Construction has always been one of the key sectors of the Spanish labor market, but in recent years it seems to suffer from difficulties in finding workers. A new study quantifies this problem: 81.4% of the workforce did not even think about it7.2% did so, but did not take the plunge and 8.2% worked in these activities, but abandoned it. The reason is that it is seen as a sector with “disastrous” working conditions, low wages and few opportunities for training and advancement. But these 97.2% of workers who refuse to work in the sector gives an idea of a difficulty in attracting talent which slows down the possibilities of modernization and “professionalization” of the companies themselves.
In the years immediately preceding the financial crisis, Spain experienced a construction “boom” that most economic analysts refer to as a “property bubble,” fueled by mortgage credit facilities. This resulted in an intense demand for labor and high wages, which led to many young people abandon their studies for these new opportunities. But the outbreak of the Great Recession swept away this panorama and, with it, hundreds of thousands of jobs.
Fifteen years later, construction is presented as a very different sector, which does not depend on “bubbles” and which has been able to benefit from the transformation of infrastructures inside and outside Spain and, in the real estate field, opportunities that They are opening the rehabilitation and the so-called “green building”. Furthermore, housing problems have again become a social and political priority, as happened twenty years ago, which means that construction once again occupies a primordial place. Furthermore, as a pillar of the modernization of the economy, since technology It has profoundly transformed many processes.
But this optimistic bet, which defends the sector and the government itself in its economic planscomes up against workers’ reluctance. An analysis by the State Public Employment Service (SEPE) indicates that “unfavorable working conditions” andnotably the rejection of working hours, schedules, salaries or the “difficulty” of jobs It is causing a real “talent drain” in the construction sector, but also in the hotel industry and commerce. This means that “they are not attractive for many young people, which aggravates the difficulty of coverage”, particularly in a context of an aging workforce, particularly relevant in activities that require high physical effort.
Employer associations, for their part, speak of a lack of nearly 700,000 professionals to support the sustainability of the sector. However, projects aimed at attracting a qualified workforce, starting with hiring abroad, have yielded very poor results and led to a clash between the ministries of Labor and Inclusion. It remains to be seen whether the new immigration regulations will result in the long-awaited injection of workers into the sector, a formula that the government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero followed in 2004. But the economy has changed significantly over the this period, and the newly arrived workers You have more opportunities to bet in the service sector for other activities also in high demand and in less physically “hard” positions.
A new study promoted by the Knauf company, one of the leading manufacturers of construction materials in the world, in collaboration with the National Institute of Qualifications, belonging to the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Economy, ‘Employment and Finance of the Community of Madrid, the Construction Labor Foundation and CCOO, among others, confirms this suspicion after carrying out an in-depth investigation with more than 3,000 interviews.
Lack of demand slows down qualification
The study detects that only 2.8% of those surveyed currently work in the sector, which shows a surprisingly low balance, while according to the INE, construction workers represent 6.8% (well below the 13% they reached in 2013).
Furthermore, 9 out of 10 people agree that the sector needs to “professionalize”: only 16% of people who work or would work in the sector do so for the possibilities of “professional growth” or “opportunities to learn a trade”. 43.7% focus on salaries and 33% on professional stability.
The lack of expectations in terms of professional development is surprising in a sector which is considered 50.8% “for young people”. The same percentage as for the unemployed, 43.7% for immigrants. Only 25.4% see an exit for people wishing to take a “turn in their career” and 15.7% for seniors.
Furthermore, signs of a huge gender gap are visible: only 23.7% see it as an activity that opens its doors to women. Which is consistent with INE data: although the average number of employees in construction is 6.8%, for men it is 11.4%, compared to only 1.4% for men. workers.
“We must improve the erroneous perception that exists regarding remuneration, professional development opportunities and reconciliation to attract talent, particularly women,” says the study, which regrets the “general ignorance” of opportunities to improve training in these activities. as well as skills accreditationwhile qualification is the key factor in salary expectations.
The key, according to Knauf, is that “entry into the construction industry often does not require training.” This leads to a “high dropout rate in construction and building vocational training,” the study says, which explains why “a clear gap has formed between highly skilled professionals and poorly trained and skilled workers.” in precarious conditions. It is for this reason that it is considered essential that companies commit to greater demand for skills required for jobs. The alternative is to make the same mistake as twenty years ago, when thousands of young people abandoned their studies for the “brick”.
But he also considers it essential that educators have the information necessary to explain to students the latest advances and opportunities in the sector, support which the study also extends to families. The study also has a qualitative section, in which it discusses with experts from various public and commercial organizations to detect future challenges and strategies to deal with it,
Thus, he underlines the need to make the sector an “attractive option” by creating a “clear and defined career path” which banishes the image of “difficulty” associated with jobs. “Modernization, Digitalization and promoting sustainability are crucial to this goal.“, he said.
To achieve this, it is committed to raising the level of professionalization in all its fields,”including training, qualification and recognition of skills“. Something in which companies must actively participate, “promoting the process of accreditation of skills” of workers.
But they also emphasize the need to reach all potential candidates through communication campaigns. In this sense, he advocates a “national plan” to identify the specialties which require specific help, “generate stability and attractiveness in the sector through a solid economic strategy“.
