Jane Alexander is Victorian Manager of the Australian Brick and Blocklaying Training Foundation
Miss Alexander, good afternoon.
Good afternoon Tom.
Now, are there many female bricklayers?
We've got 0.4% nationally.
0.4%.
Yes, and those that do pick up the trade their employers value them because of their attention
to detail.
Not saying that men aren't that way inclined as well, it's just that they take a little
bit more time and what they don't have in strength they make up for in really high skill.
OK, but I mean, say if it's 0.4% women then it's 99.6% male profession?
Correct, because of the nature of the industry, yes.
You must have done well to become Victorian Manager of the Australian Bricklaying Foundation?
I'm very proud to be actually, and represent the bricklayers around Victoria.
They're a fantastic trade and unfortunately not noticed enough for the skill that they
actually deliver in Victoria.
OK, well just a couple of minutes ago we had Luke rang up, he said he's a bricklayer but
he's been out of work for a couple of years. Is there a shortage of bricklayers at the
moment?
There's actually a shortage of apprentices coming in which will in turn create a shortage
of qualified bricklayers.
We've been through the build and bust times where we had everybody hanging on and waiting
to retire because there was the building boom and they've now retired and they've left gangs
really unemployed and looking at starting up their own business.
So that's actually kind of a natural selection process, but with the closure of TAFEs and
the only option given, not TAFEs with Tech Schools, the only option given to parents
thinking that their children must go to university, that in turn has created about three generations
of young people dismissing trades as a valuable life choice.
OK, but I mean, why is it then that we've got people ringing up saying that they're
tradespeople but they can't get jobs at the moment, I mean if there's so few tradespeople
like brickies and so much work out there?
Look a lot of the good ones will pick up work, that's undoubtedly but those that haven't
been able to actually secure a job, they might be looking in the wrong area where there's
actually not a lot of building going on at that time so they need to actually expand,
which they can, they can go anywhere with a trowel.
You can travel from one side of Australia to the other, you know it's a business, it's
a trade that you can pick up and go anywhere with so maybe they're not either good at their
trade, and I shouldn't say it but that's the way it sounds or they need to get some more
skills so that they're thought of better and can pick up a job.
Now, what can a bricklayer, once you've gone through your apprenticeship and you're fully
qualified and you're able to lay bricks and you're getting reasonably consistent work,
what can you conceivably earn?
Look, that's up to the individual.
It's like any job in a trade, where you reap as much as you actually work.
In my job, I'm on a salary so I'm capped as are many of us but in the building industry
as much as you put into yourself with professional development and time and effort and energy
and how you run your business especially when it comes to quoting and understanding how
to make money, you can go as far as you want on a wage.
Now what about this suggestion that 457 Visa's will have to be used to bring in bricklayers
from overseas, is that true?
Look if that's the government choice that's something that I really, I don't know what
the government's going to do on all of that but they would be bringing qualified bricklayers
in that would actually then in turn hire young people and give apprentices an opportunity.
The biggest problem I feel that we do have is that we need parents, careers teachers
and young people to understand that bricklayers are, they're a qualified tradesperson, they are the ones
that are consulted by builders to actually look at how they can cover up anything that
sits behind the cladding.
And look the consumer is getting very savvy now, they realise that a brick house is there
forever and they don't have to invest all of their life savings to actually look at
$20,000 to paint it out of their retirement fund when it's going to be there as sturdy
as ever so the consumer is looking to build more in brick as well.
Alright, we'll leave it there, Jane Alexander, Victorian Manager of the Australian Brick
and Blocklaying Training Foundation, thanks for your time.
Thank you.
I don't know about this, I don't know about bringing in 457 Visa bricklayers is
going to lead to more training opportunities but I think the general point that too many
people go to university and don't think about a career in the trades.
I think it's a good one.
I mean when there's a shortage of tradespeople, tradespeople can make a decent living.
Kate, good afternoon.
Oh G'day Tom, love your show.
Thank you.
Look, I was, well I'm an Owners Corporation Manager, I've now gone into management but
for many years I managed smaller properties or properties that needed to have repairs,
we need to rebuild walls etc.
You could not find a bricklayer for love or money, and I also at the same time had a client
who was a bricklayer who wanted to retire, he said "How can I if there is so much work
out there and I can charge anything I want because of a shortage of bricklayers."
Well it sounds to me Kate, if you're good and you're connected and you know where the
work is you got work coming out of your ears, but I guess there's going to be some people
that don't quite know where to go isn't there?
Well, I think a lot of the young people just want to get onto building sites and build
new houses but you know, maybe there's not a lot of work out there in that, but there is an awful
lot of work out there in the restoration or rectification work.
And that's all, we could not get tradespeople.
Very interesting, thank you Kate.
Thank you very much for the call.
We might put Kate and Luke together.
Luke rang before and said he hadn't had a job, or at least couldn't get a brickies job
in four years.
Kate says she can't get a bricklayer for love nor money.
Who knows?
Maybe we can put these two together.