Major Hong Kong-based contractor Gammon goes digital to help it overcome labour shortfall
Company says it is training its staff in new skills in a bid to attract younger people to an industry dominated by older workers
One of the biggest contractors in Hong Kong, Gammon, has done something not many firms in the construction industry have done – it has adopted digitisation in a bid to attract younger people to a sector facing a serious shortage of workers.
The company said it had recently hired more women and trained workers in new skills, which has cut its labour shortfall from 5.4 per cent in November last year to the current level of 3.8 per cent.
Gammon Construction chief executive Thomas Ho said every year the salary of construction workers increased by at least 10 per cent.
“But the shortage is still severe, and construction productivity has dropped worldwide to the same level as in the 1960s,” Ho said.
The average pay rise this year in all sectors has been 3.9 per cent.
