The JSA's data shows that there have been national shortages of all 18 construction and trades occupations at some point between 2021 and 2025, including core housing-linked roles such as electricians, plumbers, carpenters, bricklayers and roof tilers.Housing Minister Clare O'Neil has pointed to expanding vocational training as central to delivering the government's housing agenda."If we're going to build more homes, we're going to need more tradies, and that's exactly what this program is doing with a $10,000 incentive payment for tradies getting on the tools," she said in a media release last week.The government's policies and data suggest a broader change in priorities, with vocational education becoming a key component of Australia's economic strategy rather than an alternative education pathway.While shortages across Australia's entire jobs market have been easing since the post-pandemic labour crunch, the need for tradespeople remains notably high.The latest data from JSA shows that there were national shortages in 29 per cent of occupations in 2025 — a slight improvement compared with 33 per cent in 2024 and a peak of 36 per cent in 2023 It's about a really concerted effort that's got a huge role for [the] government," he says.The idea that a university degree will always lead to higher earnings is becoming harder to sustain."For a long time, many Australians saw the skilled trades as plan B," Giles says.He argues that perception is out of step with the realities of Australia's labour market."What I'd really like to say is to no longer see a hierarchy between those two pathways, university or vocational," he says.The latest ABS Average Weekly Earnings data still shows many white-collar industries ahead on headline pay