One-Third Reduction in Construction Technical Workforce Under 30 Over the Past 20 Years

Over 50s Increase Tenfold... Serious Aging Issue
"Public-Private Support Needed to Accelerate Industrial Innovation"

[Asia Economy Reporter Noh Kyung-jo] The aging of technical personnel in the construction industry is intensifying. Over the past 20 years, the influx of new technical personnel aged 30 and under has decreased to one-third, while the number of technical personnel aged 51 to 70 has increased more than tenfold.

According to the Construction Trend Briefing (No. 874) recently published by the Korea Construction Industry Research Institute on the 2nd, the number of technical personnel aged 30 and under registered with the Construction Technology Association last year was 45,958, which is only 36% of the 128,151 registered in 2001. In 2011, 60,939 were registered, showing a steady decline in young technical personnel.

The core age group in terms of experience, knowledge, and activity in the construction industry, technical personnel aged 31 to 50, peaked at 465,583 in 2011 but sharply dropped to 376,967 last year. In contrast, the number of technical personnel aged 51 to 70 increased from 27,702 twenty years ago to 125,853 ten years ago, and further rose to 281,096 last year.

The Korea Construction Industry Research Institute attributed this largely to a shift in the construction industry's hiring paradigm from 'new recruits → experienced workers.' They also cited the continuous decline in both quantitative and qualitative competitiveness in construction-related departments due to demographic changes caused by low birth rates as a major cause. Additionally, the construction industry's classification as a declining industry and its relatively low attractiveness compared to other industries were analyzed as contributing factors to this outcome.

While the external scale of the construction industry continues to grow, the institute urged the establishment of mid- to long-term agendas and bold support at both the public and private levels to address the shortage of new personnel and the aging problem. Although there is a positive aspect that the aging generation can continue working unlike in the past, the institute warned that if preparations are not made now, the shortage of technical personnel will become very serious in ten years based on projected indicators.

Senior Research Fellow Choi Seok-in of the Korea Construction Industry Research Institute said, "Until now, the construction workforce issue has been approached mainly from the perspective of field workers, and awareness of problems related to the supply and aging of technical personnel who are both managers and engineers has been relatively insufficient. Since the knowledge and experience of the construction industry inevitably rely on personnel, failure or neglect in attracting competent new technical personnel will cause succession problems."

He added, "To accelerate industrial innovation such as advanced technology-based construction, attracting young and competent technical personnel is essential. The government, industry representatives, and experts must prepare a mid- to long-term roadmap for attracting and retaining technical talent and addressing aging."