04
Closing the gap Aligning the construction industry with Gen Z’s aspirations
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 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 research provides very clear evidence about which factors drive Gen Z when they are selecting their future career. However, it also reveals three clear areas of misalignment that lie at the heart of the construction industry’s talent crisis. These are: Motivational misalignment Executive decision-makers in the industry are not in tune with the factors that are important to Gen Z when assessing their career options. 01
As well as misunderstanding the importance of financial reward, executive decision-makers also consider access to the latest technology to be a stronger motivating factor for Gen Z than the reality uncovered in our research.
Figure 4 shows that while just 25% of students believe that using cutting-edge technologies at work is an ‘essential’ factor for their career, 40% of executives believe this is ‘essential’ for Gen Z.
THE MOTIVATIONAL MISALIGNMENT
with half of C-suite respondents believing this is an ‘essential’ factor for Gen Z. In reality, this is only the fifth most important factor for Gen Z with only Executive decision-makers believe that Gen Z are most strongly motivated by financial reward, While Gen Z tell us they prioritise work- life balance and being respected at work as the most essential criteria when assessing the attractiveness of future career options, executive decision-makers in the construction industry are failing to recognise this.
48%
Work-life balance/well-being
47%
45%
Being respected and recognised for the work done
43%
43%
Job security
36%
41%
approach to recruitment, retention and diversity
Career progression
43%
41%
02
Financial reward
07 Conclusion
50%
Perception misalignment Gen Z don’t believe a career in construction will fulfill their most important career aspirations.
BDO’s message to Gen Z Practical lessons for construction executives 08 Countries in focus
36%
Social purpose/doing something for collective benefit
26%
33%
Working with interesting and diverse people
31%
Australia Belgium Brazil Canada Latin America The Netherlands New Zealand Norway South Africa USA 09 About BDO’s research 10 How BDO can help
33%
Working in a highly respected profession
03
37%
ESG misalignment (environmental, social and governance) The construction sector is seen by Gen Z as falling behind expectations on its environmental impact as well as broader social commitments.
32%
Flexible or hybrid working patterns
36%
31%
Doing intellectually challenging work
28%
31%
Having variety and change at work
27%
29%
Opportunity to travel/mobility
14%
27%
26%
Working on collaborative projects
23%
25%
Using cutting-edge technologies
40%
citing it as ‘essential’.
Students Corporates
8
Figure 4: Importance of the following factors when assessing future career options – showing % ‘essential’ Figure 4: The importance of the following factors when assessing future career options – showing % ‘essential’
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