Australia's housing crisis is being exacerbated by a shortage of planners and surveyors limiting the number of new homes that can be constructed. The shortfall is particularly acute in South Australia where a new university degree is about to come online to help address the demand for more skilled workers.
Category
đź“ş
TVTranscript
00:00 William Donaghy has always wanted to get into the same industry as his family, but he hasn't
00:07 been able to study surveying as an undergraduate in South Australia until this year.
00:12 I feel passionate about doing the surveying degree because my dad does it and I look up
00:16 to him very much, also my pop.
00:19 The growing population and pressing need for more housing has increased demand for planners
00:24 and surveyors.
00:25 But in South Australia, the number of people working in those sectors hasn't kept up.
00:29 From 2006 to 2021, the number of planners in South Australia grew by 35%.
00:36 That's a fraction of the increase in the eastern states, where numbers grew between 94 and
00:41 112% during the same period.
00:44 Australia needs more planners because planners are going to be the ones who can help deliver
00:49 more housing, more infrastructure and the sustainable future that we all want to see.
00:54 Now it's hoped a new university degree in SA will help address the shortage.
00:58 Flinders University is introducing a planning degree in 2025, alongside its new surveying
01:04 degree introduced this year.
01:06 There's a national skills shortage and there's a real vision for South Australia to grow
01:11 and to build.
01:12 And I think what we're going to be able to do with giving these courses is give that
01:16 skills into the state, into the nation.
01:18 There's never been a more exciting time to be a planner, to be a surveyor, to be an architect.
01:25 These people will be building South Australia.
01:27 It's predicted around 920 students need to study to become surveying professionals each
01:31 year to keep up with demand across the country over the next decade.
01:36 While the Planning Institute of Australia says it's facing a national shortage of qualified
01:41 planners.
01:42 For students like Elijah and Ryan, it's an industry which they feel confident about.
01:47 Everyone I speak to says that there's jobs available and that there's a future in the
01:50 industry.
01:51 I think it would be really good to know that I've helped people no matter where I go with
01:55 my career.
01:56 It's rare that could also help tackle a severe housing shortage.
01:59 [BLANK_AUDIO]