Heavy civil general contractors are experiencing a drastic
shortage of qualified and tenured construction
professionals to join their team to support their projects.
In last year’s Hays U.S. Salary Guide, 35 percent of employers
cited salary as the main reason for employees leaving. Additionally,
the findings showed that, “Confidence in the U.S. economy remains
strong among employers, with more than half predicting continued
growth in the next six to 12 months. U.S. industries continue
to hire heavily to keep up with booming business, trying
to outpace the growing skills shortage that’s resulted from rapid
economic expansion.”
Many companies experience a dire need for qualified heavy
civil general contracting professionals to join their teams. Some of
the reasons include backfilling a position where someone recently
resigned or retired, adding more people to their workforce due to
expansion or hiring additional support to their current team. Hiring
managers should keep in mind that when they extend an offer to
their selected candidate, the process could be disrupted by counteroffers
from the person’s current employer. Ensuring roles are being
paid at market rate will help attract quality candidates. Companies
should also be aware that when filtering through a candidate pool,
some people may just be “testing the waters” to see what options are
out there and not actually be serious about moving jobs.
More than 80 percent of employers in these areas are still experiencing
significant workplace pressure due to a lack of available
skilled candidates.
sidelnikov/123RF
BUSINESS
The Challenges of
Hiring Heavy Civil
and Piling Experts
How can employers stand out to candidates?
By Greg Belpomme, Hays Civil Construction, Transit and Marine
www.piledrivers.org PILEDRIVER | 81
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