Auckland Master Builders Association president and Building Recruitment director Kevin Everett attended the recent Constructive Forum and came away feeling upbeat about the industry’s future.
Doom and gloom seem to be all around us currently.
However, what I took from the recent RMBA Constructive Forum in Rotorua is the feeling of the industry being in more of a lull before a surge in construction activity returns.
Lots of positivity
It was great to hear from attendees that there is still a lot of positivity around in the residential, commercial and renovation sectors.
It appears that many regions are experiencing a huge demand, and that nothing has slowed down. Architects I spoke with are still busy too.
There were two opinions on how low our consent numbers will drop to.
If you are being pessimistic, one industry leader suggested around 28,000 per annum, while another thought he felt it was going to be around 33,000 per annum.
What really surprised me though was that out of the 50,000 current consents, only around 34,000 have been built.
100,000 houses short
There was also a statement that New Zealand is still more than 100,000 homes short of demand.
Labour issues were still the main concern as materials supply has settled for the time being.
Culture from an employer’s perspective had its own slot at the Forum, and it was pleasing to hear leaders such as John Abercrombie (Hawkins), Nate Alley (Sentinel Homes), Pam McGarry (Naylor Love) and Philip Aldridge (Waihanga Ara Rau) all talking about points I have made previously around employer brand and culture.
It was pleasing to hear them support my points around thinking differently about how to attract new staff and, more importantly, keeping good-quality staff members.
These companies have made changes and, as a result, they are attracting more workers as their businesses are far more attractive to job seekers, and are now going from strength to strength.
