Many industries have been impacted by the pandemic that COVID-19 has caused. The construction industry no exception. Many construction and engineering projects ceased work, and many projects have been paused, pushed back, and even canceled. But how does that affect hiring for the industry and securing work on projects that might be few and far between?
The Current Impact Of COVID-19 For Construction
Due to the lockdown and restrictions put in place, a lot of projects were put on hold due to the rules set in place by governing bodies about social distancing. Even though many have still managed to start them up again slowly, it has undoubtedly caused delays and disruption to those projects that have been affected. This also means that there are more financial losses as a result of delaying the process. There are possibilities for more construction projects to get back up and running, depending on their situation. For example, if the workers are outside and can keep a reasonable distance, the work could continue as normal as opposed to indoor construction projects, which might be harder to manage.
As a result, the workflow for many projects has been impacted, with some having to go at a much slower process due to workers having to socially distance. Things will naturally take a little more time, especially if there are restrictions on how many workers can be on-site at once.
What Does That Mean For Hiring?
The pandemic has impacted many jobs already, and it seems that those who’ve lost their job have had to seek work in other industries for the time being. The difficulty with construction is that it relies on health and safety to be consistent at all times, and that might be difficult when trying to distance at the same time socially. A report by McKinsey back in May, stated that ‘46 percent of those in construction had been furloughed’. There’s still uncertainty surrounding the pandemic and whether we have control of the virus yet. It’s not surprising that some recruitment companies might not want to hire during this uncertain time. There’s no guarantee that a second-wave won’t happen, and therefore, any projects that are planned might need to be pushed back further.
What Positions Are Being Filled In The Construction Industry?
Innovation is now a keyword that is being thrown around now in the construction industry, according to Building Design. Some companies might want to focus their efforts on design like 3D printing and virtual reality software. We could see an increase in more creative areas of the industry when it comes to the hiring process. But until we get automated robots that can do it for us, workers on-site will still be needed.
To survive and thrive, the construction industry needs to ensure that projects still go ahead while maintaining the best health and safety procedures possible. Hopefully, as restrictions are eased further, more workers in construction can return to work and get the jobs needed.
