The career choice influence of new entrant construction craft workers

Concerns abound over the construction industry’s inability to address its poor public image and attract sufficient numbers of new craft workers to overcome skills shortages. This paper reports on research which identifies the key influences on the career choice of craft workers. Career choice influences were examined via a questionnaire study of over 550 craft trainees and a series of focus groups and interviews in which informants discussed the social and psychological antecedents to their decision to embark upon a construction craft career. The results reveal the interplay of influences which shape the decisions of the participants. In particular, they reveal the powerful influence of parents, friends and relations on the choice process. It is suggested that there is a need for a new approach to marketing the industry’s career opportunities which seeks to influence all within society as to the merits of the sector and not just the potential new entrants themselves.