Critical Analysis on Construction Workforce Sustainability in Developed Economy

The construction industry in the developed economy has suffered a shortage of workforce which triggers project cost escalation and project delay and suppresses the whole economy. This paper aims to explore the perceptions of the general public and construction workers towards workforce shortage in the Hong Kong construction industry and identifies the critical factors affecting their intention to join the industry. Triangulation approach was adopted in this study and a street survey was conducted at grass-root areas in Hong Kong. Questionnaire was formatted using a five-point Likert scale and semi-structured interviews with ten experienced workers were used to validate and interpret the results from the street survey results. The triangulation approach yielded that “harsh working condition”, “job instability” and “lack of career prospects” are the primary barriers dissuading the public to join the construction industry. This paper provides insights into the critical factors affecting the construction workforce supply and extends to identify possible solutions for maintaining sufficient workforce.