A range of free and low-cost courses are designed to upskill the sector in NSW.

More education is one of the most common requests we hear in the sector, both fundamentals for new entrants and easy-access courses for professionals. The NSW government has taken a step to meeting this need with a range of new courses on its digital training platform.

The platform, a partnership between the Office of the Building Commissioner and TAFE NSW, is called Construct NSW and courses are designed in collaboration with prominent industry members. The first course, Understanding Occupation Certification Audits (cost $140) has been joined by two new modules: the Value of Australian Standards ($140) and the NSW Planning Portal (free). Three additional courses are coming soon: Ethics in Construction, How to communicate with consumers and the advantages of getting it right and The Benefits of Design & Building Practitioner Legislation.

NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler said, “All the modules are being developed in consultation with representatives from across the industry – architects, designers, builders, certifiers, engineers and so on – responding to their feedback on the priority learning gaps that are common across the field.

“The modules are short and sharp, only taking up to two hours each, and they can be done anytime, including when you’re offline.”

An additional 18 modules are expected to be rolled out throughout 2021.

“I encourage everyone in the construction industry to visit the platform and consider taking a module to help them enhance their professional capability,” Chandler said. “As we rebuild from Covid, we want to establish a more capable and innovative workforce that is able to deliver NSW a pipeline of trustworthy buildings.”

The platform is part of the NSW Government’s Construct NSW transformation strategy that is establishing new benchmarks of industry performance to restore public confidence in residential construction standards after a difficult few years.

For more information, visit https://training.tafensw.edu.au/constructnsw/