Industry and small business

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.

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 initiatives.

Each year we invite industry partners to apply for funding through the program. Our partners include employer and employee associations, 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 construction industry is a significant contributor to the Queensland economy and needs to continue to attract enthusiastic new workers to the industry to meet current and future demand.

CSQ research into student, teacher, and parent perceptions about careers in construction identified limited awareness of the industry sectors and the broad range of occupations available. School teachers also reported a need for more information and guidance on pathways into the industry. In response, CSQ has developed Construction Pathways – an initiative aimed at supporting more students and career seekers to pursue trade and non-trade jobs in the construction industry.

The Construction Pathways website provides students, young adults, educators and parents with a range of materials and information so that they have a better understanding of the opportunities and pathways into the construction industry. You can access the Construction Pathways website here.

On the ground, CSQ delivers Construction Pathways events across Queensland in partnership with schools and industry, to promote awareness, showcase opportunities and support industry to attract the future generation of construction workers.

These activities allow industry to be part of the skilling solution, engage with their local community schools and young people, and showcase their businesses and projects.

For more information, download the Construction Pathways industry booklet here, or to get in touch with our Construction Pathways team, please contact [email protected].

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.

Trade Ready

Purpose

The Trade Ready Program is aimed at providing additional skills and experiences to individuals to build their job readiness and to prepare them to transition into a career in building and construction.

Trade Ready offers aspiring tradies an opportunity to experience a worksite whilst providing complementary life skills and on the job experiences to wrap around the program’s accredited training. It also provides employers with work ready individuals with current industry experience to enter the building and construction industry.

Program content

The Trade Ready program involves equipping participants with appropriate entry level experience in general or civil construction through the provision of:

• Up to (9) nationally accredited units of competency, selected from CSQ’s Short Courses Program
• Life Skills training – Minimum of 38 hours
• 114 Hours of Structured Workplace Learning (SWL)
• A Trade Ready program can take approximately 5- 6 weeks to complete at 38 hours of training per week.

Eligibility

Eligible participant means:

• A participant who has the right to work in Australia

 And must:

• Permanently reside in Queensland
• Remain enrolled and participating in a Queensland secondary school program entering the program during Year 12, Term 3*.

And must not be:

• • An employee of an authority
  • An apprentice or trainee
  • Permanently employed in the building and construction industry
  • Currently enrolled in or have previously completed a CSQ Trade Ready or Trade Start program
  • Contracted trainer or assessor or existing worker of an RTO
  • Funded by an authority or such other source for delivery of the same training being undertaken as part of this program

Get Ready

Purpose

To provide the fundamental skills and experiences industry expects from new entrants, to enable their transition into a range of non-structural trade areas so they are able to assist on a construction site from day-one. This program has been designed to equip participants with the basic knowledge of what is required to work on a construction site.

Get Ready provides complementary life skills and on the job experiences to wrap around the program’s accredited training. It aims to build participants’ job readiness and prepare them to transition into employment in trades such as painting, bricklaying, plastering, rendering, and tiling.

Program content

The Get Ready program is customised to 5 trades:

1. Get Ready for Painting
2. Get Ready for Tiling
3. Get Ready for Solid Plastering
4. Get Ready for Wall and Ceiling Lining
5. Get Ready for Bricklaying

and consists of:

• Up to (3) nationally accredited units of competency
• Life Skills training
• 38 hours of Structured Workplace Learning (SWL)

Get Ready is a 3-week program aimed at securing ongoing employment or further education and training in the building and construction industry.

Eligibility

Eligible participant means:

• A participant who has the right to work in Australia

 And must:

• Permanently reside in Queensland
• Remain enrolled and participating in a Queensland secondary school program including if entering the program during Year 12, Term 3*.

And must not be:

• • An employee of an authority
  • An Apprentice or trainee
  • Permanently employed in the building and construction industry
  • Currently enrolled in or have previously completed a CSQ Trade Ready program
  • Contracted trainer or assessor or existing worker of an RTO
  • Funded by an authority or such other source for delivery of the same training being undertaken as part of this program

Ready for Work kits

Ready For Works kits are supplied by CSQ to providers delivering pre-trade programs such as Trade
Ready, Get Ready and other approved programs.

Ready for Work kits include basic personal protective equipment (PPE) for participants.

Order Ready for Work kits here

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 provides funding to partners to deliver suicide prevention and mental health initiatives to the building and construction industry.

CSQ partners include:

• MATES in Construction
• This is a Conversation Starter

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.

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CSQ has always championed the need to encourage more women into the industry as a key pillar of our long-standing Attract strategy.

We work closely with various industry bodies who share our vision for a more diverse construction workforce and organisations committed entirely to this purpose. For example, CSQ collaborates with the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) and Awesome Women in Construction (AWIC) to encourage more women to consider a career in construction.

CSQ also regularly reports on female participation rates in the industry, including whole-of-industry representation, women in trade roles, and female apprentices. These reports provide valuable insights into the current state of diversity in the construction industry and help identify areas where improvement is needed. We use this information to develop targeted initiatives and programs that aim to increase female participation in the industry.

To explore the latest published research, view the data chart packs and reports housed on the Knowledge Centre.

Learn More