Interstate tradies lured with $10,000 to relocate to WA boasting: ‘West is best’

These are the advertisements sure to get our east coast cousins’ blood boiling — boasting WA has the best coast and is the place their tradies should move to.

The ads depicting tradies living the WA dream, complete with surfboards, have appeared in Eastern States newspapers as part of a government bid to snag construction workers with the prospect of a $10,000 bonus.

“We all know that the west coast is the best coast, and if you’re a building and construction professional from the Eastern States it just got even better,” WA Premier Roger Cook said.

“I’d urge skilled construction workers thinking of making to move to WA to come for the job and stay for the lifestyle. You won’t regret it.”

Full-page advertisements in this week’s Sunday Herald Sun in Victoria and Sunday Telegraph in NSW, featuring slogans “West coast is the best coast” and “Build a life in WA”, spruik the $10,000 financial carrot to move her and work in construction.

In late November, the $10,000 Build a Life in WA incentive was also expanded to include eligible New Zealand citizens.

According to the State Government, more than 800 tradies from around Australia and New Zealand have already flagged interest to move west since the scheme began last year.

In total, 808 people have so far expressed interest to work in one of 59 crucial jobs in the State’s building and construction industry, including carpentry, electrical, plumbing, bricklaying and painting.

Almost 250 of those expressions of interest — or 30 per cent — are from tradies in NSW. Those in Victoria and Queensland make up just over 40 per cent combined.

The State Government does not have a target for the number of expressions of interest.

Under the scheme, a $5000 payment is available once workers can demonstrate they’ve secured a job in WA’s construction industry.

The second $5000 is available once the recipient has completed six months of employment.

“We’re thrilled to see so many $10k tradies keen to pack up their tools and venture west,” Training and Workforce Development Minister Simone McGurk said. “And it’s still early days — we hope to see even more interest as word spreads.

“This incentive will help ease the cost of relocating – but those who do make the move will no doubt discover there are plenty of other perks — financial and otherwise — that come with living in WA.”

With the State’s population now topping three million, there is a huge demand for housing — and for tradies to build them.

Housing Industry Association WA boss Michael McGowan said there were 23,000 homes under construction and 20,000 building approvals in the past year. But he said the goal was to build 25,000 homes per year.

“The initial inquiry from more than 800 tradies around Australia and New Zealand about the program is fantastic, and it’s encouraging that the message is being received by the east coast market,” he said.

“These trades are qualified and can hit the ground running as independent subcontractors or employees of building and contracting companies, which immediately increases the capacity to supply housing here in WA.

“The East Coast, particularly Melbourne and Sydney, are experiencing some challenging residential building conditions, and this combined with a strong pipeline of work in the West certainly makes us an attractive place to live and work.

“Attracting qualified trades from the east coast also has a multiplier effect for industry capacity as once settled, they often host apprentices and create opportunities for more Western Australians to start a career in construction.”

Formal applications for the program opened on January 1 for suitably qualified Australian citizens and permanent residents from all States and Territories, as well as New Zealanders.