The higher the lines appear on this index, the more likely it is that employers will look to hire new apprentices.

“Apprentices are the lifeblood and future of our industry,” said Master Builders CEO Radley de Silva.

“The survey results are really great news for young people looking to enter the building and construction industry and for anyone considering a career change into our sector.”

The survey also showed employers were more willing to hire more staff and subcontractors than at any point throughout most of 2011 and all of both 2012 and 2013, with our Employment Intentions Index coming in at 49.1 points.

“While building and construction businesses are more optimistic now about expanding the workforces, our index is still very much in the neutral zone,” Mr de Silva said.

“Master Builders will be highlighting these results to our state politicians to make sure they are aware of the policies they should be introducing to support jobs and investment in our sector, which is the state’s second largest provider of full time jobs.

If you’re looking to join the industry but unsure what role you’d like to play, perhaps our next graph will help you. It shows the difficulty members have in recruiting staff – on a scale of 0 to 100 (where 0 means there are no difficulties).

“For the second quarter in a row, site supervisors and foremen were the most difficult to find staff for Victorian building and construction businesses,” said Mr de Silva.

“This was followed by bricklayers, carpenters and project managers – highlighting some areas that people entering our industry should consider working in.

“Meanwhile, the easiest staff to find remain scaffolders, electricians and building consultants.”