Running her own business at 23. How Monique is beating the trade shortage one brick at a time

When Monique Juratovac swapped her make up brushes and hairdryer for a brickie’s trowel three and a half years ago, she had no idea she would find herself in the middle of a tradie drought.

This week, the Housing Industry Association reported that Australia is in the midst of a building bonanza, with more than 100,000 homes under construction. But the high demand and COVID related issues have meant that the worker shortage is at its worst since records began.

The biggest demand is for bricklayers, carpenters and roof tilers.

For 23-year-old Ms Juratovac, who started her own business MJ Bricklaying last week, it’s meant there’s plenty of work on the ground.

“I have had quite a few people message me to do private jobs,” she said. “I have always done more housing (than commercial sites) and that’s what I prefer. But I’ll always help out people close to me.”

Perth-based Ms Juratovac became a bricklayer after qualifying as a hairdresser and then a make up artist before making the switch to the building site.

“I left school quite young after being bullied and hairdressing was the avenue most girls went down – my older sister was a hairdresser,” she said. “I did three years of study but I wasn’t happy so I did a Certificate III in make-up. But that didn’t help. I needed a change.”

After investigating a number of trades, and a day’s trial on a building site, she was hooked.

“I was talking to mum about it and she said to give it a go. I did a day’s free trial on site and I fell in love with it.

“I love the whole atmosphere. I don’t have to do my make up to go to work, I can just roll out of bed. I get along with the boys so well – we have banter and it doesn’t even feel like work some days.”

Ms Juratovac (pictured below) also tested her skills against the best in her region.

“I won the WorldSkills Regional Bricklaying Competition in 2019,” she said. “I didn’t expect to win it. I was prepared for the worst but they said I’d won. Then they said I was the first woman to win and I started to cry.”

She has also won Apprentice of the Year – twice.

General manager international marketing for Brickworks, Brett Ward, said Western Australia, where Ms Juratovac works, is suffering the longest waits for bricklayers, with delays of up to 12 weeks, but all states are under the pump. Brickworks is working with the Australian Brick and Blocklaying Training Foundation to attract more apprentices into the industry.

“There are apprenticeships available – we have 30 available in WA right now,” he said. “It’s a major campaign to align the apprenticeship scheme with the major builders. It’s something we are working on all the time but we are competing against tech based jobs. Bricklaying is not seen to be as cool but you can run your own jobs and be your own boss.”

As long as you enjoy physical work, Ms Juratovac says bricklaying is a satisfying – and in demand – career. And these days, she’s calling the shots on site.

“It feels good. It’s scary and stressful but once you get your head around it, it’s good,” she said. “People are listening to me a lot more. Before they’d ask one of the boys but now that I am paying the wages, they’re listening to me.”

China’s economic recovery isn’t gaining the momentum money managers are awaiting.

Data from China Beige Book show that the economic green shoots glimpsed in August didn’t sprout further in September. Job growth and consumer spending faltered, while orders for exports came in at the lowest level since March, according to a monthly flash survey of more than 1,300 companies the independent research firm released Thursday evening.

Consumers’ initial revenge spending after Covid restrictions eased could be waning, the results indicate, with the biggest pullbacks in food and luxury items. While travel remains a bright spot ahead of the country’s Mid-Autumn Festival, hospitality firms and chain restaurants saw a sharp decline in sales, according to the survey.

And although policy makers have shown their willingness to stabilise the property market, the data showed another month of slower sales and lower prices in both the residential and commercial sectors.

Even more troubling are the continued problems at Evergrande Group, which has scuttled a plan to restructure itself, raising the risk of a liquidation that could further destabilise the property market and hit confidence about the economy. The embattled developer said it was notified that the company’s chairman Hui Ka Yan, who is under police watch, is suspected of committing criminal offences.

Nicole Kornitzer, who manages the $750 million Buffalo International Fund (ticker: BUIIX), worries about a “recession of expectations” as confidence continues to take a hit, discouraging people and businesses from spending. Kornitzer has only a fraction of the fund’s assets in China at the moment.

Before allocating more to China, Kornitzer said, she needs to see at least a couple quarters of improvement in spending, with consumption broadening beyond travel and dining out. Signs of stabilisation in the housing market would be encouraging as well, she said.

She isn’t alone in her concern about spending. Vivian Lin Thurston, manager for William Blair’s emerging markets and China strategies, said confidence among both consumers and small- and medium-enterprises is still suffering.

“Everyone is still out and about but they don’t buy as much or buy lower-priced goods so retail sales aren’t recovering as strongly and lower-income consumers are still under pressure because their employment and income aren’t back to pre-COVID levels,” said Thurston, who just returned from a visit to China.

“A lot of small- and medium- enterprises are struggling to stay afloat and are definitely taking a wait-and-see approach on whether they can expand. A lot went out of business during Covid and aren’t back yet. So far the stimulus measures have been anemic.”

Beijing needs to do more, especially to stabilise the property sector, Thurston said. The view on the ground is that more help could come in the fourth quarter—or once the Federal Reserve is done raising rates.

The fact that the Fed is raising rates while Beijing is cutting them is already putting pressure on the renminbi. If policy makers in China wait until the Fed is done, that would alleviate one source of pressure before their fiscal stimulus adds its own.