Feature Using Contract Skilled Labor Mitigates Labor Shortage Challenges, Reduces Labor-Related Costs by Tradesmen International
No one needs to tell you there is a severe lack of available skilled craftsmen. In fact, The Construction Labor Market Analyzer® projects commercial construction will face a deficit of 1.1 million workers over the next decade, and the need for skilled construction employees is projected to grow at twice the rate of all other industries. Obviously, as that challenge to find job-ready candidates escalates, so do expenditures related to attracting candidates to your business. There are expenses for jobboard postings, print want ads, social media efforts, and referral or sign-on bonuses. Then there
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are costs associated with screening applicants, reference checking, and interviewing. When combined with on-boarding costs related to background checks, skill assessments, drug testing, physical exams, company orientation, safety training, benefits and payroll/HR processing, the overall per-employee hiring cost can easily exceed $2,000. And, that does not even include carrying costs related to lost productivity initially realized with new employees until they are fully acclimated to the company and project at hand. So, what are contractors and subcontractors doing to reduce recruitment-related costs and to increase
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project productivity? They are incorporating contract skilled craftsmen into their overall staffing strategy. As their need for skilled craftsmen grows beyond what their permanent skilled workforce can handle, more and more contractors and subcontractors are relying on partnerships with construction-specific staffing firms. “Subsequent to the economic collapse in 2009, and still holding very true today in 2018, our business witnessed a major shift in the hiring practices of small to very large residential and commercial contractors and subcontractors,” said Ed Rojeck, Tradesmen International’s director of Marketing.
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