There will be many potential homeowners in Tasmania buoyed by the state government’s announcement that it will double its first home builders grant to $20,000 in today’s budget.
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The grant, which applies only to the construction of new homes, will give many would-be home owners the opportunity to get their foot in the door, so to speak, of a brand new home.
The announcement will also prove a welcome shot in the arm to the state’s building industry, with the government expecting a $175 million boom in building activity.
Not surprisingly, this anticipated increase in activity will be welcomed by many. The building industry has been conspicuous by its continued decline over the past year – at a time when most of the state’s other industries have been steadily improving and growing.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Tasmanian building approvals have been falling on a regular basis, in trend terms, as far back as April 2015. That is most likely why the state government acted.
There is, however, another benefit to the funding announcement, and that’s the potential for the various trades industries – electricians, plumbers, builders, bricklayers and the like – to boost their workforce.
Hopefully, that will also include an increase in the number of apprenticeships offered in those trade areas.
We already know that in Tasmania, apprenticeships are on the decline. In fact, it’s a national trend. Those traditional industries listed above are on the decline.
The federal government’s own figures – the Apprentices and Trainees September quarter report released last year – showed a 12.6 per cent decline in the number of apprenticeship commencements for the 12 months ending September 2015 compared with the previous month in Tasmania.
The state’s youth unemployment figure of 15.2 per cent is 3 per cent above the national level.
At a time when the flagging labour market is seeing a rise in unpaid work through internships, the government’s first home builders boost could very well be the panacea needed to lift both the struggling home building industry, and help arrest the decline in apprenticeships.
With so many young people desperate to find work, the potential to boost employment in that troublesome 15 to 24-year age group should be warmly welcomed.