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Latin America in focus Construction not attracting required levels of environmental expertise Our construction research in Latin America spans 51 corporate respondents and 51 Gen Z respondents across seven countries in the LATAM region. Highlights from our research in Latin America include:
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
Inflationary pressures hinder construction profitability. Real-time price increases were the second biggest factor impacting profit for LATAM corporates, second only to supply chain disruptions and affecting 61% of LATAM respondents, compared to only 47% of corporates globally. By contrast, labour shortages were much less important, impacting only 35% of LATAM corporates compared to 49% globally.
Corporates misaligned on Gen Z’s priorities. Corporate decision-makers in the region are significantly misaligned on what they believe students value when selecting career options. They believe the three most essential factors are: doing intellectually challenging work (53% for corporates vs. 25% for students), having variety and change at work (49% vs. 31%), and the opportunity for travel (49% vs. 25%). In reality, LATAM students’ priorities are not much different to their global counterparts: their three most ‘essential’ criteria are job security (45%), respect for work delivered (45%), and career progression (41%).
Gen Z are ambivalent about construction. A career in construction is generally less appealing to students in LATAM than other industries. Only 24% say they are ‘very interested’ in a career in the sector, the lowest of any industry tested in our research. However, a further 47% say they are ‘somewhat interested’ suggesting that the construction sector has more work to do to translate this latent interest into a strong preference for construction.
A missing link on environmental concerns. More than a third (37%) of LATAM students think it is ‘very important’ to have a career that positively impacts climate change (compared to 26% globally). 57% of corporates are hiring for environmental competencies in LATAM (compared with 32% globally). However, students in the region don’t think the industry currently has a sufficiently positive impact on the environment, which suggests more emphasis needs to be placed on highlighting the positive role of construction in the energy transition.
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
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