The shortage of professional staff at construction sites in Ukraine is up to 50% in both technical and labor specialties, while salaries are showing positive dynamics, according to a survey of developers conducted by Interfax-Ukraine.
“The need for people on construction sites is only increasing as the construction market is gradually recovering, work is ongoing, and construction volumes are increasing. But the war continues, as does mobilization into the Armed Forces, so this certainly affects the labor market. In general, we can state that the level of workers employed in construction is about 40% of the pre-war level,” said Dmitry Novikov, Marketing Director of City One Development.
According to him, the most sought-after specialties include welders, operators of tower cranes and specialized construction equipment, and high-rise mountaineers. In addition, there is a shortage of ordinary construction workers and general laborers, Novikov noted.
According to Olga Pylypenko, Executive Director of Kovalska Group, more than 70% of the group’s vacancies are for workers, most of them concrete workers, reinforcing steelworkers and electricians.
“Today, the number of workers is already about 50%. Given the overall drop in demand, this labor force is in a fragile balance that can be upset if construction volumes increase,” she explained.
The lack of labor at Intergal-Bud’s construction sites was felt again in the fall after the start of the full-scale war, said its commercial director, Anna Laevska.
“At the beginning of the full-scale war, we felt a shortage of workers at construction sites, but the situation was resolved quickly enough. And until May 2023, there was practically no labor shortage. But in the last few months, we have been noticing a shortage of construction workers. We observe a shortage of all specialists,” the expert said.
According to her, the company’s construction volumes allow it to increase its staff by a third, but due to the shortage of personnel, it has to restructure its teams.
According to the Greenville Group, the staffing situation has somewhat leveled off compared to last year, but the group also experienced a labor shortage and began to re-staff construction teams.
“Currently, the shortage is 40% – all of them are highly qualified specialists. Among the scarce specialties on the market are electricians, crane operators, monolithic workers, handymen, and facade workers,” said Natalia Dubyk, project manager of the Greenville group of companies.
At the same time, Alliance Novobud managed to increase its staff at construction sites by expanding the types of work performed by its own labor force. In addition, the company noted an increase in female demand for construction jobs.
“Construction is mostly a male sphere, but amid the difficult situation with the search for workers and the overall economic situation in the country, there is some growth in interest in working on construction sites from women. Most often, these are painting professions related to interior decoration,” said Oleksandra Kachan, HR Director at Alliance Novobud.
The interviewed developers noted the positive dynamics of changes in the salaries of builders. Thus, Intergal-Bud and the Greenville Group of Companies estimated the salary growth in October 2023 at 15-20% compared to spring, and Kovalska Group – up to 25%. In general, developers expect further salary growth next year, provided the economic situation is stable.
At the same time, City One Development expects the shortage of personnel in the construction sector to increase after the war ends.
“Even after the specialists who are currently serving in the army return to work, it will still not be able to cover the shortage of personnel and compensate for the demand for professional construction specialists,” Novikov said.
A similar opinion was expressed by Oleksandr Nasikovsky, co-founder and managing partner of DIM Group. According to him, encouraging Ukrainians to get technical education should become a priority of government policy.
“The deepening deficit in certain highly skilled professions is due, in particular, to the low demand for technical education from young people. Today, there is an acute shortage of monolithic workers, crane operators, painters, and electricians. Encouraging Ukrainians to master construction specialties should be a priority for both the government and private businesses. The vocational education system must undergo radical changes. It will be useful to involve private players who are ready to create a kind of corporate training institutions and facilitate the acquisition of various professions by those who are willing,” the expert said.
