Construcciones Yamaro: NexGen programs open doors to construction careers
The future workforce isn’t waiting to be found. It’s waiting to be shown what’s possible. NexGen programs do exactly that.
By Lauren Fahey, executive director at NexGen.
For years, I’ve heard the construction industry say the same thing: “We can’t find enough people.”
But I don’t believe we have a talent shortage. I believe we have a perception problem.
Every day, thousands of young people are making decisions about their future without ever truly understanding what our industry has to offer. Parents are encouraging careers they know and trust, teachers are doing their best to guide students through an ever-growing list of options, and careers advisers are helping shape futures with the information they have available. If construction isn’t part of that conversation, we can’t be surprised when students choose another path.
That’s why NexGen exists. We don’t wait until someone is looking for a job. We start much earlier, meeting students when they’re making life-changing decisions and engaging parents, teachers and careers advisers because they are some of the biggest influencers in a young person’s career journey.
During Term 2 alone, NexGen programs connected with more than 12,000 students, parents, teachers, careers advisers and job seekers across New South Wales. Each interaction was a chance to change a perception, challenge the idea that construction is only about trades, and introduce people to an industry filled with innovation, technology, sustainability, leadership, creativity and opportunity.
Construction isn’t just about building roads, schools and hospitals; we’re building careers.
One of the things I love most about our work is that we don’t promote one type of person or career. We promote possibility. We show young women they belong in an industry that has traditionally overlooked them. We show young men there are careers far beyond what they’ve grown up believing construction looks like. We introduce students to project management, engineering, surveying, estimating, environmental management, digital technology, communications, finance and countless other professions that keep our industry moving. We create opportunities for people from diverse backgrounds, job seekers looking for a fresh start and those who never realised construction could be their future.
That’s how you build a stronger workforce: not by competing over the same people, but by inspiring the next generation before they’ve made up their minds.
The organisations that support NexGen understand something incredibly important. They’re not sponsoring a careers presentation; they’re investing in the future of their own workforce.
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Every school we visit, every work experience placement we facilitate and every conversation we have helps build the pipeline our industry desperately needs.
The return on that investment extends far beyond one business – schools, families and communities benefit. The entire construction industry benefits.
When more people understand the opportunities our industry offers, everyone wins.
The workforce challenges we face won’t be solved overnight, but they also won’t be solved by waiting for people to come to us. We need to go to them, tell better stories, challenge outdated perceptions and inspire young people to see themselves in our industry.
The future workforce isn’t waiting to be found; it’s waiting to be shown what’s possible – exactly what NexGen will continue to do.
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