When the Work Returns, Will We Be Ready?

The biggest challenge facing construction is not a lack of future work. New Zealand still needs more homes, schools, hospitals and infrastructure. The real question is whether the industry will have the people and capability to respond when that work arrives.

Addressing productivity issues created by high workforce turnover and lack of co-ordination across the industry was one of the central issues raised in the new 2026 Building Construction Sector Report, commissioned by the NZ Chinese Building Industry Association (NZCBIA) and co-sponsored by Mitre 10 and BCITO. The downturn has been difficult, but the report also offers clear pathways forward to build back better, with collaboration right at the top.

A statistic worth noting – around 70 per cent of the construction industry’s contribution to the New Zealand’s economy flows through supplier industries. That reminds us that the strength of the sector depends on a much wider ecosystem than what happens on site alone. Builders, merchants, manufacturers, transport operators, distributors and training organisations all have an important contribution to make.

Productivity is not just created on site. It’s created throughout the value chain.

The report shows only 6% of workers remain in the same job after five years. Many exit the industry entirely or head to Australia. Programmes like New Zealand Certified Builders Apprentice Challenge, which shine a light on emerging talent and help develop the future leaders of the industry, are one of the ways the sector is working to address this.

The report highlights the need to provide more meaningful work for apprentices from day one as crucial in incentivising them to stay. Most people take pride in making a real contribution, so investing in upskilling and getting apprentices into productive work earlier can help to retain talent as well as increasing productivity.

As merchants, we also have a role to play in improving productivity. One of our most important jobs is giving builders the certainty they need to plan confidently and operate efficiently, so the real work can go ahead.

When I speak with builders, the message is usually pretty clear: get the order right, get it there on time and, most importantly don’t slow them down. As merchants, we need to make it easy for our builders to focus on building.

That’s why innovation is not only about new technology – it’s about creating better systems, better service, more reliable supply chains, and products that help customers work smarter.

We’ve already helped some customers analyse data on how many site deliveries or trips to pick up extra supplies they’re making. This has resulted in smarter quantities being ordered, fewer trips and suppliers offering a service that better meets customers’ needs. Time saved equals money saved, and that creates options like investing in upskilling people, so these businesses can take on bigger or more complex jobs and provide more career pathways to their people.

In our own Trade business, we’ve worked with customers to conduct highly detailed advance planning on some major projects to calculate exactly how many loads of exactly which materials will be needed, when they’ll be needed, and where on site they should be delivered. We’re working to create a highly efficient, repeatable model that will speed up the build process even further, sharing this with the sector to help others collaborate in similar ways across the industry.

The challenges identified in the NZCBIA report are too large for any one organisation or part of the sector to solve alone. At a government level, the report also notes opportunities to streamline the large number of policies and regulations that overlay construction, to create efficiencies and boost confidence. There’s also potential to bring forward public infrastructure projects when demand slows elsewhere, to keep momentum going in the industry.

Harnessing the collective experience and expertise of everyone involved will be critical to building a more productive, efficient and sustainable sector. But if industry, government, educators, insurers and supply-chain partners work together, we have an opportunity to build a sector that is more productive, more resilient and better prepared for future growth.