The Infrastructure Australia report of October 2021 notes record national levels of infrastructure investment, but that in the process Australia faces a shortage of skills, labour and materials. It goes on to describe the likely workforce shortfall in particular as a crisis.
However, in a piece for The Mandarin UTS School of Built Environment’s Martin Loosemore, writing with Emma Lee and Jo Barraket, argues that what we’re seeing is actually an opportunity.
As they see it, these labour shortages offer the infrastructure industry a chance to engage in the ‘social procurement debate’ – requiring supply chains to deliver social value in addition to standard deliverables. Think training and employment opportunities for traditionally disadvantaged groups including people with disability, those from non-English-speaking backgrounds, and Indigenous people – among others.