A new study commissioned by the Ministry of Social Development (MSD), the Dunedin City Council and consultancy firm, Aukaha, estimates that an extra 1000 construction workers will be required in the Otago region for each of the next ten years. The main driver of this labour demand is the new $1.4 billion Dunedin Hospital – billed as one of the largest vertical infrastructure projects that has ever been undertaken in New Zealand. It will require 1000 workers at its peak, while across the Otago region, which has a population of 225,000, there are more than 120 major construction projects.
