08
Canada in focus Gen Z want a challenging career, but also value their well-being
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 Canada spans 67 corporate respondents and 50 Gen Z respondents. Highlights from our research in Canada include:
Staffing difficulties reported in Canada. 60% of Canadian corporates consider staffing difficulties and labour shortages to be one of the top factors negatively impacting their profit, compared to 49% citing these challenges globally. The greatest need in Canada is for skilled field workers: 51% of corporates are looking to hire these over the next 6 months.
A significant misalignment on work-life balance. When assessing which factors are most important for their careers, Canadian students consider work-life balance to be by far the most important, with 50% describing it as ‘essential’. Corporate decision-makers underestimate this with only 30% thinking young people consider work-life balance to be ‘essential’.
“As to be expected, the survey results show the construction industry continues to face challenges in the wake of shifting employee expectations and labour shortages — this undoubtedly reinforces the need for construction organisations to re-evaluate their approach to talent experience today and into the future. While these talent gaps can pose risks to operations, companies can find opportunity in proactively identifying key impacts to their workforce and prioritising recruitment and retention strategies to help support their business objectives and long-term growth.”
approach to recruitment, retention and diversity
07 Conclusion
BDO’s message to Gen Z Practical lessons for construction executives Countries in focus
Australia Belgium Brazil Canada Latin America The Netherlands New Zealand Norway South Africa USA 09 About BDO’s research 10 How BDO can help
Construction not a top choice for Gen Z. Students in Canada 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. 40% reported no interest at all, compared to 29% globally.
Stronger messaging needed on the intellectual challenge.
Alongside more commonly cited factors such financial reward, job security, and work-life balance, Canadian students cite intellectually challenging work as being more important compared to their global counterparts: 38% in Canada vs. 31% globally. However, just 40% of Canadian students felt that a career in construction offers the potential for intellectually challenging work, compared with 57% of students globally.
Jameson Bouffard Real Estate & Construction
Industry Leader, BDO in Canada
22
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