Projects have accelerated revenue due to increased funding which has greatly helped to boost the Road and Bridge construction industry. There has been extensive upgrades to existing roading in and around the Sydney area and other areas where infrastructure funding has been provided.
We know that around 86% of our Australian people live in cities and towns and more than 50% in the major cities and road freight will have grown by 25% by 2020 with rail freight by 8%. The construction sector had growth of 3.9% on average every year since 1991,
We have a track record in Australia for delivering these complex and large scale infrastructure projects which are currently taking off and meeting the needs of our booming economy in the roading and construction industry. There is a strong pipeline of public sector funded projects especially in Northern Australia where we are planning some major road and rail projects. We are focusing on the improvement of safety, efficiency and productivity in infrastructure.
Following the Covid-19 outbreak all tiers of government are committing to bringing forward large scale infrastructure projects which will stimulate economic growth, mainly focused on metropolitan road and rail developments.
Increased demand for construction materials and heavy duty freight-forwarding are causing delays in building as well as increased prices – in particular, timber and steel raw materials have been heavily impacted from manufacturing delays during and after Covid-19.
Due to several major developments the road and bridge construction in Australia is nearing historical high levels. The private sector is contributing to funding for new road and bridge projects which is projected to continue in an upward trend over the next few years.
In the road and bridge construction industry firms carry out construction, repairs and maintenance of roads and bridges, runways and car parking areas. Also pedestrian overpasses and cycleway construction is undertaken by the roading construction sector.
As an investment proposition, Australians stability in the economy will give infrastructure investors a long term predictable revenue. There can be confidence in the stability of Australia’s market as the governments generally are committing to large infrastructure projects.
Due to the pandemic the population has been somewhat redistributed and there has been pressures on the health system.
Although the industry is yet to experience significant digital disruption, major technological advances in everyday digital technology, automation for lower-skilled jobs, building information modelling (BIM), and prefabrication will require the workforce to be trained, re-trained and upskilled for the new jobs and tasks required.
Ongoing learning and development through events, workshops and new resources are essential for you to future-proof your construction workforce and business.
To successfully deliver this, the construction industry needs to be equipped with the capability and tools to meet emergent trends and challenges. Emerging workforce skills include those which harness new technologies as well as those that focus on retaining past value, such as heritage skills.
Traditional heritage skills are performed by traditional trades (known as traditional building trades or preservation trades) who actively practice their craft in respect of historic preservation, heritage conservation, or the conserving and maintenance of the existing built environment.
“There has never been a better time to reskill or up-skill and take advantage of the employment opportunities arising from the NSW government’s record $107 billion infrastructure investment, which is creating hundreds of jobs”.
- Mr Geo Lee (NSW Minister for Skills and Tertiary Training)
While stepping up to the challenge, as well as responding to record government infrastructure spending across Australia, construction companies now have to contend with uncertain supply chains. Supply chain disruptions are a global issue, affecting the delivery and cost of raw materials, equipment, product and the resulting scope creep these external threats bring to the industry.
Development of cities is a key focus at all levels of government as around 80% of Australians live in the 21 largest cities. So we are committed to building new infrastructure and developing buildings so that these places are the most liveable, probably in the world.
(FYI – getting some of this info from https://www.globalaustralia.gov.au/industries/infrastructure)
The one constant in every industry is change. The current change environment revolves around harnessing technology to build efficiency in operations, effectiveness and provide new opportunities. Those industries and businesses that do often secure a competitive edge that cannot be underestimated or undervalued.
We are well positioned to adopt new technologies as there is a high degree of safety and efficiency in the transport and roading system. As we are industry focused that makes us the go-to destinations of rail and roading industry training.
There are research centres around the country that are dedicated to innovation in transport and other environmental sustainability.
The immediate and mid-term, high-level market state by the end of the this year is still unknown. We are already seeing a drop in shipping and cost prices of materials, and delivery delays are easing as the world recovers from COVID. There are still secondary staffing issues being reported, with this year's Flu season knocking more people off the job sick than normal.
While we continue to see inflation and cost prices drop, increased wages will still be an issue moving forward as (especially) Road Construction staff have been hit harder by rising costs of living.
So long as international market supply pressures and political tensions ease, we should see a gradual fall back to normal. This return to the status quo will be longer than normal however and there will still be another 18 months of nervous times as we get back to normal.
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