People Leadership: Overcoming Industry Challenges

The Waihanga Ara Rau Workforce Development Council will be closing operations from 19 December, and disestablished from 31 December 2025. The Energy and Infrastructure Industry Skills Board; Construction and Specialist Trades Industry Skills Board; Electrotechnology and Information Technology Industry Skills Board will pick up its functions.

Home People Leadership: The key to Construction and Infrastructure survival

100,000+ worker shortfall amid $250B pipeline

Construction and Infrastructure faces many issues in a tight labour market:

35% workforce gap
77% early-career churn
ageing workerforce
weekly suicides
high injuries

People leadership can help address these issues. In partnership with ConCOVE Tūhura, our deep dive into people leadership in the Construction and Infrastructure sector builds on recurring themes from our 13 Workforce Development Plans, where people leadership consistently emerged as essential to overcoming industry challenges and driving meaningful change.

Leadership is the solution

Waihanga Ara Rau & ConCOVE reports show people leadership helps to tackle workforce challenges such as:

Retention (only 23% stay 5+ years).
Attraction: Reposition “hard, male” image
Wellbeing: MATES/WorkSafe saves lives/productivity
Diversity: Māori/Pacific values (whanaungatanga, manaakitanga, tautua) + inclusion.

Technical promotions fail. People leaders need empathy, psychological safety and formal training.