New study calls for more property developers and managers

Lobo, from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, has recently completed a thesis into the skills needs for the building industry over the next 20 years.

His findings that builders need to specialise to survive dispute prevailing thought that demand for generalist practitioners will increase, with builders widening their skill set to meet shortages, and the boundaries between different trades blurring.

"This is not the case for the building industry in New Zealand. The research findings show increasing specialisation will be the trend at all skill levels," he says. "The introduction of occupational licensing will influence this trend until 2010, but ultimately technology will be the key driver that will cause specialisation to occur."

Occupational licensing means work critical to the structure of a building will need to be carried out by a licensed building practitioner. Voluntary licensing begins in 2007 and compulsory licensing begins in 2009.

The increasing use of prefabrication will further increase the need for specialisation, confirming previous research. A greater mix of practitioners will be needed: specialists for off-site tasks and general builders for on-site tasks.

Causes of skill shortages were found to be a combination of the building activity boom but also low levels of training. Over 75% of those interviewed saw a revitalised training system as essential to dealing with the future needs of the workforce. This was due a reluctance of employers to take on apprentices, especially in the 90s.

Yadeed's research was based on 40 interviews with individuals from different sectors and levels of the building industry. His study was funded by the Building Research Levy.