How to Recruit the best Construction Workers in Wales

Good quality construction workers are the backbone of our industry.

With good construction workers, your business will grow. You can snap up new projects with confidence, deliver on deadlines, and look ahead to the future.

Any business that wants to succeed understands that quality over quantity is key when it comes to construction workers. But the real difficulty is knowing where to find the right workers in Wales.

‘70% of contractors struggle to find quality workers’, so if you’re finding it tough to secure the right workers, you’re not alone.

How do I find and recruit construction workers in Wales?

Understanding the construction market in Wales is essential when you start to plan your recruitment process. Thankfully, our industry has bounced back post-COVID, and ‘most of the industry will reach 2019 levels of output’ this year. But unfortunately, Wales is behind in construction workforce recruitment.

In order to meet growing demand, Welsh construction will need to recruit another 9.250 workers by 2025.

Stats like these can be a bit daunting: where are all of these new workers going to come from and how will you get them to work with you?

Thankfully, there are construction workers out there looking for new opportunities, you just need them to notice your company. One of the best ways to find new construction workers is to improve the overall awareness of your organisation.

Give your workers something good to talk about.

We all know that word spreads quickly in our industry, so why not highlight why your company is King. Internal communication that lays out everything your workers benefit from, whether that be competitive pay rates, excellent CPD opportunities, good training programmes, or something else entirely, can start a chain of reaction that’ll reach those workers you haven’t been able to contact.

Improving awareness of your organisation can help bring workers to you.

Where can you find construction workers?

It goes without saying that as well as helping get your name out there, you also need to be actively looking for good construction workers. An active search can be easier online than in person, but both methods of recruitment are crucial to ensure a well planned recruitment campaign.

Use LinkedIn

LinkedIn is one of the best professional networking sites, and not just for white collar workers. More and more blue collar workers can be found on LinkedIn, and searching keywords couldn’t be easier.

Grow your network, showcase your opportunities and let others put a face to your brand. As well as a great way to reach out to others, you can upload free or paid job adverts to the platform.

LinkedIn can help your company seem more approachable, provide you with another platform to connect with potential workers, and give you an insight into topics and conversations that are important within your industry.

Like most marketing or recruitment strategies, the more you put into the platform, the more you’ll gain from LinkedIn.

Use your professional networks

In your position you’ll already be networking with other organisations and there’s nothing wrong with utilising these connections to your advantage. Reach out and let others know about the roles you’re recruiting for, and be open to new connections too.

Specialised jobs boards

Job boards like Indeed and Target Jobs can be useful to boost awareness of your roles, but when you upload opportunities to job boards, you should always use specialised job boards too. Construction Job Board and Careers in Construction are just two examples.

Keep in mind that job boards often struggle to successfully narrow down suitable candidates. You can get hundreds of applications but may find that only 20% have the right skills*

Jobs fairs

Even though traditional job fairs aren’t as common as they once were, they can still be a great way to improve awareness of your organisation, and you may even find some hidden gems who are searching for their next role in construction.

Depending on the type of role you’re looking to fill, it might be worth contacting local graduate recruitment fairs, or university recruitment fairs, as well as more general recruitment fairs.

project manager and construction worker-using spirit level

Use a recruitment agency and let them do the hard work

Of course, a stress free way to find the right construction workers is by using a recruitment agency. Engaging a recruitment agency will mean you don’t have to worry about job boards, LinkedIn, or recruitment fairs. Instead, the agency will source the workers for you.

Good agencies should find out as much as they can about the roles you’re trying to fill, before sending suitable candidates through to you. From there, you can choose those best suited to your organisation, and the recruitment agency will take care of everything else.

Finding the best construction talent can be painful. It is time-consuming and loaded with difficulties. With P.I.E.R, you’ll be able to forget about recruitment stress. Pier will do the hard work for you, leaving you time to focus on the workers and projects that need your attention.

What should you look for to find the best construction workers?

Whether you’ve been searching yourself or you’re sent potential workers by a recruitment agency, it’s not enough just to know they have the right job title. To make sure you engage the best workers in Wales, you should be looking for workers that understand construction is a career, not just a job.

Industry experience and commitment

A committed construction worker should be able to demonstrate their experience in previous roles or training. If a CV fluctuates between construction and other sectors, you could be looking at a worker who gets going when the going gets tough. Any indication that workers are prone to short stints in positions that could have been permanent or long term should be a red flag.

Equally, a worker that’s clearly had no loyalty to any previous employers is one to avoid. Even if they’ve stayed within the construction sector, jumping from one job to another suggests they’re constantly chasing something ‘more’ – and your company will be another line on their CV before the end of the month.

Industry knowledge

Perhaps secondary to experience but still very important, is industry knowledge. The best construction workers know all roles surrounding theirs – not just the details of their own day to day working life. When a worker can demonstrate an awareness and empathy for other roles, they are more likely to be a useful team player.

Communication skills

Excellent communication skills are essential. Construction workers are always working with and alongside colleagues. Bad communication or a selfish approach to work is an immediate no-go. Consider how a new worker will fit into your current team. If they won’t fit in, they won’t stay, and then you’ll have to start the recruitment process all over again.

Allow for diversity

Communication is key, but you don’t want your entire workforce to be carbon copies of each other. Appreciate and understand the importance of diversity to encourage a well-rounded and sustainable team environment.

How to attract the best construction workers?

Once you’ve decided what approach you’re going to take to recruit construction workers, and you know what you’re looking for in construction workers, consider what construction workers will be looking for from you.

To attract the best construction workers in Wales, you have to show your commitment to the things that mean the most to your workers. There’s plenty to consider including your policies, training opportunities, the relationship you develop with your workers, and of course, the amount you pay.

Show that health and safety is important to you

All good managers will care about their workers, but sometimes communicating just how much you value the health and safety of your workers can get lost in translation. Have clear health and safety policies available on your website or on request, and emphasise your processes when it comes to supporting your workers. If you have a welcome pack for new staff – or even if you just send a welcome email – health and safety issues should always be included.

Prioritise the mental health of your workers

Physical wellbeing can often overshadow mental health in construction.

In a sector that’s known for long hours, stints away from home, and physically demanding work, it’s inevitable that the mental health of workers could begin to suffer. Small changes like checking the commute for workers before you give them a new job, or allowing travel time within the working day, can go a long way.

Offering support and training for workers to stay on top of their mental health is another excellent option.

Show that you care about the project and them

While all workers understand that your priority is the work getting done, you have to show that you value your workers as individuals and people. Even though this sounds like a difficult message to convey to workers, it could be as simple as highlighting communication channels. When workers know who to speak to if they have a problem, whether that be on-site or at home, they’ll feel far more connected and comfortable about their place within your organisation.

Provide training opportunities

Construction is a career. An interest in improving skills and developing new knowledge will be part and parcel of any good worker, and you need to be able to provide the training great workers are looking for. If you can’t provide in-house opportunities, outsource training, but make sure it’s readily available when it’s needed.

Ambitious workers will be keeping an eye out for their next step up the career ladder, and if you can offer them what they’re looking for, you’ll be more likely to retain the best construction workers.

Pay them what they’re worth

The most important one of all. Pay. Construction workers are fed up of being undervalued, so stop trying to undercut. Pay workers what they’re worth, and if you don’t know the going rate, find out.

With the cost of living crisis well and truly upon us, costs are increasing all the time.

Worker’s wages need to cover their rent, electricity, gas, water, petrol, food, and often, support their family too. No one wants a wage that will only just stretch far enough for them to pay their bills.

Good M&E construction workers including plumbers, electricians, and pipe fitters are looking for £22 an hour.

If your eyebrows are raised and you’re thinking about all of the workers you should be able to get for less than £22 an hour, consider this: how long will those workers stay with you?

With so much competition out there for the best construction workers, if you’re not willing to pay, someone else will. Once workers find out how much they could get elsewhere, they’ll up and leave without a second thought.

And then what? You’ll be back looking for labour all over again. This cycle is counter productive, and is a waste of your time and energy. If you do manage to get workers at low rates, you’ll just be plugging a gap for them until they move elsewhere.

Undervaluing and under paying your workers is damaging for your site and your business. The self-employed workforce know their worth – and you should too.

The advantages of using a construction recruitment agency

Using a recruitment agency is an efficient use of time and money, because all of the work has already been done for you. Recruitment agencies have a database of qualified candidates, and they’re recruiting all the time.

Good recruitment agencies will take the time to understand your needs and requirements, helping to select workers that will enhance and not hinder your current teams.

Many recruitment agencies will also provide training, sometimes not just for workers you engage through them, but also your permanent workers too. If you don’t have the capacity for an in-house training team, offering training through your recruitment agency is a fantastic option.

Perhaps the most important (albeit hidden) reason to consider using a construction recruitment agency is compliance.

Recruitment agencies must be on top of all legal requirements and regulations, and most will be able to offer you advice if you’re unsure. Compliance takes up far too much of project managers time, and outsourcing that particular pain can only be a good choice.

Find the best workers for your construction business without worrying about compliance. Contact P.I.E.R today.

Book a Call

How to Recruit the best Construction Workers in Wales

How do I find and recruit construction workers in Wales?

Give your workers something good to talk about.