15/06/2026
The recent IR, HR and Diversity in Civil Construction Committee meeting welcomed Kim Hetherington from Construction Skills Queensland - CSQ, who shared insights into Queensland’s construction pipeline, forecast to average $69 billion over the next seven years, with workforce demand reaching around 138,000 workers and potential shortages peaking at 35,000. Key drivers include population growth, the energy transition and the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, reinforcing the importance of attracting, training and retaining skilled workers while strengthening pathways into the industry.
We also heard from Dan Power and Ross Wakeford from Drayton's Workplace Consulting on emerging IR trends, including AI-generated workplace claims, redundancy and compliance considerations, upcoming legislative reforms, the need to “humanise” conversations, strengthen documentation and stay ahead of record keeping obligations.
It was great to round out the meeting with our very own Samantha Willems from Civil Train QLD, who shared the growing demand for civil construction qualifications, pre-employment programs, apprenticeships and industry recognised training. Through initiatives such as Intro to Civil Construction, Civil Connect and a range of short courses, Civil Train is helping build job ready talent and support employers to attract, develop and retain skilled workers.
To find out more about our committees, visit ccfqld.com/Committees.
