Skill shortages, recruitment and retention in the house building sector

Abstract

School, University of Westminster, London, with particular and extensive research expertise on construction labour and training in Europe. clarkel@wmin.ac.uk, Tel: 0044 (0) Structured abstract PurposeThe paper shows how internal and external labour markets operate in the construction sector, associated with different strategies taken by firms in recruiting and retaining particular groups of employees. It draws on research of the housebuilding sector which aims to discover how far firms develop human resource policies, recruitment and retention strategies, and training and development activities in response to skill shortages. MethodologyThe paper is based on: a questionnaire survey of skills shortages, recruitment and retention in housebuilding firms, drawn from databases of social and private housebuilders and a detailed investigation of firms. FindingsThe results show worsening skill shortages and hard-to-fill vacancies, particularly for site managers and tradespersons. These shortages are especially bad for housebuilding firms, above all those with higher levels of direct employment in the social housing sector. Despite this, firms rely for operative recruitment on traditional and informal methods and procedures, on experience -not qualifications -as the main criterion, and on 'poaching' -all symptomatic of a craft labour market. For managers, there is some evidence of retention measures, in particular through training and promotion, implying the development of internal labour markets. And for professionals there are indications of occupational labour markets with their dependence on institutionalised systems of training and qualifications. Value and implicationsThe paper shows that firms take little responsibility themselves for resolving skill shortages and establishing training needs, though national training policy is reactive and driven by employer demand. Obligatory skills certification and an institutionalised industrial training system would facilitate a move from this deadlocked situation, from craft to occupational labour markets.

Understanding employee resourcing in construction organizations

“…These problems call for greater integration of planning into other resourcing activities so that contingencies can be put in place. Although Clarke and Herrmann (2007) note an increase in the firms that have a policy and/or a plan in place for recruitment (and retention), informal methods of attracting candidates dominate the industry. The task is usually managed by line managers rather than HRM specialists and personal introductions and contacts are an important source of recruitment at 1134…”

‘Black Boxes’ and ‘fracture points’: the regulation of gender equality in the UK and French construction industries

“…However, modern construction methods and technologies have reduced the need for physical strength which would previously have excluded many women. The lack of equal opportunity selection procedures means that recruitment for manual trades and site operatives, who are frequently employed on a contract or self-employed basis, is generally done on an ad hoc and informal basis via social networks, further excluding women (Clarke & Herrmann, 2007). Interestingly, Byrne, Clarke, and Van Der Meer (2005) point out that women in the UK construction industry tend to be better qualified and have higher levels of technical knowledge than their male counterparts, yet previous experience and practical 'know how' are more highly-valued by construction companies.…”

Valuing labour

“…that the more open, casual and informal the forms of recruitment, the more social networks came into play as a powerful social form of exclusion (Clarke & Herrmann 2006b, Beck et al 2003, Royal Holloway 2002. Other features of the industry too may act as forces of exclusion, including its relatively low status, hard working conditions, and long working hours, as well as the persistence of a 'macho' work culture, discrimination and harassment, and lack of equal opportunity policies…”

“…We would expect, given the development of the production process, in particular greater mechanisation and use of prefabrication, that heavy physical, labour-intensive labouring work would gradually be replaced by more logistical, planning and coordination activities so that the proportion of manual staff employed decreases at the same time as the proportion of non-manual staff increases with the more abstract nature of work. Research has backed this up, showing that team skills are sought by all employers and that operatives are required to have flexible skills, a sufficiently wide skill base to undertake a range of tasks, organising ability to set out the work and organise materials, a high standard of work, and a good attitude in order to deal with customers (Beck et al 2003;Clarke & Herrmann 2006b;Bresnen et al 2005b). Skill demands, therefore, are in general relatively high, corresponding with changes in the construction process, whereby greater precision is required in, for instance, installing prefabricated components, more abstract skills for planning, setting out and reading drawings and specifications, and greater technical 22 knowledge in order, for instance, to overcome new health and safety problems on…”