Australia’s highest-earning trades jobs: Revealed
Australia’s trades workers are known to earn solid incomes, but some are taking home even more than others.
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In fact, five trades jobs report having average yearly incomes of more than $100,000, with one in 10 tradies earning more than $200,000, according to a survey of tradies on the services marketplace, ServiceSeeking.com.
Plumbers have the highest average yearly income, taking home $110,000, followed by concreters who take home $107,500, the Tradie Rich List reveals.
Builders earn $103,750 and those who work with flooring companies earn $103,125.
Rounding out the top five, carpenters earn $102,424 on average.
The survey of 629 workers also found the majority of tradies on the site own their own business, with only 4 per cent working for another person.
Most trades (32 per cent) charge between $100 and $500 per job, although more than one-in-five jobs are worth more than $2000.
Slightly fewer jobs are worth between $500 and $1,000.
Tradies’ job satisfaction
According to SEEK data, plumbers have high job satisfaction and significant job growth ahead. Plumbers score their job satisfaction at four stars out of five, with 9.5 per cent projected job growth in the coming five years.
The most common salary for a plumber reported on SEEK is $70,000, diverging from the largely self-employed plumbers who responded to the ServiceSeeking survey.
Concreters report the same job satisfaction, with roles in that sector expected to jump by 13.4 per cent in the coming five years.
Scott Morrison, Scottie Cam join forces
The Morrison government last year enlisted the help of television personality Scottie Cam to encourage more young people to study trades.
Jobs Minister Michaelia Cash said the partnership was “ultimately ... about shining a light on vocational education and training in Australia”.
However, Shadow Minister for Education Tanya Plibersek said Australia had a skills crisis and the Coalition was to blame.
“We have seen billions of dollars cut from TAFE and training and this is leading to the extinction of the Australian tradie,” she said.
“We've got shortages in areas – hairdressing, pastry chefs, motor mechanics, electricians, carpenters, builders – shortages right across the skilled trades.”
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