Preparing Construction Employers for the Gen-Z Workforce: A Case Study

Abstract

The construction industry has been facing many challenges in the recent years such as labour shortage, aging workforce, productivity decline, and resistance to change. These challenges have pushed both practitioners and academicians to investigate and invest in new transformations that can alter the industry's traditional business-as-usual model. To successfully address the challenges and create an industry that successfully adapts to and fits in the changing environment, construction employers must prioritize attracting, recruiting, and retaining the new workforce generation. Thus, it becomes important to understand the expectations that construction students are looking for in organizations after graduation. Such studies are still missing, notably on Generation-Z and the construction industry in USA. This paper attempts to fill the gap through providing the first case study on Gen-Z students graduating from of the state of Kentucky and wanting to join the construction industry. A total of 51 students were surveyed and asked to evaluate the importance of 27 factors when accepting a job offer, describe their ideal workplace, and elaborate on whether the COVID-19 pandemic shifted their perspective on the workplace. Findings of this paper can help construction employers in and around the state of Kentucky in preparing for the Generation-Z workforce.

Investigation of PESTEL factors driving change in capital project organizations

“…It is expected that by 2025, approximately three-quarters of the global workforce will be millennials, and by 2030, almost every entry-level role will be filled by Generation Z, both of which will cause a demographic change in the workforce and give rise to a new customer base (Merriman and Valerio, 2016;Gabrielova and Buchko, 2021). This younger workforce is the most diverse workforce among any generation, and it distances itself from organizations that do not promote EDI values (Hatoum et al, 2022). Additionally, clients are also participating in the diversity and inclusion dialogue and embracing these values as they believe they are essential for growth (Merriman and Valerio, 2016).…”

“…Moreover, despite raising wages and expanding benefits, the majority of construction organizations are considering filling open positions a "major challenge" (AGC, 2022). This is attributed to the change in the needs of the young workforce who care about respect, honesty, safety, growth, and professional development when looking for employers, while the industry suffers from a poor reputation in different aspects including unclear career advancement opportunities, poor health and safety records, corruption, and high sensitivity to economic conditions (Haupt and Harinarain, 2017;Hatoum et al, 2022). As such, organizations need to undergo changes that can allow them to attract and hire the younger workforce and find the right skills to enhance the construction of capital projects.…”