How we help industry stakeholders, employers and small business
CSQ provides the Queensland building and construction industry with skilling opportunities and insights for a stronger and more sustainable future.
Our programs and services focus on attracting new entrants and developing and retaining existing workers to underpin the future prosperity of building and construction in Queensland.
We also provide industry with the most up-to-date thinking on construction skills and training matters as well as research, data and analysis on the drivers that will impact current and future workforce requirements.
We work with industry partners to identify and support strategic and innovative skilling solutions to help the construction workforce prepare for and respond to emerging issues and opportunities.
Subsidised Training
CSQ funds up to 75% of training costs across a range of courses removing much of the cost barrier to upskilling staff. CSQ’s subsidised training assists in building the workforce capacity of the building and construction industry through targeted skills investment.
CSQ programs provide funding to eligible Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) to deliver building and construction qualifications and short courses to existing workers, those who are currently under-employed, or those that are out of work in the building and construction industry. CSQ also provides funding through our Small Business Program for contracted providers to deliver support initiatives to building and construction small businesses to build their capacity and capability helping them to grow, survive and prosper.
Apprentice Advance Loading
CSQ is committed to working with industry to continue to improve apprentice completion rates in Queensland. CSQ’s Apprentice Advance Loading provides an additional 25%* loading to the CSQ price for training to eligible apprentices and trainees to boost their skills and career prospects.
Find out if you are eligible for the Apprentice Advance Loading funding here.
The loading covers the training costs for eligible apprentices and trainees to:
- undertake key training to complement the skills they are developing, and
- access higher level training and short courses for 12 months after they have completed their apprenticeship or traineeship.
This targeted support helps apprentices and trainees to:
- gain licences essential to their future work that is outside of their apprenticeship or traineeship training
- be competitive in the market by broadening their skill set
- transition from apprentice to tradesperson, licensee and business owner.
* The additional 25% subsidy means that CSQ will cover the full cost of training (as set by CSQ) so that eligible participants do not pay training fees. NB: participants may incur related costs to undertake training such as uniforms and equipment, travel and /or accommodation costs to attend training, text books and other study materials, and parking or transport costs (to attend training).
Major Contractors
Major Projects Training Program
CSQ provides major projects with access to building and construction training to address skills deficiencies and assist individuals to become more multi-skilled and productive, creating a more agile workforce for the project and providing career pathway opportunities for individuals.
Our Major Projects Training Program provides tailored workforce planning solutions, assistance and access to a range of building and construction training; from short course competencies, through to skill sets and full qualifications to upskill workers and enhance workforce capability.
CSQ works with your project team to:
- implement training and employment programs to help achieve project objectives
- identify potential skills gaps and provide meaningful solutions
- develop a training needs analysis (TNA) to identify project-specific training and funding solutions
- provide guidance and support around the Queensland Procurement Policy, and the Queensland Government Building and Construction Training Policy, incorporating Indigenous participation
- provide ongoing support for training and skilling requirements
- provide career pathway opportunities for the workforce
Major Contractors Coordination Grants
The Major Contractors Coordination Grants leverage the capabilities and capacity of industry stakeholders by providing funding to targeted organisations for workforce planning and skills development.
Each year we invite industry partners to apply for funding through the program. Our partners include major building and civil enterprises, and organisations working in regional and remote areas, including Indigenous communities.
The program provides funding for industry partners to enable:
- development and training strategies
- progressive skilling and workforce planning
- insights into future skilling needs
- coordinated workforce training programs for the industry
- increased diversity
- strategies to improve the uptake, retention and completion of apprentices and trainees, including improving mentoring practices and models
- best practice to facilitate improvements in attraction, retention, safety, productivity and innovation.
Since its introduction, the program has allowed us to work collectively to build on industry learnings, ensuring we’re always delivering best practice improvements in workforce planning and development, retention, safety, productivity and innovation.
The program allows CSQ to develop and shape future training investment.*
*CSQ also supports a number of Queensland building and construction industry associations, both employer and employee, to build the capability of the construction workforce.
Industry Skills Coordination
This Industry Skills Coordination (ISCP) Program leverages the capabilities and capacity of industry stakeholders by providing funding to targeted organisations for workforce planning and skills development.
Each year we invite industry partners to apply for funding through the program. Our partners include employer associations, unions, major building enterprises, and organisations working in regional and remote areas, including Indigenous communities.
The program provides funding for industry partners to enable:
- development and training strategies
- progressive skilling and workforce planning
- insights into future skilling needs
- coordinated workforce training programs for the industry
- increased diversity
- strategies to improve the uptake, retention and completion of apprentices and trainees, including improving mentoring practices and models
- best practice to facilitate improvements in attraction, retention, safety, productivity and innovation.
Since its introduction in 2016, the program has allowed us to work collectively to build on industry learnings, ensuring we’re always delivering best practice improvements in workforce planning and development, retention, safety, productivity and innovation.
The program allows CSQ to develop and shape future training investment.
Gateways - Attract Program
The Gateway to Industry Schools Program (Gateways) is a partnership between the Queensland Government and CSQ which aims to transition young people from school to work, while completing school and gaining formal qualifications. The program focuses on priority industries which underpin employment and economic growth within the construction industry. Key activities include linking industry and schools to understand their trade and para-professional skill requirements and facilitate work experience opportunities.
Key activities include; working with construction and civil industries to understand their trade and para-professional skill requirements, facilitate work experience placement opportunities for students and partnering with industry to support their role connecting students to work experience opportunities.
Mental Health Support
The Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Program aims to address mental health issues and decrease suicide rates of workers in the Queensland building and construction industry. CSQ has invested $1,250,000 with partners to deliver suicide prevention and mental health initiatives to the building and construction industry.
CSQ partners include:
- MATES in Construction
- St John Ambulance Australia Queensland
- This is a Conversation Starter
- Uniting Care Community
Small Business Support
Small businesses are the backbone of Queensland’s building and construction industry. They create jobs, employ apprentices and trainees, provide a supply chain of skilled workers to meet the demands of larger projects, and support economic growth and regional development.
To increase their operational and economic sustainability, a series of multi-pronged, tailored strategies are needed to support small firms in Queensland’s building and construction sector. The CSQ Small Business program provides industry-tailored skills and support services for small to medium construction businesses.
This initiative invests in opportunities to build small business capacity and capability, particularly in areas that industry has said they need help in, such as:
- estimating, tendering, quoting and contract management
- marketing and business development
- financial and budgeting skills
- digital skills
- negotiation and conflict resolution
- knowledge to comply with legislations, regulations, standards and codes
- growing Indigenous business capability to support use of local content and Indigenous engagement opportunities in the State Procurement Policy.
CSQ funds up to 75% of training costs across a range of courses removing much of the cost barrier to upskilling staff. CSQ’s subsidised training assists in building the workforce capacity of the building and construction industry through targeted skills investment.
CSQ programs provide funding to eligible Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) to deliver building and construction qualifications and short courses to existing workers, those who are currently under-employed, or those that are out of work in the building and construction industry. CSQ also provides funding through our Small Business Program for contracted providers to deliver support initiatives to building and construction small businesses to build their capacity and capability helping them to grow, survive and prosper.
CSQ is committed to working with industry to continue to improve apprentice completion rates in Queensland. CSQ’s Apprentice Advance Loading provides an additional 25%* loading to the CSQ price for training to eligible apprentices and trainees to boost their skills and career prospects.
Find out if you are eligible for the Apprentice Advance Loading funding here.
The loading covers the training costs for eligible apprentices and trainees to:
- undertake key training to complement the skills they are developing, and
- access higher level training and short courses for 12 months after they have completed their apprenticeship or traineeship.
This targeted support helps apprentices and trainees to:
- gain licences essential to their future work that is outside of their apprenticeship or traineeship training
- be competitive in the market by broadening their skill set
- transition from apprentice to tradesperson, licensee and business owner.
* The additional 25% subsidy means that CSQ will cover the full cost of training (as set by CSQ) so that eligible participants do not pay training fees. NB: participants may incur related costs to undertake training such as uniforms and equipment, travel and /or accommodation costs to attend training, text books and other study materials, and parking or transport costs (to attend training).
Major Projects Training Program
CSQ provides major projects with access to building and construction training to address skills deficiencies and assist individuals to become more multi-skilled and productive, creating a more agile workforce for the project and providing career pathway opportunities for individuals.
Our Major Projects Training Program provides tailored workforce planning solutions, assistance and access to a range of building and construction training; from short course competencies, through to skill sets and full qualifications to upskill workers and enhance workforce capability.
CSQ works with your project team to:
- implement training and employment programs to help achieve project objectives
- identify potential skills gaps and provide meaningful solutions
- develop a training needs analysis (TNA) to identify project-specific training and funding solutions
- provide guidance and support around the Queensland Procurement Policy, and the Queensland Government Building and Construction Training Policy, incorporating Indigenous participation
- provide ongoing support for training and skilling requirements
- provide career pathway opportunities for the workforce
Major Contractors Coordination Grants
The Major Contractors Coordination Grants leverage the capabilities and capacity of industry stakeholders by providing funding to targeted organisations for workforce planning and skills development.
Each year we invite industry partners to apply for funding through the program. Our partners include major building and civil enterprises, and organisations working in regional and remote areas, including Indigenous communities.
The program provides funding for industry partners to enable:
- development and training strategies
- progressive skilling and workforce planning
- insights into future skilling needs
- coordinated workforce training programs for the industry
- increased diversity
- strategies to improve the uptake, retention and completion of apprentices and trainees, including improving mentoring practices and models
- best practice to facilitate improvements in attraction, retention, safety, productivity and innovation.
Since its introduction, the program has allowed us to work collectively to build on industry learnings, ensuring we’re always delivering best practice improvements in workforce planning and development, retention, safety, productivity and innovation.
The program allows CSQ to develop and shape future training investment.*
*CSQ also supports a number of Queensland building and construction industry associations, both employer and employee, to build the capability of the construction workforce.
This Industry Skills Coordination (ISCP) Program leverages the capabilities and capacity of industry stakeholders by providing funding to targeted organisations for workforce planning and skills development.
Each year we invite industry partners to apply for funding through the program. Our partners include employer associations, unions, major building enterprises, and organisations working in regional and remote areas, including Indigenous communities.
The program provides funding for industry partners to enable:
- development and training strategies
- progressive skilling and workforce planning
- insights into future skilling needs
- coordinated workforce training programs for the industry
- increased diversity
- strategies to improve the uptake, retention and completion of apprentices and trainees, including improving mentoring practices and models
- best practice to facilitate improvements in attraction, retention, safety, productivity and innovation.
Since its introduction in 2016, the program has allowed us to work collectively to build on industry learnings, ensuring we’re always delivering best practice improvements in workforce planning and development, retention, safety, productivity and innovation.
The program allows CSQ to develop and shape future training investment.
The Gateway to Industry Schools Program (Gateways) is a partnership between the Queensland Government and CSQ which aims to transition young people from school to work, while completing school and gaining formal qualifications. The program focuses on priority industries which underpin employment and economic growth within the construction industry. Key activities include linking industry and schools to understand their trade and para-professional skill requirements and facilitate work experience opportunities.
Key activities include; working with construction and civil industries to understand their trade and para-professional skill requirements, facilitate work experience placement opportunities for students and partnering with industry to support their role connecting students to work experience opportunities.
The Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Program aims to address mental health issues and decrease suicide rates of workers in the Queensland building and construction industry. CSQ has invested $1,250,000 with partners to deliver suicide prevention and mental health initiatives to the building and construction industry.
CSQ partners include:
- MATES in Construction
- St John Ambulance Australia Queensland
- This is a Conversation Starter
- Uniting Care Community
Small businesses are the backbone of Queensland’s building and construction industry. They create jobs, employ apprentices and trainees, provide a supply chain of skilled workers to meet the demands of larger projects, and support economic growth and regional development.
To increase their operational and economic sustainability, a series of multi-pronged, tailored strategies are needed to support small firms in Queensland’s building and construction sector. The CSQ Small Business program provides industry-tailored skills and support services for small to medium construction businesses.
This initiative invests in opportunities to build small business capacity and capability, particularly in areas that industry has said they need help in, such as:
- estimating, tendering, quoting and contract management
- marketing and business development
- financial and budgeting skills
- digital skills
- negotiation and conflict resolution
- knowledge to comply with legislations, regulations, standards and codes
- growing Indigenous business capability to support use of local content and Indigenous engagement opportunities in the State Procurement Policy.
Workforce Planning
CSQ works with industry to deliver targeted workforce plans to meet the training and skilling needs of identified projects, sectors, regions and diversity groups.
CSQ’s Workforce Planning (WP) service supports industry stakeholders to better understand and manage ongoing workforce planning and development.
CSQ also supports industry to develop workforce strategies to comply with the Queensland Government Building and Construction Training Policy, administered by the Queensland Government via the Training Policy Administration System (TPAS). Contractors can login into the TPAS system here.