What concerns me about 'tradies' is the black market in 'cash' payments.

Australia is becoming like Spain and Greece where a large percentage of 'tradies' do not pay tax. Although illegal it's standard practice and robs the Government of millions in tax which could be used for schools, hospitals, roads, social housing etc.

The general standard of work, social skills and ability to turn up on time or give a quote that's required is abysmal. What does it say about Australia's educational standard ? Very worrying to say the least.

And don't get me started about 'weekend markets' where once again you never get a receipt for items purchased> They don't see paying tax as there responsibilty.

Third world country or as Paul Keeting said 'banana republic ' here we come.

That 47% are functionally illiterate?

Almost half the country is functionally illiterate - ABC Central West NSW - Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Or, alternatively:

Half of Britons can't spell common words - Telegraph

Beets mee

Can't say I've had any problems with tradies yet - got to wonder if some peoples attitudes cause the problem.

You are dead right - the tradesmens' attitudes.

We had some excellent ones on our build - and some that should never have had the straight jacket removed.

Oh well, guess I've just been lucky so far then

And don't ask them to write. Gone are the days where kids are taught to write in well-formed longhand.

That figure is very high and is a shocking statistic - if true.

I don't think that getting the spelling of 'embarrassment', 'occasionally' and 'necessary' incorrect really equates with functional illiteracy

More how much of a mess english spelling is - bloody romans, bloody french...

Yep, I was shocked when I saw it. It comes down to how you define 'functional illiteracy', but even being generous, that figure should be <5-10% in a western democracy. Even allowing for migrants from SE Asia, it's way too high.

Here's the ABS page 4228.0 - Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, Australia, 2011-12

Level 3 equates to "Adequate to cope with the demands of everyday life and work in an advanced society" - hence why it's said 47% are functionally illiterate. Level 2 is only "A capacity to deal only with simple, clear material involving uncomplicated tasks".

Mmmmm well as a tradie I have to say that I've found that, over the course of the last 12 years working here, I've become quite good at choosing who I'll work for. I like to meet customers & look at the job before I give a quote as there are often unseen/hidden problems, not to mention bad attitudes lol.
I've only made poor decisions on 3 occasions . All of which resulted in non payment of the final invoice. Coincidentally, all 3 occurred in Noosa, allegedly one of the most affluent areas in SE Qld.
As Jad told me many many years ago you have to treat each potential customer as your worst enemy & take steps to mitigate potential loss. I often take the wife to hold the other end of the tape while I measure up. If we both get a bad vibe we won't do the job.
I try to keep to an allotted time for an appointment & always ring the customer if I'm running late. Not due to bad time management, often people want extras or there will be traffic chaos due to an accident. Shit happens.
I'll do small jobs but won't drop an 80m² floor to tile someone's 1.8m² toilet I still have to make house payments the same as everyone else so when I get a few small jobs I'll have a day or so running around doing them i.e you wait a little longer. The alternative is I charge for a full day & your toilet floor goes from a $100 bucks to $300 bucks. Distance is the killer up here as my area is approx 2 hrs in all directions. Hard to make a case to charge to charge 4 hrs travel for a small job on the coast but I've found that those living in the bush expect to pay more. They also treat you with far more respect for making the trip out.
Yes I win a lot of jobs over the Aussie tradies but it's mainly word of mouth recommendation for me. I'm busy, way too busy. A few years ago I worked four days a week & fished a couple. I don't have time any more for that I do have a three day weekend once a month though, usually a weekend away in the city or sea.