A shortage in skilled labour is the number one issue facing mechanical contractors in Australia, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, according to the International Alliance of Mechanical Contracting Associations (IAMCA).
The Alliance meets each year in conjunction with the Mechanical Contractors Association of America’s (MCAA) annual convention which was held in March.
IAMCA membership is made up of contracting groups from Canada, the US, UK and Australia.
Participants at the meeting agreed that the skilled labour problem is particularly acute in Canada where there are a lot of large resource projects underway.
Australia’s Air Conditioning and Mechanical Contractors Association (AMCA) national director, David Eynon, said the lack of skilled trade labour has been discussed at previous meetings of the Alliance.
“But now it is a priority one issue compared to previous years when it may have had a priority 10 ranking,” he said.
“Construction growth in Australia is relatively benign, but signs that construction is
beginning to get some traction in the UK and US are positive.”
MCAA president Mike Cables said 20 per cent of the skilled workforce needs to be made up of apprentices if future needs are to be satisfied.
“As we move into the years when the baby boom generation start to retire, the industry
needs to step up and increase employment and training of apprentices,” he said.
While the skills shortage in Australia continue to be a problem, the biggest issues identified by contractors in the AMCA’s State of the Industry Survey were mainly financial.
For example, survey respondents pointed to low margins and late payment as an ongoing frustration that plagues the entire industry.
The results of the survey, which was undertaken during November and December last year, were released in January 2014.
Many of the comments provided by Australian contractors were about the tough economic climate.
“We have seen public sector spending increase since the federal election but business investment is still stalled and will take some time to recover,” one local contractor said.
Eynon said many of the issues identified in the survey are universal with Alliance members discussing the latest BIM developments and trends in training.
“A conclusion which can be drawn from participating in these Alliance discussions, is that the problems and issues faced by mechanical contractors around the world are not too dissimilar,” he said.