Some welcome help to get more tradies into the industry has been announced.

Auckland is about to get a new $55 million trade training school to help meet the desperate shortage of tradies.

Education Minister Chris Hipkins will turn the first sod today on a $55 million trades training technology park being built opposite the Manukau Institute of Technology.

MIT tech park manager Paul Hollings told Mike Hosking it's hoped the new training school will help meet the industry shortage.

"Manuaku and the greater Auckland region deserves something like this, it really is needed desperately.

"The current buildings are over 50 years old, they are well past used by date. So to have something which caters to the 21st century is very important."

All MIT trades training will move to the new park by next July from the institute's Ōtara campus and its plumbing school in Mahunga Drive, Māngere.

The park is expected to be ready by July next year.