Let’s Start with a question we are sometimes asked… What exactly is Labour Hire and how does it work?

Labour Hire is a simple concept. Basically, a labour arrangement is made whereby a Labour Hire Company (Third Party) outsources workers to the client’s business. This can be either on a temporary or permanent basis.

The workers are employed by the Labour Hire Company if they are placed on a temporary basis. Therefore, all renumeration and benefits owed to the employee are paid by the labour hire company. The employees are available over a wide range of industries and range from unskilled to very skilled.

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What Are the Benefits?

Businesses with massive projects in the works require talent to execute the job on time. However, time is limited for most large companies. Labour hire provides quick and easy access to the best workers and so much more. A few additional benefits of using labour hire include:

1. Cost Effective

Labour Hire ensures that the recruitment process is quick and pain free for the client. It saves money by eliminating costs for the client themselves. For example, advertising, CV screening, completing interviews and training is all provided by the labour hire agency.

Employees can be brought in on a temporary basis based on project requirements. There are two main reasons why labour needs keep fluctuating. These are:

• Employee Absences. Sometimes workers miss work for extended periods due to illness, annual and maternity leaves. Their absence creates a labour shortfall that needs to be plugged, requiring the hiring of new employees.

• Fluctuating workloads. Demand for products is always fluctuating; sometimes it’s low, other times it’s high. When demand is high, additional employees are required to help increase production capacity.

This also means that resources are not wasted unnecessarily by having permanent staff without a matching workload and demand.

Administrative costs are also reduced as all wages, superannuation, workers compensation insurance, payroll tax and record keeping is covered by the Labour Hire Company.

2. Saves Time

Instead of spending time locating a talent pool, Labour Hire companies have this readily available and ensure that they are fully equipped to match your needs when the time comes.

This saves time and energy, allowing the business to focus on the project itself.

3. Access to skilled workers

Labour Hire can make or break a business. Quality labour is paramount to a business’s success. With a quality workforce, even a business with a limited number of resources can compete favourably with the biggest companies.

Labour hire firms use a strict process to vet and hire workers. Background checks, full work history, and resume reviews are a part of this process. Companies can have peace of mind knowing that the quality of workers they receive is going to therefore be high.

Labour Hire companies also generally have a pool of candidates who are allocated to various clients based on their skill set. Therefore, they have a wealth of experience that they can bring within their industry. They can also often provide support to one off projects with organisations as they are able to bring skills that are lacking in house.

4. Specialised Recruitment

Labour hire companies are specialised in providing labour, it’s what they do. We understand the ins and outs of the labour market within all fields and industries. Utilising an expert to help you source workers for your business or project will ensure that you get the best employee to suit your specific needs. At Oz Labour Solutions, we have a number of recruiters who are experts within their own field and this is key to supporting our clients in a tailored way.

We recruit for the following construction roles:

• Electricians
• Plumbers
• 1st and 2nd Class Welders
• Steel Fixers
• Scaffolders
• General Labourers
• Skilled Labourers
• Dogmen
• Machine Operators
• Carpenters
• Demolition Labourers and much more.

For all your labour hire needs, please contact info@ozlaboursolutions.com for more information or give us a call on 0417364455.

The Australian construction industry is one of the largest growing sectors in the country. Massive investments continue to be made in this area. The total construction project market (building and civil engineering projects, excluding the detached housing sector as well as mining, oil and gas) is predicted to show steady growth of 8.2% total in the current financial year 2018/2019. This compares with a healthy increase of 11.7% for the previous financial year ending 30 June 2018. This is lower than previous years but there continues to be growth in the sector.

These figures are influencing (and is being influenced by) population growth, housing, technology, and labour. Let’s have a look at some of the statistics that provide valuable insights into the state of the sector today and what we can expect in the years ahead.

1. Australia’s population is continuing to grow

Australia’s population increased rapidly over the past decade, lifting by 3.755 million, or 17.9%, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

As seen in the chart above from the National Australia Bank (NAB), Australia’s population increase in percentage terms was only behind Saudi Arabia and New Zealand based on data from the United Nations and other national statistical agencies.

According to NAB, “Strong population growth has been a key driver of growth for the Australian economy in recent years, supporting housing demand, consumption, infrastructure requirements while also boosting labour supply,” it says. Furthermore, “The key driver of variation in population growth continues to be net overseas migration (NOM) which contributed 240,000 to population growth of 388,000 in 2017.” These migration figures have helped boost labour force participation.

Population growth is contributing to rising demand for new structures in both the residential and commercial space

2. There is an increasing aging population in Australia

Australia’s aging population is increasing at a rate of approximately 3.5% per year over the past 15 years. Therefore, it is predicted that there will be large scale investment and development in construction of aged care facilities throughout Australia, particularly the Sydney area in 2019. This increase is also due to increased technologies within the industry itself. This can be seen throughout Sydney with many works occurring on new facilities and updating of older facilities

3. Building construction is seeing a continued rotation from Residential to Non-Residential

Growth in Residential construction peaked around the end of 2016 and it appears the decline will continue through the 2018/2019 financial year but with continued improvement in the non-residential categories such as Hospitality, Industrial and Health. This falls in line with population growth in urban areas of the city, where we’re bound to experience more commercial structures scraping the sky. In fact, 50% of the population is now settled in one of our 11 major cities (with Sydney and Melbourne accounting for 40% of the country’s total population).

4. The development of new construction technology is opening the door to a completely different industry paradigm.

According to the “Digital Foundations” report, there is an increase of 2.8% in productivity every year within the construction industry. They attribute this increase to technology developments, new building techniques and improved materials. For example, they found that there has been a $98 million invested in Australian construction technology start-ups since 2016. Therefore, it is estimated that successful digital solutions could provide an increase of $25 billion year on year within the decade.

New construction focused equipment, such as robotics, prefabrication, 3D printing and drones, are likely to become more commonplace. This inevitably will increase productivity and decrease the likelihood of human error. Improving safety, improved quality, shortening completion time and achieving cost reduction, are amongst the benefits of transitioning to digital, according to the paper. Drones are being used, for example, to survey dangerous areas and sites with limited access. Thus, technology is going to allow for the construction industry to grow at an exponential rate.

Although there has been a lot of media focus on the downturn of residential projects within the Australian market, research shows that investment in the construction industry continues within other sectors.