As of February 2001, 285,400 people were employed in Australia's construction trades workforce and an additional 169,600 people were employed in the main nontrade on-site construction occupations. After a period of decline in the mid-1990s, employment in Australia's construction trades increased by 5% in the 2 years ending in February 2001. Australia's building and construction trades are among those sectors experiencing difficulties in recruiting and retaining the right skilled people. Approximately 48% of the skilled trades workforce in Australia's building and construction trades hold a post-school qualification (versus 42% for the entire Australian workforce). Overall, new apprentices constitute 7.2% of the Australia's total building and construction trades workforce. The overall number of apprentices and trainees in these trades increased by 5% annually in 1995-2000, which compares favorably to the recent growth in employment in those trades of 1.8% annually. Nevertheless, Australia's building and construction trades are reporting skills shortages that must be addressed through a variety of strategies. The need to upgrade the skills of existing older workers is another issue of increasing importance. Possible sources of skills to the building and construction trades include skills training undertaken through nonapprentice training pathways and skilled migration into the trades. (Contains 26 tables/figures/boxes.) (MN)