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O P I N I O N
In-house assets Employees can help attract, recruit, and retain great talent in a tight labor market, so look to them as an augment for HR.
A steady stream of job postings for engineers, architects, and construction workers is always a good indication of work coming in. It also means that businesses like ours are faced with the challenge of acquiring good people. Across the AEC industry, it’s hard to find qualified professionals, especially those with mid-level experience. While the efforts of our HR and recruiting staff are critical during these busy times, I believe our best opportunities can be found through our existing employees.
Paul Greenhagen FIRM FOUNDATION
the economies of many countries into recession … as a result, the unemployment is particularly noticeable in the civil engineering and building sectors. Consequently, in all countries in recession the professional development of fresh civil engineering graduates is disproportionate to their these busy times, I believe our best opportunities can be found through our existing employees.” “While the efforts of our HR and recruiting staff are critical during
Part of the issue with finding mid-level talent is that while many segments of construction slowed to a crawl during the last recession, jobs were limited and AEC graduates were forced to shift into completely different businesses. The slow recovery in construction meant that fewer workers were needed, and therefore less skill was developed. As the economy improves and projects ramp up at a faster pace, we are left with a big gap of talent; those having the mid-level production experience that comes with time spent working on projects and with clients. A 2014 study from research organization, ScienceDirect.com, emphasizes what we see: “The recent global economic and financial crisis has led
See PAUL GREENHAGEN, page 12
THE ZWEIG LETTER July 24, 2017, ISSUE 1209
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