand created by COVID-19, some Queensland businesses are manufacturing alcohol-based hand sanitisers or the alcohol (ethanol) used in hand sanitisers. Many of these are doing so for the first time.
SA - The University of South Australia this month formed a working group of defence primes, SMEs, and government representatives to gain insights into the impact of COVID-19 on the local industry
TAS - The Tasmanian Government has prepared $420 million stimulus package to support Tasmania Agricultural businesses to tackle the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
WA - The WA Government and the Building and Construction Industry Training Board today, 29th of April 2020, announced a $24.5 million support package to assist the building and construction industry to maintain a skilled workforce during the COVID-19 crisis.
NT - The Northern Territory (NT) Government is investing $120 million as part of a Jobs Rescue and recovery plan, to save local jobs, keep businesses open and maintain cash flow.
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