Major Growth Forecast For Australian Construction Industry

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Good news for anyone looking for work in construction engineering – the Australian construction industry is on the rise! After a three-year decline between 2013 and 2016, the industry has been growing steadily since 2017. According to the Construction Outlook Survey, which collects data from 100 companies employing almost 60,000 people across the country, the industry saw a rise of 7.1% in 2017-18 and will rise a further 6.8% in 2018-19.

The increase in major project work is attributed to increased activity in non-mining infrastructure and commercial building. A couple of key factors are at play: an increase in government spending on transport infrastructure projects, and higher spending from the private sector in commercial building projects.

According to the Construction Outlook Survey, the three-year decline in industry activities, caused by a reduction in the mining sector, is now over. Increasing activity in the transport and commercial building sectors have now fully compensated for the negative impacts of a declining mining industry.

At the forefront of these increasing trends is construction engineering. Innes Willox, AI Group chief executive, says the outlook is extremely positive for businesses, their employees and those looking for work.

“Rising momentum in new road and rail projects, together with telecommunications infrastructure including the NBN, will also see strong growth in the value of engineering construction, which is expected to rise by 8.0% in 2017-18 and a further 10.6% in 2018-19 after shrinking by 6.5% in 2016-17,” he said.

While construction engineering activity is on the rise, 2018-2019 will see a sharp turn-around in apartment building activity. The survey also showed that labor shortages and increased labour costs will increase pressure on major projects.

That said, the survey indicates that commercial Australian construction will pick up over the coming years, as it gets through a huge pipeline of work. In this sector, 2016-17 was mostly stable and 2017-18 saw an increase by just 1.8%, but 2018-19 will see a rise of a whopping 9.4%.

Thanks to NSW and Victorian growth factors, and their accommodating metropolitan and regional infrastructure needs, we have good prospect across the industry for businesses, employers and people looking for work.

Keep up-to-date on construction engineering news. Connect with us on Linkedin today.

How To Show Off Your Leadership Skills To Employers

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Whether you’ve just graduated from university or you’re an industry senior, showing leadership qualities is important to landing your next job. As it turns out, leadership is one of the most highly prized qualities in job candidates, and yet, Australian workplaces lack effective leaders. If you can show your leaderships skills to a new employer through your CV and at your interview, you’ll have a huge competitive advantage over others who are going for the same job.

What is leadership?

The construction engineering industry was no exception to the majority of Australian businesses who once considered leadership synonymous with bully-ish Alpha-type behaviour. However, thanks to technologies and other advancements in recent years, all of this has changed for the better. Leadership is no longer about being extroverted, loud, or pressuring others to do things your way. Leadership now stands for being an effective communicator who can drive results. Leadership is about enabling and inspiring colleagues to produce the best work they are capable of.

How to Show Leadership Skills – Your CV

If you’ve ever had a leadership role, make sure you include this in your CV and highlight the exact skills and achievements that made you an effective leader: communication, enabling and inspiring. If you haven’t had a leadership role, entrepreneurial experience works just as well because it shows ambition, drive and a can-do attitude that employers love. If you don’t have either of these experiences then we suggest highlighting leadership traits you’ve demonstrated in non-leadership roles. Describe when and how you’ve set a good example for others, where you’ve taken initiative and confidently handled your responsibilities.

Showing off some more- The Interview

Your interview is your time to shine and really show off the leadership qualities you’ve gained over the years. You’ll be asked about your strengths and weaknesses, and for specific examples of achievements in prior roles. Here’s where you describe how you drove results through effective communication, teamwork and well-managed responsibilities. Remember, a good leader learns lessons from their experiences, so be sure to articulate what skills you gained and how you would do things even better next time.

Confidence

Confidence is another trait that comes hand in hand with leadership, but don’t be fooled! You don’t need to be cocky, loud or extroverted to exude confidence at your interview. Confidence comes simply from knowing your stuff: having a firm knowledge of how to achieve the expectations of the role and being able to express this clearly. For this reason, prepare carefully for your interview and practice what you’re going to say. By coming prepared, and with a smile on your face, you’ll show off your confidence and leadership skills and wow your future employer.

Read Commonly Asked Job Interview Questions And How To Answer Them