Occupational Licensing of Building Trades: Case of Western Australia
Publication: Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice
Volume 136, Issue 4
Abstract
Occupational licensing ensures that people in the building industry are competent and accountable for their work and that it is undertaken “right the first time.” Currently, there is a requirement within Western Australia (WA) for only electricians, plumbers, and painters to be registered with the Builders Registration Board, but considering the increasing incidence of defective work, occupational licensing of building trades has been espoused by the Master Builders Association. This call is also as a result of the Council of Australian Governments initiative to implement new measures to enable greater workforce mobility and reduce the regulatory burden for industry and workers possessing vocationally trained trade qualifications. In this paper, a sample of industry practitioners’ views on the benefits and disadvantages of occupational licensing, their experiences, and implications for the building in industry in WA is explored using focus groups and a series of in-depth unstructured interviews. It was revealed that in principle participants agreed that occupational licensing would go some way in improving quality and reducing defects and the incidence of disputes in the building industry. Benefits identified included improvements in safety, education, and skills, professionalization of building trades, and workmanship. There were some significant concerns raised by participants, which included cost of the system and the price increases that may be borne by consumers, the management, and enforcement of a system and the consequences of nonenforcement. The findings presented offer a learning opportunity for the wider international community, as each country has its own specific regulations and statutory frameworks in place. It is envisaged that the research will provide the impetus for examining the need to formulate policies for the licensing of building trades so as to ensure that quality is consistently provided to consumers.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Adams, A. F., Jackson, J. D., and Ekelund, R. B. (2002). “Occupational licensing in a competitive labour market: The case of cosmetology.” J. Labor Res., 23(2), 261–278.
Akerlof, G. A. (1970). “The market for lemons: Quality uncertainty and the market mechanism.” Q. J. Econ., 84(3), 488–500.
Allen Consulting Group. (2007). Evaluation of COAG’s initiatives for full and effective mutual recognition of occupational licenses, The Allen Consulting Group, Melbourne, Australia, ⟨http://www.allenconsult.com.au⟩ (June 2009).
Arkani, S., Clarke, L., and Michielsens, E. (2003). “Regulation for survival: Training and skills in the construction labour market in Jersey, Channel Islands.” Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 55(3), 261–280.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2008a). “Building approvals: Australia.” ABS 8731.0, Australia, ⟨http://www.abs.gov.au⟩ (May 27, 2008).
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2008b). “Western Australian statistical indicators.” ABS 1367.5, Australia, ⟨http://www.abs.gov.au/⟩ (May 27, 2008).
BIS Schrapnel. (2008). “Mining in Australia 2008 to 2023.” ⟨www.bis.com.au⟩ (Oct. 23, 2008).
Bousel, A. J. (1974). “The case for and against licensing.” Monthly Labor Rev., 97(10), 82.
Brown, C., Belfield, C., and Field, J. (2002). “Cost effectiveness of continuing professional development in health care: A critical review of the evidence.” British Medical Journal, 324, 652–655.
Bunni, N. (2003). Risk and insurance in construction, Taylor & Francis, London.
Carroll, S. L., and Gaston, R. J. (1983). “Occupational licensing and the quality of service.” Law and Human Behaviour, 7(2/3), 139–146.
Council of Australian Governments (COAG). (2008). Business Regulation and Competition Working Group Meeting, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
Cuomo, M. (2006). Builders Registration Board Annual Rep. 2006, ⟨http://www.builders.wa.gov.au⟩ (May 27, 2008).
Department of Consumer and Employment Protection. (2007). “National standard for construction work: Guidance for main contractors and people with control of construction.” ⟨http://www.docep.wa.gov.au⟩.
Dorsey, S. (1980). “The occupational licensing queue.” J. Hum. Resour., 15(3), 424–434.
Georgiou, J., Love, P. E. D., and Smith, J. (1999). “A comparison of defects in houses constructed by owners and registered builders in the Australian State of Victoria.” Struct. Surv., 17(3), 160–169.
Hatcher, N. (2008). “Construction costs to surge again.” Construction contractor magazine, Aspermont, Australia.
Hazlett, T. W., and Fearing, J. L. (1998). “Occupational licensing and the transition from welfare to work.” J. Labor Res., 19(2), 277.
Kleiner, M. (2006). Licensing occupations: Ensuring quality or restricting competition? W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, Kalamazoo, MI, ⟨http://www.upjohninst.org⟩.
Kleiner, M. M. (2000). “Occupational licensing.” J. Econ. Perspect., 14(4), 189–202.
Kleiner, M. M., Gay, S., and Greene, K. (1982a). “Barriers to labour migration: The case of occupational licensing.” Industrial Relations, 21(3), 383–391.
Kleiner, M. M., Gay, S., and Greene, K. (1982b). “Licensing migration and earnings: Some empirical insights.” Policy Stud. Rev., 1(3), 510–522.
Kleiner, M. M., and Kudrle, R. T. (2000). “Does regulation affect economic outcomes? The case of dentistry.” J. Law Econom., 43(2), 547–582.
Lobo, Y., and Wilkinson, S. (2006). “The effects of occupational licensing on skills needs in the building industry: Evidence from New Zealand.” The Australian Journal of Construction Economics and Building, 6(2).
Love, P. E. (2002). “Influence of project type and procurement method on rework costs in building construction projects.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 128(1), 18–29.
Marsh, P. (2005). Builders’ Registration Board Annual Rep. 2005, ⟨http://www.builders.wa.gov.au/⟩ (May 27, 2008).
Mills, A., Love, P. E. D., and Williams, P. (2009). “Defect costs in construction.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 135(1), 12–16.
Mutual Recognition Act. (1992). “An Act to provide for the recognition within each State and Territory of the Commonwealth of regulatory standards adopted elsewhere in Australia regarding goods and occupations.” Office of Legislative Drafting and Publishing, Attorney-General’s Dept., Canberra ACT, Australia.
Nahan, M., Corser, J., and Goddard, M. (2007). “Western Australia’s housing affordability crisis: Final rep.” ⟨http://www.wahousingaffordability.com⟩ (June 2009).
National Standard for Construction Work. (2008). “Department of Consumer and Employment Protection.” ⟨http://www.docep.wa.gov.au⟩ (June 2009).
Parker, D., and Beri, V. (1997). “The reform of occupational regulation in Australia.” Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Workshop on Competition Policy and Deregulation, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
Pashigian, B. P. (1979). “Occupational licensing and the interstate mobility of professionals.” J. Law Econom., 22(1), 1–25.
Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods, 2nd Ed., Sage, Newbury Park, CA.
Shilling, J. D., and Sirmans, E. (1988). “The effects of occupational licensing on complaints against real estate agents.” J. Real Estate Res., 3(2), 1.
Skarbek, D. (2008). “Occupational licensing and asymmetric information: Post-hurricane evidence from Florida.” CATO Journal, 28(1), 73–82.
Standards Australia. (2006). “Quality management systems—Fundamentals and vocabulary.” Standards Australia AS/NZS 9000:2006, Australia, ⟨http://www.saiglobal.com⟩ (Sept. 19, 2008).
Trounson, A. (2007). “Labour shortage critical.” The Australian: Business, ⟨http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22285576-5005200,00.html⟩ (May 27, 2008).
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2010 ASCE.
History
Received: Jul 20, 2009
Accepted: Nov 21, 2009
Published online: Dec 4, 2009
Published in print: Oct 2010
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.