Non-critical shutdown and maintenance bounce back
We saw a significant slow down in non-critical shutdown and maintenance when COVID-19 hit, but from our consultations with clients, we are optimistic these works will be resuming soon.
These projects did not disappear, they were merely delayed, creating a pent up demand for engineering trades that we should see flowing into the labour market shortly.
We've been working hard to build ready pools of candidates for this, and anticipate a solid increase in demand for engineering trade roles over the next month.
State Of Travel Restrictions
Direct from WA.gov.au:
Travel is now permitted;
between the South West, Great Southern, Wheatbelt and Perth-Peel regions
between the Mid West, Gascoyne and Pilbara regions (excluding the biosecurity zone)
within the Goldfields-Esperance region (excluding the biosecurity zone)
within Kimberley local government areas (the Commonwealth’s biosecurity zone remains in place).
Travel exemptions are required to travel between these 4 areas.
Exemptions apply for:
people travelling to work
attending medical appointments
transporting freight
those who do not have access to groceries or supplies within their region
returning to a place of residence
attending school or an educational institution where necessary
caring for family members
compassionate grounds.
From Friday 29 May 2020 regional travel restrictions will be lifted, excluding travel to biosecurity zones within the Kimberley region, parts of Shire of East Pilbara and the Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku and remote Aboriginal communities.
Regional travel restrictions are in place across WA. You will require an exemption to travel between regions.
Travel permits are still required to access the Goldfields, but these relaxed restrictions should ease travel to other areas that previously required special permission.
McGowan flags incentives for interstate workers to settle in WA
Premier McGowan announced last Friday that he would be launching a campaign to entice FIFO workers who have relocated to WA to stay after COVID-19 border restrictions are lifted.
"This is a huge opportunity … to get those people to come and live here with their families permanently and keep their incomes right here in WA," Mr McGowan said.
"The types of things we would think would be worthwhile looking at are incentives around home ownership and purchase, support for spouses in seeking work in Western Australia and also kids getting access to schools close to where they live," he said.
This could help regional towns bounce back from COVID-19. A lot will depend on the finer details of the scheme, as always, the devil is in the details.
From this ABC News article.
That’s that for this week, we are positive about the industry in the near term and look forward to keeping you up to date with all the industry news in the future.
Have a great week!
Jeff & Ross
Engineering Trades Australia