A report on the Upper North Island’s labour demand is calling for co-ordinated action to ensure an adequate supply of truck drivers and other skilled staff, including exploring whether existing training initiatives can be scaled up.
The Upper North Island Strategic Alliance (UNISA), a collaboration of seven councils from Northland, Auckland, Waikato and the Bay of Plenty commissioned the report by Infometrics and consultants MartinJenkins on industry trends and labour demand.
The UNISA mayors and chairs have directed staff to look at how to implement the report’s recommendations across the Upper North Island.
“The report particularly indicates the need for joint action in construction and related services, tourism, and freight and logistics where UNISA can add value over and above what is happening already,” says UNISA’s chair Bill Shepherd.
The report says that the Upper North Island accounts for over half of New Zealand’s population, economy and employment. An extra 115,000 jobs are expected across the UNISA area between now and 2020. A further 245,000 jobs will need to be filled to replace workers who leave the labour market.
The report identifies significant shortages in some occupations related to construction, freight and logistics, and tourism.
Employment growth of 5.5% a year to 2020 is forecasting for construction and related services.
To ensure the right supply of skills for this sector, the report recommends the application of regionally-focused construction workforce initiatives, such as the Auckland construction industry workforce roadmap, to the Upper North Island.
There are substantial freight and logistics connections within the Upper North Island and the report calls for coordinated action to ensure an adequate supply of truck drivers and other skilled staff, including exploring whether existing training initiatives can be scaled-up.
“There is no quick fix to these challenges, but we in UNISA are on the same page when it comes to recognising the need for action. We also look forward to working with Central Government on the way forward,” says Shepherd.
UNISA’S members are Northland Regional Council, Whangarei District Council, Auckland Council, Waikato Regional Council, Hamilton City Council, Bay of Plenty Regional Council and Tauranga City Council.
View the report at waikatoregion.govt.nz/unisa
