Australia is currently undertaking a great many infrastructure projects—roads, bridges, rail, schools, hospitals, and more. These huge undertakings require skilled workers who can step in and get the job done. Vocational training – training for trades and practical skills – plays a key role here. Institutions such as Ashford College, which offers trades-based courses, are part of this story. In this article we explore how vocational training supports Australia’s infrastructure boom: from meeting labour demand, improving safety and quality, to creating career pathways and community benefits.
Infrastructure growth and the skills challenge
Australia’s infrastructure pipeline is large. For example, the government’s national workforce framework shows that many occupations in the infrastructure sector are or will be in shortage.
When there are big projects underway, from rail to roads to energy, you need people who can operate equipment, work safely, understand construction processes, and adapt to new technologies and standards.
One concrete example: the Infrastructure Skills Legacy Program in New South Wales is designed to increase the number of skilled workers in construction and infrastructure, boost training, and increase diversity.
Another example: the government procurement rules require major construction projects to have a minimum number of apprentices or trainees doing labour hours – ensuring new entrants into infrastructure work.
These facts show that infrastructure growth alone is not enough — you need the workforce to deliver it. Vocational training helps meet that need.
What vocational training is and how providers like Ashford College operate
Vocational education and training (VET) refers to qualifications like Certificates and Diplomas that are focused on practical, job-relevant skills rather than purely academic study. Providers such as Ashford College deliver nationally recognised qualifications in fields like Carpentry, Painting & Decorating, Cabinet Making and Building & Construction.
At Ashford College you find:
- Courses such as Certificate III in Carpentry (CPC30220) and Diploma of Building and Construction (Building) (CPC50220).
- Emphasis on hands-on learning, modern facilities, and industry-relevant skills.
- Campuses in Melbourne and Geelong, which connect students with industry and local opportunities.
These features matter because infrastructure projects don’t just want people with “book knowledge” — they want real skills, experience, and readiness.
How Vocational Training Supports Infrastructure Projects
Here are several ways vocational training supports Australia’s growing infrastructure efforts:
1. Bridging the skills gap
Because infrastructure projects demand many trades (carpentry, painting, decorating, cabinet making, building, etc.), training institutions help create a pipeline of workers with those skills. For example, Ashford College offers courses in Carpentry, Painting & Decorating and Building & Construction.
Also, government reports show shortages of key occupations: the workforce supply framework projects many roles unfilled in infrastructure.
By training people into those roles, vocational education helps supply what infrastructure projects need.
2. Preparing workers with practical and safety skills
Infrastructure work can be complex and risky. Workers must know how to use tools, operate safely, follow site procedures, work collaboratively, and adapt to project demands. For example the “Infrastructure Ready Skill Set” course in Western Australia supports entry-level readiness for civil construction and such infrastructure projects.
Similarly, Ashford College emphasises “state-of-the-art workshops and modern facilities … ensure students graduate with the confidence and skills needed to succeed.”
Thus vocational training equips workers not only with technical skills, but also safety awareness and readiness for the workplace environment.
3. Flexibility and responsiveness to industry needs
Vocational training can be more agile than traditional academic pathways. It can respond to new industry demands—for example, changes in building methods, materials, sustainability standards, or new infrastructure types (such as energy-related or transport infrastructure). The government’s “Skills for net zero” plan underlines that infrastructure and buildings will play a large role in decarbonising and therefore need workers with new skills.
Training providers like Ashford College design their programs in partnership with industry (they say: “programs designed in collaboration with industry leaders to keep you ahead of the latest trends and practices”).
This alignment means workers are trained in what employers and infrastructure projects actually need today.
4. Supporting career opportunities and pathways
When infrastructure projects expand, a trained workforce means individuals have access to meaningful employment and career progression. For the students of Ashford College, the vocational courses open pathways into trades and construction, which may lead to full-time roles on infrastructure sites, apprenticeships, or further training.
At the same time, infrastructure projects benefit from having a workforce with visible qualification credentials and training experience. The result is a win-win: projects get capable people, and workers get stable, skilled employment.
5. Enabling local workforce and regional growth
Many infrastructure projects are located outside major cities or in regions. Vocational training institutions that operate regionally help supply workers locally, which reduces reliance on bringing in labour from afar, supports regional economies, and builds community capability. Ashford College has a Geelong campus that is positioned “in the region’s thriving community … a hub for hands-on trades and practical learning.”
Also, programs like the ISLP in NSW include targets for local employment outcomes and trainees from surrounding areas.
The Role Of Ashford College In This Ecosystem
Let’s look more closely at how Ashford College contributes:
- Ashford College offers industry-aligned courses in building trades (e.g., Carpentry, Painting & Decorating, Building & Construction). This aligns with the types of workers needed on infrastructure sites.
- It emphasises hands-on learning: “state-of-the-art workshops and modern facilities” and “experienced trainers bring years of industry experience.”
- It connects education to employment: “strong partnerships with industry, … opportunities for apprenticeships, workplace training and professional networking.”
- It supports regional and metropolitan engagement through its Melbourne and Geelong campuses. Having a campus in Geelong ensures that local/regional trades workers are being developed.
Given these factors, Ashford College exemplifies how vocational training providers help underpin infrastructure growth: they train people, align with industry needs, give practical experience, and provide location flexibility.
Challenges and Considerations
While vocational training is clearly important, there are challenges and key considerations:
- Volume: Even with training providers expanding, there may still be a shortfall of skilled workers. As the workforce supply report warned, 105,000 roles may be unfilled in infrastructure.
- Diversity and inclusion: Infrastructure work has historically been dominated by certain groups. Programs like ISLP emphasise diversity (women, Aboriginal people, local youth) in the workforce.
- Keeping pace with changing technologies and methods: Infrastructure is evolving (for example decarbonisation, new materials, digital construction). Training must keep up (see “Skills for net zero” initiative).
- Quality and industry relevance: It’s not just about training, but about training that leads to real jobs and meets employer expectations. Training providers must stay connected to industry. Ashford College emphasises that.
- Regional and remote inclusion: Ensuring infrastructure projects in less-populated regions have access to skilled talent means training must also reach those areas.
Looking Ahead: The Future Of Vocational Training And Infrastructure
As Australia plans and delivers more infrastructure, vocational training will continue to play an essential role. A few trends to keep in mind:
- More infrastructure means more demand for trades: According to the article from Victoria University, the demand for tradies is surging because of housing and major infrastructure projects.
- New modes of infrastructure (e.g., transport, energy, rail, bridges) mean new training needs and possibly new specialisations. The Infrastructure Australia workforce report emphasises occupations across construction managers, engineers, architects and trades.
- Government policy and procurement settings will shape training: For example, requirements for apprentices/trainees in major projects (to drive labour supply) and policies for fee-free or subsidised training.
- Integration of digital and modern methods: Training providers will need to include digital skills, modern technologies, sustainability and decarbonisation.
- Local workforce development: Regional campuses of vocational training and local delivery of training will continue to matter so that local communities benefit from infrastructure work.
In this context, providers such as Ashford College are positioned to make a strong contribution by aligning their curricula to industry, fostering apprenticeships and practical learning, and helping students step into the workforce that infrastructure projects demand.
Conclusion
Australia’s growing infrastructure programmes are a vital part of the country’s economic development, regional growth and productivity. But without a suitably trained workforce — especially in trades and construction — those projects cannot succeed. Vocational training plays a central role in bridging the gap: providing workers with practical, job-ready skills, aligning with industry needs, offering pathways into trades, and supporting regional employment.
Institutions like Ashford College illustrate how vocational training providers deliver courses in building trades, emphasise real-world skill development and link students to industry. When infrastructure is planned, built and delivered, these trained people are the backbone of success.
For Australia, investing in vocational education is not just about training individuals — it is about building capacity for the future, ensuring infrastructure projects can be delivered efficiently, safely and to high quality. In turn, infrastructure projects provide employment, opportunity, and community benefit. The partnership between infrastructure ambitions and vocational education is therefore essential.
By continuing to expand vocational education, tailor it to industry, and ensure it meets the real demands of infrastructure projects, Australia can build both the structures it needs and the workforce it deserves.
