Octave Intelligence backs talent, addresses industry workforce shortfall

Australia's construction and engineering sectors are severely undermanned. Infrastructure Australia reported in 2025 that the industry was already 141,000 workers short, contributing to a slow down on national projects and housing delivery. This shortfall is expected to expand to 300,000 workers by mid 2027.

In July this year, Master Builders CEO Denita Wawn warned that skills shortages were driving up construction costs by as much as 15%, stating: "When you cannot get tradies working in tandem in a sequenced way, then you have lag times on a site. We don't have enough people, and that means costs escalate accordingly."

The industry needs to hire more workers, particularly highly-skilled engineers who can positively impact proactivity. Aiming to narrow the talent gap is Octave Intelligence, whose global Next Gen Builders program partners with higher education institutions to provide essential training on the technology systems which are already part and parcel of the modern 'built environment' industry. 

And now the program has landed in Australia, through a partnership with Curtin University said the company's principal consultant Jeff Sharp. "What we've seen with a lot of our customers, they hire really bright graduates, but soon discover that the universities generally haven't kept pace with technology," he related.

Octave provides software across the entire lifecycle of built assets with a platform spanning design, project management, on-site execution, operations, maintenance, and even protection based on public safety, physical security and industrial cybersecurity. With its concept of a continuous "digital thread," Octave connects what was once fragmented: BIM and CAD drawings flow into construction packages, site progress is tracked in real time, and crucial information is preserved in a living digital twin for asset owners long after handover.

The company said the program prepares students for decision-making across design, build, operate and protect, providing hands-on experience with how data and intelligence are applied in real-world construction and infrastructure projects. It also aims to change how careers in these sectors are perceived by showing that modern construction and infrastructure roles are technology-driven, data-led and central to shaping cities, economies and the energy transition.

The chasm between chalkboard and drawing board isn't, Sharp agreed, a new phenomenon as academics and the real world have always had some air between them for various reasons. But that doesn't mean it isn't a problem to be solved.

"Graduates are coming out and they're not understanding the tools, so the first thing that happens when they join a construction company is they have to be trained. We saw an opportunity to fill that gap, by getting the tools used in the industry into universities."

It is an 'everyone benefits' arrangement, and not an uncommon one either. Vendors of various products and services both offer their own internal certification programs, while also providing various support to schools at every level. The advantages are clear: students get a usefully practical component to their education, universities and their lecturers produce graduates that the industry wants, and software providers establish themselves as a vendor of choice.

Although on that last note, Sharp explained that while there is undoubtedly an element of enlightened self-interest, Octave's involvement is by no means prescriptive. "[Our involvement] means when the student leaves University, they've had experience, whether they're using our software or not; they understand how the tools can be integrated and how their job is more likely to progress, and has a better idea of what the career they're entering actually looks like, that it isn't all theory and there is a practical component."

He added with a smile, "We understand there're competitors out there, and other elements to the ecosystem. Of course, we'd be very hopeful those students come into a workplace and say, 'Hey, I've seen a better way of doing this when I was at university. Go and talk to Octave; that would be great."

Through the NextGen Builders Program, participating institutions are integrating Octave's software into selected construction and built environment units, supporting practical, project-based learning.

Curtin University's Dr Vasilios Papastamoulis said strong industry alignment is key to preparing students for the workforce. "This partnership equips our students with in-demand digital skills and real-world experience, while highlighting the vital role careers in construction and infrastructure play in shaping Australia's future."

There's more to it than just software, continued Sharp, explaining that students also gain access to training and support, while industry experts (himself included) make themselves available to deliver guest lectures that bring the broader ecosystem to life. Part of that, he said, is the crucial work of exposing the range of roles that the construction industries offer, many of which may not be immediately obvious to students.

While Curtin University is Octave's launch partnership, Sharp confirmed that there is more in the works. "We are planning to do more across Asia Pacific, we're talking with a few other universities and we're open to other partnerships. It all comes down to bridging that gap between industry and education."