Caravanning tradie's genius solution to Australia-wide problem: 'Big shortage'

Courtney and James Inskip started living out a caravan in hope of dodging the 'daily grind' of work. Now they've found a solution to the tradie shortage in remote areas.

The Inskip's ute and caravan with a picture of them all smiling for a picture in the car (top right).
As the Inskip family started caravanning around Australia, the tradie shortage became quickly apparent. Source: Supplied/Instagram

An Aussie family who sold their "forever home" and began living their life out of a caravan with their two young children had no idea they would be inundated with work in remote areas of the country. And, despite it being great news for the new nomads, it's revealed a growing issue in Australia that the family are now trying to address.

Courtney Inskip told Yahoo News her husband James, who works as an electrician, has faced an overwhelming amount of tradie jobs since the family set off from their hometown of Inverell, NSW three years ago to escape the "daily grind". The tradie shortage has never been more apparent, Courtney said.

"We realised that in remote communities there is such a big gap for trades. There is a nationwide shortage but especially in remote areas. It's such a big country and James obviously couldn't fix it all himself," she explained.

Courtney and James created a platform called Tradies on Tour which acts as a bridge between travelling tradies and residents in remote areas who need tradesmen. The Inskip family have been travelling the country in their Toyota Cruiser ute, towing their mobile home along behind them, working jobs and putting people in touch with one another.

"It's a connecting platform... it helps make that connection for people to find each other," she said. "It's a win-win... the client can post their request for a tradie... and the tradies on the platform get alerts on the publicly listed jobs."

The Inskip family smiling at the camera (left) and tradie James fixing the lights on a roof (right).
Tradies on Tour is a platform helping to connect remote Aussies with tradies. Source: Supplied

The couple do not make an income from the platform and Courtney explained a great deal of fulfilment comes from helping people reach one another. She spoke of one woman who runs a working cattle station in rural South Australia admitting her "excitement and relief" that she can now get ahold of tradies on the platform.

The couple joins others who have packed up life and hit the road including Mal and Cathy from the Sunshine Coast. Detailing their travels to Yahoo, the couple, also tradies, said they've picked up odd jobs along the way to fund their adventures.

“We work when we need to, and then we have a break and go do some sightseeing, and then when we’re getting low on cash again we just find [another job],” Mal, a carpenter, said previously.

Meanwhile, Dad Ryan Mumford said there's plenty of work that's easy to get in remote areas — not just for tradies but there's lots of farm work too. A two-month stint earned him a hefty $22,000.

According to recent data released by the Master Builders Association, there has been a shortage of 130,000 workers across the construction and building industry this year alone. Remote areas of the country are believed to be hit the hardest and as more and more Aussies strap in for a life on the road, connecting wanderlust tradies with those in need of tradespeople can be "mutually beneficial".

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