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Belgium in focus Gen Z do not perceive a career in construction as financially rewarding
01 Construction
Navigating the talent crisis 02 Employment growth
The construction sector is bouncing back following difficult years and heavy impact on profits 03 Gen Z Understanding what motivates the workforce of tomorrow 04 Closing the gap Aligning the construction industry with Gen Z’s aspirations 05 Proactively altering Gen Z’s perceptions Addressing the construction industry’s image problem 06 Refreshing the industry’s
Our construction research in Belgium spans 7 corporate respondents and 50 Gen Z respondents. Highlights from our research in Belgium include:
Gen Z are more finance focused. Belgian students are more focused on
financial reward than their global counterparts when asked about the factors that are most important when assessing future career options. This factor was tied in first place alongside respect and recognition in order of importance. However, Belgian students are much less likely to perceive the construction sector as a financially rewarding career option: just 40% agree in Belgium compared with 58% globally. Young people are seeking back-office or tech-led roles. Of the 24% of Belgian student respondents who indicated that they had considered a career in the construction sector, the vast majority are interested in specialist or back-office technical roles. 83% are most interested in support roles such as HR, finance, marketing, IT, or PR, while 75% are interested in innovation and technology roles such as data analytics, automation, and AI. In contrast, only 25% were interested in the role of site engineer, supervisor or foreman.
Construction is not on the radar for Gen Z. Students in Belgium are much less interested in pursuing a career in construction than any other industry. Only 18% said they were ‘very interested’ in construction compared to 28% globally. 44% reported no interest at all, compared to 29% globally.
“The Belgian construction industry clearly has an image problem, in the eyes of to Gen Z’ers. Few are looking at this sector to start working in, and it is considered not the most financially rewarding career path to take. On the positive side, youngsters seem to appreciate the positive impact and efforts of the sector to address climate change. The construction sector needs to embrace this challenge and have a positive impact, to inspire and attract new talent for the future!”
approach to recruitment, retention and diversity
07 Conclusion
BDO’s message to Gen Z Practical lessons for construction executives Countries in focus
Construction is viewed as a comparatively green sector. Belgian students were less concerned with environmental matters than their global counterparts, with only 18% indicating that it was highly important to them to have a career that positively impacts climate change compared to 26% globally. They see construction as a comparatively green industry: 36% feel the industry has a net positive impact on the environment, in line with retail and financial services and behind only healthcare and the public sector for its environment credentials.
Australia Belgium Brazil Canada Latin America The Netherlands New Zealand Norway South Africa USA 09 About BDO’s research 10 How BDO can help
Erik Van den Broeck Partner and Industry Leader, BDO in Belgium
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