{"id":318277,"date":"2022-05-16T22:15:48","date_gmt":"2022-05-16T12:15:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=318277"},"modified":"2022-05-18T23:15:02","modified_gmt":"2022-05-18T13:15:02","slug":"where-are-all-the-tradies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2022\/05\/16\/where-are-all-the-tradies\/","title":{"rendered":"Where Are All The Tradies?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Part of the Hansen’s Kitchens team … Kylie van Schyndel with Clinton and Michelle Hansen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

May 16, 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kingaroy businesswoman Michelle Hansen has been looking since January to expand her team, with absolutely no luck … a situation which has her worried, but not just for her business.<\/p>\n

Michelle and her husband Clinton own Hansen’s Kitchens, a cabinetmaking business situated on the outskirts of Kingaroy.<\/p>\n

The couple has five employees and have been looking for a qualified cabinetmaker.<\/p>\n

“We have advertised locally and in Brisbane, Toowoomba and the Sunshine Coast,” Michelle said.<\/p>\n

“We are lucky that we have a really good team but with the amount of work coming in we have the capacity to grow but we can’t because we can’t get the people.”<\/p>\n

They’ve now given up and are seeking “the next option”, a mature-age apprentice.<\/p>\n

And Michelle hopes that person is already living somewhere in the South Burnett as potential employees also have to find accommodation – something which is becoming very difficult in Kingaroy.<\/p>\n

“If we don’t have people, we don’t have a business,” she said.<\/p>\n

But it’s not just her employment issue which has Michelle worried, it’s all the other issues that seem to be hitting the building industry across Queensland at the moment.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As well as the lack of tradespeople, there’s a lack of materials – or, a big wait on deliveries – which has been affecting local projects.<\/p>\n

“It’s just so hard to manage when the price of materials is constantly moving upwards. Trades are contracting to do a job but the prices are changing so quickly,” Michelle said.<\/p>\n

In cabinet-making, Michelle has noticed that items such as hinges, drawer runners and timber products are in short supply.<\/p>\n

“There’s so much demand it’s taking a lot longer to get these products,” Michelle said.<\/p>\n

“We are always communicating with customers, keeping them in the loop which is all what we can do. Most of our clients are very understanding.”<\/p>\n

It’s this “perfect storm” of lack of qualified staff, material delays and rising prices that has Michelle worried about the future of all construction trades.<\/p>\n

For example, there is a shortage of stone masons to cut the bench tops used in her business.<\/p>\n

And Michelle and Clinton’s experience with building their own home is a good example. After two years, they have the frame up and that’s it.<\/p>\n

“I believe construction is a dying trade. It’s not just builders, it’s plumbers, electricians, plasterers, bricklayers …” Michelle said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“It’s really across the board. I hear the same thing from everyone in construction.<\/p>\n

“You can’t get a tiler here any more, or even bricklayers.”<\/p>\n

She lays some of the blame at the fact that trade apprenticeships don’t have the “prestige” attached to them that going to university does.<\/p>\n

“There’s such a push for students to get an ATAR to go to uni. Going to TAFE is considered second best but that’s not the case!” Michelle said.<\/p>\n

“They still have to do four years of training before they are actually qualified. They’ve got to be smart.<\/p>\n

“What are we going to do when Australia runs out of qualified tradespeople? Who’s going to train the next generation? We’ve got to have houses …”<\/p>\n

So Hansen’s Kitchens are now looking for one – or maybe two – mature people who are looking for a career change.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“They can be 21 or they can be 40. So long as they have life experience and would like to learn a new skill,” Michelle said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kingaroy businesswoman Michelle Hansen has been looking since January to expand her team, with absolutely no luck … a situation which has her worried, but not just for her business.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":318278,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5,16,3],"tags":[21],"yoast_head":"\nWhere Are All The Tradies? - southburnett.com.au<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kingaroy businesswoman Michelle Hansen has been looking since January to expand her team, with absolutely no luck ... a situation which has her worried, but not just for her business.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2022\/05\/16\/where-are-all-the-tradies\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Where Are All The Tradies? 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