Australia’s Plumbing Trade Thriving

Plumbing named one of our most-wanted jobs for 2014

Want to get out of the office in 2014? Consider plumbing!

Image via Shutterstock.

Sydney’s set to see many more plumbers, tech heads, health care specialists and retail assistants in 2014, as many residents resolve for a change in career.

How many times have you seen the phrase New Year, New You in Sydney since starting 2014? It’s a phrase that rides high on the wave of New Year’s resolutions that range from the quite basic and seemingly inevitable (meet new people, eat more greens) to drastic and life-changing (getting a new job, moving cities). According to News.com.au, around 1 million Australians will be changing jobs this year, and among the most sought-after jobs is the noble practice of plumbing.

According to Plumbing Trades Employees Union member Paddy McCrudden, if you are unemployed as a plumber in Australia “there must be something wrong; you’ve either got a bad work ethic or are charging too much.”

Plumbers throughout Sydney are getting most of their work from emergency and call-out work, but say that in 2014, bathroom renovations will be one of their biggest jobs.

“People are always going to need water so there is always going to be work out there,” said one local plumber.

The plumbing industry is said to be fast becoming the Dad’s army of the Australian workforce – the average age of a plumber is 55, compared to the overall workforce average of 39.

It is estimated that about one in ten plumbers are foreigners, indicating that there is a lot of work available but not enough workers to fill demand.

A local plumber said that savvy plumbers would never be short of work in Sydney if they were clever with how they promoted themselves.

If one of your New Years Resolutions is a change of career, then maybe picking up the plumb is a step in the right direction. Sydney’s current plumbers certainly don’t seem to be complaining.