03
Gen Z Understanding what motivates the workforce of tomorrow
01 Construction
Navigating the talent crisis 02 Employment growth
The construction sector is bouncing back following difficult years and heavy impact on profits 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
The generation entering the workforce today has more choice than ever before about the career options available to them. Despite this, students still gravitate towards industries that have been popular with previous generations of graduates entering the workplace. The industries that appeal most to the Gen Z participants in our survey are technology, media and telecoms (42% of Gen Z surveyed report being ‘very interested’ in pursuing a career in the industry), life sciences and pharmaceuticals (41% ‘very interested’) and financial services (37% ‘very interested’).
Nearly a third of students (29%) report no interest at all in joining the sector upon graduation, with the remainder agnostic or in need of more information to convince them about the suitability of a construction career. GEN Z: AN EMPOWERED AND SOCIALLY MOTIVATED GENERATION What lies behind Gen Z’s reluctance to consider a career in construction? To answer this question it is important to understand what motivates this generation. When asked in our survey to rank the importance of 14 different factors when assessing their career options, students rank work-life balance and well-being as the top factor. Just under half (48%) describe this as ‘essential’ when assessing career options and a further 37% describe it as ‘important’ – see Figure 3.
Being respected and recognised for the work done Work-life balance/well-being
2%
9%
37%
48%
4%
4%
12%
37%
45%
3%
Job security
2%
11%
40%
43%
4%
Career progression
1%
11%
43%
41%
4%
Working with interesting and diverse people Social purpose/doing something for the collective benefit Financial reward
2%
12%
42%
41%
3%
2%
19%
39%
36%
4%
approach to recruitment, retention and diversity
3%
16%
45%
33%
3%
07 Conclusion
Working in a highly respected profession
6%
18%
41%
33%
2%
BDO’s message to Gen Z Practical lessons for construction executives 08 Countries in focus
Flexible or hybrid working patterns
6%
20%
37%
32%
5%
28% In comparison, only
Having variety and change at work
Australia Belgium Brazil Canada Latin America The Netherlands New Zealand Norway South Africa USA 09 About BDO’s research 10 How BDO can help
4%
20%
41%
31%
4%
Doing intellectually challenging work
3%
17%
46%
31%
3%
Opportunity to travel/mobility
15%
19%
34%
29%
3%
of Gen Z said they were interested
Working on collaborative projects
10%
23%
37%
28%
3%
Using cutting-edge technologies
10%
24%
38%
25%
3%
in a career in construction.
Regional political affiliation
24%
29%
25%
15%
8%
Not at all important Somewhat important Important Essential
Don't know
This places the sector eighth out of the 11 tested in our research for popularity.
Figure 3: How important are each of the following factors when assessing your future career options? Figure 3: How important are each of the following factors when assessing your future career options?
6
Made with FlippingBook Annual report maker