NEWS FROM THE FIELD
Seventy-three per cent of construction employers
believe competitive salaries make them
attractive to top candidates, yet 71 per cent
haven’t altered them to attract top talent.
by the country’s declining oil market and
worries that mid-level staff turnover is on
the rise.
The seventh annual Hays Salary Guide
has revealed a 19-per-cent spike in confi-dence
for a strengthening Canadian econ-omy
next year and nearly two-thirds of
respondents expect their business activity
will increase. Nevertheless, employers are
heavily focused on stability and risk-avoid-ance
and will opt for a conservative ap-proach
to business in 2017, said the report.
G.W. CONSTRUCTION LTD.
President
GEORGE
WILSON, G.S.C
P.O. Box 9, 601 – 3rd Ave. E.
Buchanan, SK S0A 0J0
Bus: 306-592-2131
Fax: 306-592-2159
E-mail: gwconst@sasktel.net
Dean 306-621-1289
Sean 306-621-5114
Sandra 306-621-1335
In the construction sector, more than
half (58 per cent) of the employers antici-pate
business growth in the new year and
48 per cent planned on keeping staff levels
the same, meaning construction employ-ers
are confident and stable, but choosing
a more cautious approach to the new year,
said Hays.
Seventy-seven per cent of construction
employers feel their industry suffers from a
skills shortage, which is higher than all oth-er
industries surveyed.
The report said the challenge lies be-tween
two main factors: fewer people en-tering
the job market and lack of training in
the current pool of candidates.
“As baby boomers retire or reach senior
management, they are leaving a skills gap that
can’t be filled with the current workforce,” the
report indicates. “Competition is tight for ex-perienced
workers and managers.”
The estimated shortage nationwide con-tinues
to be a challenge, said the report, es-pecially
since the bid process has become
more complex and construction models
have changed with the introduction of P3s
and other new templates.
Seventy-three per cent of construction
employers believe competitive salaries
make them attractive to top candidates, yet
71 per cent haven’t altered them to attract
top talent.
As is similar across all industries, the ma-jority
of employers offered a salary increase of
less than three per cent in 2016 and plan to
do so in 2017 as well. Almost a quarter (24 per
cent) of employers in the construction indus-try
expect to increase salaries by three to six
per cent in the coming year, which may be in-dicative
of the efforts employers are under-taking
to retain their senior level employees.
The survey also found career growth has
the most impact on recruitment, yet fewer
employers are offering training or profes-sional
development than the previous year.
Over the past year, hiring trends in the
construction industry were comparable to
cross-industry averages, with 40 per cent
seeing consistent headcount and 31 per
cent seeing an increase, the Hays guide
reported.
However, when it comes to expectations
for 2017, construction professionals have
a more positive outlook with 40 per cent
planning to increase their headcount.
12 Think BIG | Quarter 1 2017 | saskheavy.ca
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