These are the most sought-after new job profiles in the construction sector

It is a paradoxical situation.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
20 October 2022 Thursday 04:44
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These are the most sought-after new job profiles in the construction sector

It is a paradoxical situation. The construction industry is immersed in a transformation process on a par with other 4.0 industries. It is evolving to adapt to new needs in terms of innovation, sustainable construction and efficient rehabilitation, through new technologies and new, more digital professional profiles in accordance with current new construction techniques. The sector is, therefore, an option for the real future and is positioned as a sector with great job opportunities and where qualified labor is needed...

But, even with this perspective and the boiling of the sector, there is a chronic lack of skilled labor. Why? Xavier Vilajoana, president of the Association of Promoters of Catalonia (APCE), believes that "with the 2008 crisis and the disappearance of companies in the sector, many of its workers who were unemployed chose to retrain professionally to enter other sectors, and unfortunately we have not been able to recover this workforce”. Of course, there is another factor that intervenes in this paradox between a sector in continuous innovation and a shortage of skilled labor to respond to it.

According to Vilajoana, the perception of the world of construction is still "very traditional, with physically demanding working conditions, etc., which also do not help to attract groups such as young people or women". In other words, the problem would not be so much the real situation of what the construction sector is like, but rather the image of the sector itself.

"The image is that of a pallet that pushes a wheelbarrow and does heavy work, while the reality is broader, especially seeing the latest technological advances adopted by the sector and the emergence of industrialized construction as a new construction system in factories," he explains. the representative of the association of Catalan promoters, who adds that it is his responsibility to show that, in addition to these traditional trades, which are much needed, the sector has evolved and offers work with higher qualifications, both on the construction site and in the offices , spaces where you work with innovative machinery, computerized collaborative management systems (BIM, lean construction), etc.

And in this situation of lag between the offer of new job profiles in construction, along with digitization and new construction systems, and the lack of trained personnel to respond, who should be held responsible?

“The responsibility is shared between the sector and the Administration”, affirms Vilajoana: “But, in the end, what gives results is to focus on the present and see what we can do to amend it. Thus, in the sector we have the Fundación Laboral de la Construcción, an entity that, in addition to receiving public funds, is also financed through its own developer and construction companies, and in which it works to dignify traditional trades, to the time that new trades are promoted with a specialized training offer in construction”.

Last year the Foundation in Catalonia trained a total of 9,973 construction professionals, 35.72% more than in 2020, of which 29.70% were young people under 35 years of age and 12% of the total were women .

Lucía López, manager in Catalonia of the Fundación Laboral de la Construcción (FLC), explains that “one of our challenges is to attract talent and new professionals, as well as young people and women, to our sector, and to identify it as decent work and of future where to develop their professional career, betting on the new trades that are emerging in the sector, each day more innovative and digitized”.

The FLC is developing different agreements and actions, among which the collaboration agreement with the Department of Education and the organization of visits by higher education institutes to its four centers stand out, making known the reality of the sector in terms of training, employment and safety and health.

The joint entity also maintains a collaboration agreement with the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) to organize joint activities focused on promoting the practical training of students of the Degree in Technical Architecture and Building. Likewise, the Foundation develops specific training projects for young people under 30 years of age, as is the case of the singular projects of the Catalan Employment Service (SOC) or the Comprehensive Qualification and Employment Program (PICE) of the Chamber of Commerce. In these programs, certificates of professionalism or training are given as they respond to the most current needs of construction.

“At the Foundation”, explains its manager, “we actively work through our employment services to attract young talent to the sector, improve the employability of unemployed people and collaborate with companies to identify qualification needs”. Through the employment guidance service, the Construyendoempleo.com employment portal and actions as a placement agency, companies and professionals are put in contact to promote employability.

Aware that the advancement of the sector has innovation in processes, materials, tools and programs as its main engine, the Foundation participates in numerous national and international projects. It collaborates with institutions and manufacturers to promote the newest trends and promotes training in BIM methodology (building information modeling) among professionals so that they acquire and improve professional skills related to technological changes and digital transformation.

In a complementary way, the APCE has a training division with an offer aimed especially at managerial professionals and intermediate positions in the promoter-construction sector. The catalog of courses ranges from master's degrees in collaboration with other entities to seminars and short-term courses, and is updated in accordance with current regulations affecting the sector, so that business professionals can update their knowledge and continue to provide added value to the company.

Also, points out the president of the APCE, the role of professional schools or, in the case of architects, of Escola Sert, is essential, because they are the ones who best know the needs of the sector and can offer courses adapted to the existing demand and the technological evolution and the different construction systems.

The reaction and the training offer from the sector is, therefore, clear. But, even so, there is still a lot of pedagogy to be done, as Vilajoana from the APCE points out: "The unions and other business associations are explaining this transformation of construction and the new professional profiles that are needed through our communication platforms, but It is evident that this task must be continued and increased, both from business entities and from public administrations. The construction sector is one of the activities that contributes the most to the economy at the moment: in Catalonia, 2.5 jobs are created for each floor built, and in tax matters, 20% of the total price of a home They are taxes. Therefore, it is essential that campaigns are promoted to promote the construction trades in schools, institutes, etc.”

All these new profiles have one characteristic in common, according to the representatives of the sector, and that is that they all provide added value in the promotion-construction process. As Vilajoana explains, “they are absolutely complementary and the result of innovation and the continuous improvement of construction processes. The fundamental concept is to understand the entire process in a completely collaborative way, with shared and perfectly defined objectives. From here, each participating agent introduces knowledge and experience for the benefit of the project, minimizing inefficiencies and optimizing the necessary resources”.

This is the situation in our country, but, with which country should be compared and taken as an example to have a qualified workforce, according to the new professional profiles? It all starts, naturally, with the salary level, as Vilajoana explains: "Countries like Switzerland, the United Kingdom or Belgium are three times higher than what is earned here, despite the fact that you have to take into account that the cost of life also doubles ours in some cases.”

The president of the APCE assures that “professional training must be promoted much more, with agreements and public-private collaboration that are flexible and adjust to the needs of students and companies. Despite the fact that in recent years the number of students who have opted for VET has increased by 71%, in VET related to the construction sector they have decreased by 50%. We have a lot of work ahead of us…”