Back to school and BER construction rolls-on

Parents noticing construction at Victorian schools today should give some thought to the local jobs that are being sustained by the Building Education Revolution (BER).

Executive Director of the Master Builders Association of Victoria, Brian Welch, said the $16 billion BER has provided a much needed boost for Victorian commercial builders over the past seven months.

“As a rough rule of thumb, for every $1 million spent on construction, 1.7 new jobs are created in construction and related industries,” he said.

“Victoria’s $3.5 billion slice of the BER will therefore have created and sustained about 6,000 jobs.

“Of key importance however, is the fact that the BER has provided work to tide the industry over during a very difficult period. Commercial builders were hardest hit by the fall-out of the financial crisis.

“The tightening of lending criteria has meant that new construction projects have not been getting off the ground – so this stimulus measure is more important than ever.

“The latest ABS building activity stats showed a jump in the value of public sector education building activity in Victoria. November 2009 saw $1.1 billion worth of activity in this area, up from $600m in November 2008.”

ENDS