What Are The Essential Skills for Success?
Businesses looking to capitalize on Gen Z’s interest in construction are teaming up with schools and training centers to ensure that skill building opportunities align to the demands of work in the real world. What do you consider the core skills every construction worker arguably needs for the go forward?
Physically and Mentally Challenging
The renewed interest of young people in skilled trades is welcome, given the well-documented depth of labor shortages throughout the construction industry. While HVAC, plumbing, electrical and other trade work requires particular skill sets, it’s important for every potential new worker in the construction industry to understand and cultivate essential skills for the field. For example, at Construct Connect, Katie Tejada suggests that the top six skills needed for any and every construction job are:
- Physical Strength
- Hand-Eye Coordination
- Basic Engineering Knowledge
- Reading and Math Skills
- Communication
- Experience With Technology
Construction business owners investing in the pipeline of younger workers interested in the field are wise to team up with vocational training programs, and ensure new recruits understand some of the less obvious aspects of the physically and mentally challenging work that lies ahead. Toward that end, Tejada encourages sharing words of wisdom about essential skills, and offers these examples:
Hand-Eye Coordination
You might be sitting, standing, or lying down for long hours installing a particular piece of equipment anywhere in a building. Whether you’re in a crawlspace, an attic, or on a roof, your reaction time and precision are critical.
Basic Engineering Knowledge
Even if you’re the plumber, you still need to have at least a little bit of knowledge of the other trades who are working on a job with you….Distinguishing the types of equipment you and other tradespeople will be using during a job is essential, and knowing how to handle heavy machinery is definitely a plus.
Reading & Math Skills
You need to be able to know how to read plans, calculate building materials for estimates, keep track of measurements, email other team members, and document your tasks. Even if you’re working alone, you might need to share your documentation with adjacent disciplines….
Given the delays, redos and conflicts that commonly set projects back, strong communication skills are also essential in construction, so it’s wise for incoming workers to understand: “You may have to write emails, send reports, and ask questions while on the job. Brush up you’re reading and vocabulary for verbal and written communication and make sure you know how to listen to instructions and follow directions.” Now more than ever, comfort with, curiosity about, and the ability to leverage technology for on-the-job success is also critical for workers entering construction. Fortunately, tech savviness is a gift that most Gen Z hires instinctively offer, and it’s a great idea to include them in demonstrations of how technology is changing the field in real time.
Good To Know: Recruitment and Retention Advice
In addition to helping members of Gen Z understand the rounded skills sets needed for success in construction, business owners are likely to find that purpose and meaningful recognition also play a key role in successful recruitment and retention, as analysis by McKinsey & Company’s Julian Salguero underscores:
Our research indicates that Gen-Z workers’ motivations for taking, keeping or leaving skilled trades jobs are similar to those of older cohorts, although compensation is less of a draw compared to other factors, including career development, flexibility and meaningful work…. Attract this cohort by offering options like shift swapping, part-time roles, hybrid and remote work (where applicable) and flexible schedules that allow for better work-life balance. Gen-Z is deeply concerned about the purpose in their work. Highlighting sustainability efforts, such as…using eco-friendly materials and implementing energy-efficient processes, can resonate with Gen Z’s values….Investing in career development is proven to work, giving employees the opportunity to learn new skills and grow within the company.
Let’s Team Up and Think Big
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