Access Trades Strategic Sector | Workforce Development Plans

Access Trades

The Access Trades strategic sector includes the following industries, trades and roles:

INDUSTRY

Crane
Rigging
Scaffolding
Lifting Engineering
Industrial Rope Access
Exterior Cleaning
Elevated Work Platforms

ROLES

Crane operators including advanced and specialist
Dogman
Operators of cab-controlled overhead crane, pendant-controlled overhead crane, self-erecting tower crane and truck loader crane
Crane supervisors
Riggers, structural steel riggers, oil work riggers, construction rigging and telecommunication tower riggers
Piling rig operators, rigging technicians and rigging supervisors
Scaffolders and leading hand scaffolders
Proprietary suspended scaffolders or a crew lead
Advanced scaffolders, scaffolding supervisors and operations managers
Specialist crane erection
Rope access technicians, electricians with rope access, and industrial abseilers
Industrial rope access jobs leads
Designers and managers planning advanced rope access activities

KEY THEMES >

QUALIFICATIONS >

ABOUT THE REPORT AND THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PLAN

We present the 'Sector Voice' report, as a part of the Workforce Development Plan, which highlights the main challenges and opportunities in the Access Trades sector. Our aim is to provide valuable insights through conducting an overview of the sector and performing a thematic analysis of experiences and perspectives shared by sector representatives on key issues impacting the sector.

Our primary goal with this report is to aid Waihanga Ara Rau, sector groups, and Government bodies in their future planning endeavours. Together, we aim to enhance the vocational education system and effectively meet the needs of the Access Trades sector and wider Construction & Infrastructure sector.

METHODOLOGY

We conducted a qualitative study to explore the challenges and opportunities in the Access Trades sector. We conducted semi-structured interviews with members of the Strategic Reference Group, sector associations, business owners and educational providers. These individual virtual and in-person interviews took place between late 2022 and early 2023, lasting 30-45 minutes.

The focus of these interviews was to gain insights and perspectives on workforce challenges, training and education, and diversity within the sector. Prior to the interviews, we provided sector representatives with the interview questions to ensure they were well-prepared.

In addition to the interviews, we included insights gathered from previous engagements between Waihanga Ara Rau and the sector, including Strategic Reference Group discussions, to capture collective perspectives.

We used thematic analysis to analyse the qualitative data obtained from interviews and group discussions. We transcribed, coded, and organised the data into themes to identify recurring patterns, challenges, and opportunities within the sector.
Throughout the study, we followed ethical considerations, including obtaining informed consent from all sector representatives and ensuring confidentiality of their responses.

SETTING THE SCENE

There is an abundance of work opportunities available for the Access Trades sector. A business owner reflects on the sector’s current environment stating that “an expansion phase is putting it mildly, it’s more like an explosion.” Several factors are driving this rapid growth, including:

Greater investment from local, regional, and central governments for construction and infrastructure initiatives.
A substantial influx of consents for commercial and industrial developments.
The rebounding efforts from Climate events following recent cyclones and floods.

This is accompanied by growth in industry association memberships, showing their increased visibility, credibility and value they provide to the sector, right from businesses to the workforce.

This growth is also a reflection of the overall expansion and profitability opportunities of the sector, driven by strong demand for its products and services. Nevertheless, the sector acknowledges that this growth has exacerbated long-standing challenges within the industry and placed demand on various roles, keeping up with the workload while providing adequate training, within a sector that is already grappling with skills and labour shortages. Addressing the current and future shortage of skills alongside other challenges, is imperative to maintain sustainable productivity and growth in the face of the ever-evolving economic landscape.