The Dynamics of Migrant Employment in Construction: Can Supply of Skilled Labour ever Match Demand?

Social partners’ policy reactions to migration in occupational labour markets: The case of the Swiss construction industry

“…Vocational training in the English construction sector represents a ‘contrasting approach’ to dual training countries: for example, bricklaying is not a Beruf , ‘founded on the principle of developing occupational capacity through negotiation and regulation by a range of stakeholders, including the social partners … and educationalists’ and underpinned by an institutionally and collectively regulated occupational labour market but only a ‘ trade , defined by skills attached to the output and performance in the workplace’ (Clarke et al, 2013: 933). Consequently, in their recent studies of the mobility impacts in the UK construction sector, Chan et al (2010: 245) conclude that the lack of coordinated labour relations, vocational training and ‘regulation of skill entry requirements and employment conditions has in turn exposed migrant workers to unequal treatment and exploitation’.…”

Posting and agency work in British construction and hospitality: the role of regulation in differentiating the experiences of migrants

“…Subcontracting appears to be the predominant form in construction (BIS, 2013;Chan et al, 2010;Forde and MacKenzie, 2007;Forde, MacKenzie and Robinson, 2009) while agency workalongside other forms of casual and contract employmentis to be found in hospitality (Alberti, 2014;Lai, Soltani and Baum 2008;Lucas and Mansfield, 2010;Maroukis 2015;McDowell, Batnitzky and Dyer, 2008). Furthermore, firms often contract out parts of the labour process to other companies, creating a long subcontracting chain with multiple employers operating at different levels (Harvey, 2003;MacKenzie, 2000).…”

“…The effects of mobility on the labour market appear intertwined with employment practices, such as subcontracting and agency working, which are common in sectors like construction and hospitality. In both sectors EU migrants, as well as TCNs, tend to constitute a significant part of the workforce (Alberti, 2014;Chan, Clarke and Dainty 2010;Dainty, Grugulis and Langford, 2007;Forde, MacKenzie and Robinson, 2009).…”

Making Migration Work : The future of labour migration in the European Union

“…In the construction sector, for example, the difficulty of finding suitably skilled British workers is critically related to low levels of labour market regulation and the absence of a comprehensive vocational education and training system (for more detailed discussion see Chan, Clarke and Dainty 2010). The industry is highly fragmented.…”