Skills in demand within the industry are evolving, with process improvement and optimisation in growing demand.
Industry-specific skill demand
The most in-demand skills are general construction and construction labour, contract management and occupational health and safety. Communication, initiative and leadership, and personal attributes (e.g. right attitude and mindset) are also important, with 80 per cent of job advertisements within the industry mentioning one or more of these skills.
Most mentioned industry-specific skills in 2024 as a share of job advertisements
Industry-specific skill | Share of job ads |
|---|---|
General construction and | 19.7% |
Contract management | 19.3% |
Occupational health and | 19.1% |
Procurement | 11.9% |
Civil and architectural | 10.3% |
Auditing | 9.0% |
Construction management | 8.1% |
Landscaping and | 5.8% |
Document management | 5.4% |
Heavy equipment operation | 5.4% |
Growing skills mentions within the industry
Skills increasingly being mentioned in job advertisements within the construction industry are process improvement and optimisation, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, and communication.
Note: these exclude industry-specific skills already identified as being in high demand.
Growing skills as a percentage point difference in job advertisement mentions from 2019 to 2024
Industry-specific skill | Percentage of job ad mentions in 2019 | Percentage of job ad mentions in 2024 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
Process improvement and optimisation | 5.0% | 11.8% | 6.9% |
Heating, ventilation and air conditioning | 0.3% | 6.8% | 6.5% |
Communication | 0.9% | 6.5% | 5.6% |
Facility management and maintenance | 2.2% | 6.3% | 4.1% |
Business analysis | 1.2% | 5.3% | 4.0% |
Construction inspection | 2.2% | 5.8% | 3.6% |
General repairs and maintenance | 0.0% | 3.3% | 3.3% |
Customer service | 0.6% | 3.3% | 2.7% |
Other programming languages | 0.0% | 2.5% | 2.5% |
Quality assurance and control | 1.6% | 4.0% | 2.5% |
Updated