With the results of the recent election, opinion is divided on whether the relentlessly positive aspirations of this new government are on point, or whether they are pushing a bridge too far. The ambitious $2 billion KiwiBuild housing scheme was recently unveiled, and the goals they have set for these initiatives are great for the industry – provided we can find the people to build all these houses!
If you’ve seen any of the recent interviews with Mr Twyford, 100,000 houses in 10 years may in fact be his minimum expectation rather than the goal. In fact, in recent weeks, the government has stated that with the inception of KiwiBuild they are aiming to double state housing builds from 1,000 to 2,000 per year.
Over the weekend, I went to speak to a number of residential builders who are all competitively placed in their show homes on a secluded row in the village of Hobsonville Point. To the naked eye, looking around the suburb, you’d have no idea that these residential builders have seen a huge plummet in the numbers of customers walking through seeking to buy a new build home.
There are apartments, duplexes, standalones, everything you could imagine, but the cheapest house I could see was $970,000!
With Hobsonville Point being a “master planned community…with over 4500 homes built” in the area, it’s only a slice of the overall requirement that Auckland, and indeed New Zealand, needs to meet the shortfall; though there are certainly no “affordable” houses here. The KiwiBuild initiative is focused on changing that.
The initiative’s aim is to lift home building levels to be on par with the 1970’s, and make a real impact on the 71,000-home shortfall they say we’ve had in the last 9 years. This is all good news for a construction sector that is already booming, but how will we meet the demand?
As OneStaff’s National Strategic Account Manager, I regularly talk to our clients and partners all across the country. The feedback I’m hearing from some companies is that they are already feeling the squeeze from the skills shortage. This isn’t an issue of taking political sides, the growth is definitely exciting, however there are some real challenges in turning these aspirations into reality, especially when taking the potential impact of changes to immigration legislation into account.
While there is some panic around exactly what those changes will be, the government does seem to be making a concerted effort to ensure that New Zealand continues to attract migrants with the right skills. That said, if we’re going to be able to meet the housing demand, enlisting the skills and experience of overseas workers won’t be enough. We’ll all need to put our heads together within the industry and figure out the best way in which to develop skills within our national workforce. From everything I’ve been seeing, I expect a big increase in collaboration across industry, as well as investment in skills development from both the government and from companies looking to get the most out of their people.
The Kiwi Build programme might be just what we need to ensure more affordable houses are available to the average worker, particularly in Auckland where rents are at all-time highs.
100,000 houses in 10 years seems ambitious, though if the government is willing to work closely with the private sector, and to bring in the right people from overseas, to achieve this, it might just be achievable
With so much building to be done, KiwiBuild could be a huge boost to our construction industry workforce, providing jobs for thousands and giving people a chance to acquire skills and experience that will put them in great shape for the future.
If we can work together as an industry to help make this happen, we stand far greater chance of successfully building the houses we need, and a far stronger construction sector as a result.
