Many construction projects in the region are of such a scale and complexity that they require even the most menial labourers to have a certain modicum of skills. But to ensure that workers are trainable so they can become even more productive is really the crux.
The UAE’s National Productivity Improvement Programme announced in February that it planned to set up training centres on the Asian sub-continent. This would mean that GCC employers could rest assured that any workers they recruited from India, for example, would have received basic training before undertaking the long journey to the Middle East.
Workers, on the other hand, would be assured of gainful employment when they arrived, instead of being cast aside and left to languish in a bureaucratic nightmare if it turned out they were actually unemployable.
Imagine a contractor’s elation at winning a major construction contract … and then the subsequent headache in attempting to source labour for the project. The problem is finding sufficient trade skills, especially as these are dwindling in the industry at large. Importing labour is a significant expense, and it is vital that such a resource can be utilised to the maximum.
A simple means of redressing this imbalance is to increase the ratio of skilled workers per unskilled labourers. This has the effect of intensifying the training capability and extending its reach. The end result is almost certainly a doubling in performance and quality output. What this means, in turn, is that bespoke construction workers can be upskilled for almost any GCC construction activity, and dispatched with the necessary competencies.
In the past, contractors thought that sheer numbers could solve most construction problems. This attitude was buoyed by the fact that labour was relatively cheap. Now the mindset towards recruitment is changing significantly, with added emphasis on basic skills and upgradability. Of course, this also bodes well for the general reputation of the industry in terms of its labour relations and health and safety record.
Bespoke labour allows contractors to be flexible, especially for those projects where they need to gear up more quickly than normal. In such a situation, there simply is not sufficient time to still train the people you need.
The additional benefit of bespoke training is that it also takes into account the cultural and social differences of the workers’ home countries, and introduces them to the particular methodologies of the GCC.
Significantly, supervisors as well as ordinary labourers are targeted, because it is often found that those a bit further up the chain of command are often as ill-equipped to deal with the demands of their jobs as are the unskilled labourers working under them.
Supervisors, in particular, must be fully aware of their responsibilities, and be able to shape their workers into an effective team that functions at peak performance within the company in question, and within the larger framework of the GCC’s construction industry itself.
Bespoke labour
Training at source can ensure more productive construction workers
Many construction projects in the region are of such a scale and complexity that they require even the most menial labourers to have a certain modicum of skills. But to ensure that workers are trainable so they can become even more productive is really the crux.
The UAE’s National Productivity Improvement Programme announced in February that it planned to set up training centres on the Asian sub-continent. This would mean that GCC employers could rest assured that any workers they recruited from India, for example, would have received basic training before undertaking the long journey to the Middle East.
Workers, on the other hand, would be assured of gainful employment when they arrived, instead of being cast aside and left to languish in a bureaucratic nightmare if it turned out they were actually unemployable.
Imagine a contractor’s elation at winning a major construction contract … and then the subsequent headache in attempting to source labour for the project. The problem is finding sufficient trade skills, especially as these are dwindling in the industry at large. Importing labour is a significant expense, and it is vital that such a resource can be utilised to the maximum.
A simple means of redressing this imbalance is to increase the ratio of skilled workers per unskilled labourers. This has the effect of intensifying the training capability and extending its reach. The end result is almost certainly a doubling in performance and quality output. What this means, in turn, is that bespoke construction workers can be upskilled for almost any GCC construction activity, and dispatched with the necessary competencies.
In the past, contractors thought that sheer numbers could solve most construction problems. This attitude was buoyed by the fact that labour was relatively cheap. Now the mindset towards recruitment is changing significantly, with added emphasis on basic skills and upgradability. Of course, this also bodes well for the general reputation of the industry in terms of its labour relations and health and safety record.
Bespoke labour allows contractors to be flexible, especially for those projects where they need to gear up more quickly than normal. In such a situation, there simply is not sufficient time to still train the people you need.
The additional benefit of bespoke training is that it also takes into account the cultural and social differences of the workers’ home countries, and introduces them to the particular methodologies of the GCC.
Significantly, supervisors as well as ordinary labourers are targeted, because it is often found that those a bit further up the chain of command are often as ill-equipped to deal with the demands of their jobs as are the unskilled labourers working under them.
Supervisors, in particular, must be fully aware of their responsibilities, and be able to shape their workers into an effective team that functions at peak performance within the company in question, and within the larger framework of the GCC’s construction industry itself.
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