Australia's housing industry is at risk of hemorrhaging electricians to data centre developers if better pay and training conditions are not provided, a union official has warned.
Appearing before a productivity inquiry, Electrical Trades Union Secretary Michael Wright said about 10 per cent of the industry was working in the construction of data centres, up from zero a few years ago.
That percentage was higher than in other industries and was reflective of a large electrical trade workforce needed for other projects, including constructing infrastructure for the Brisbane 2032 Olympics.
Electrical apprenticeships have flatlined since the COVID pandemic, meaning large employers who pay more - including data centre giants like Nvidia - are able to poach talent from smaller corners of the industry.
"Where that's really going to bite (is) the housing sector, because housing is the lowest paid," Mr Wright said.
"This is a really big concern for us."
But he said the shortage was not due to lack of interest from potential apprentices. In fact, employers received about 600 applicants for every job ad they posted.
Mr Wright pointed to the limited availability of entry-level jobs and long wait lists at training institutions.
Employers struggle to afford early-year apprentices, and often lose tradies who are towards the end of their training to bigger companies.
It is also a 12 to 18 month wait to get into TAFE.
"We have apprentices who, when they do get into TAFE, have to bring their own conduit, their own material in order to be trained upon," Mr Wright said.
"This is not reflective of the level of urgency or level of importance that these trades have to Australia's future."
The only option to plugging the shortage was training more Australians, he said, as other countries were experiencing similar shortages but offered better conditions to retain their workforce.
The union plans to lodge pre-budget submissions to state and territory governments for increased funding given to apprentices as they enter the industry.
