Where are all the people looking for work in the construction industry?

That is the question being posed by Alex DeCouto, president of Greymayne Contracting, who launched an employment agency for his industry last month and has received only three responses from people looking for work since.

Mr DeCouto said the aim of Workforce was to match workers with particular skills with the industry’s needs, both long term and temporary.

The agency’s virtual shop window is its website, http://workforcebda.wordpress.com, and Mr DeCouto has attempted to raise awareness through posting on the Department of Labour’s Bermuda Job Board, and via both social media (Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn) and mainstream media.

The construction industry has slumped dramatically over the past three years and so has the number of jobs it provides. The 2013 Labour Force Survey showed that there were 2,603 jobs in construction in 2013, down by 868 jobs from 2010.

With hundreds having lost work, Mr DeCouto is perplexed as to why he hasn’t been inundated with resumes from people looking for jobs.

“It has now been two weeks since we have posted on the Bermuda Job Board which I thought would be a primary source of candidates given that it is operated by the Department of Labour and is about to become a de facto requirement for anyone seeking a work permit,” Mr DeCouto wrote in the blog on the Workforce website. “We have had only three responses. The Department is supposed to assist job seekers to use the Board as well.”

He added: “Given the penetration of home and mobile internet on the Island, I thought for sure most people, particularly those looking for work, would be online.

“Either they are not online, or, there are not that many people looking for work. Both answers have me scratching my head.”

Mr DeCouto told The Royal Gazette that the industry’s labour needs had changed drastically in the past few years, requiring workers with more specific skills.

“There is nothing an employer wants to hear less from a prospective employee than ‘I am willing to do anything’,” Mr DeCouto said. “What they want to hear is ‘I am really good at doing X’.”

He added: “Viewing from the employer’s lens, what has changed in the last few years is that profitability in the industry has virtually evaporated, so every expense and line item is under intense scrutiny to provide value. Employers can no longer afford to carry additional or staff for any length of time and the staff they retain have to be constantly productive.

“Generally, employers are looking for experienced specialists, rather than generalists. This has led to more fragmentation in terms of firms. Where ten to 15 years ago a general contractor may have had staff who could do everything from pouring concrete to tiling floors, those trades have now segregated into specialist subcontractor firms who can be more efficient and productive.

“From the employee’s perspective, while being a generalist was highly sought after in the past, tradesmen need to develop specialist skills in order to find secure roles in today’s environment.”

Workforce could help employers looking for people with specific skills, Mr DeCouto said.

“Interviewing candidates, particularly in an environment where most trades are not ‘certified’ and training is largely informal, can be extremely tedious and risky,” he added. “This is something I have done extensively in my professional career, and believe I can help both employers and candidates find the right match.”

Mr DeCouto felt that both workers and employers were missing out on finding what they wanted because of “a lack of sophistication in how our labour market allocates”.

“Construction work by nature is highly volatile — projects come and go and need varying skills at varying times,” he said. “An employer may need ten people this month, 20 the next and then back down to ten thereafter.

“Employers address this currently by ‘borrowing’ or subcontracting labour between firms, but this is inefficient. If an employer can call upon a service provider for temporary resources who are vetted and have had their skills confirmed, I believe this will be of value.”

For workers, the opportunity to ‘audition’ with a potential employer could result in a long-term opportunity, he added.

Mr DeCouto said it was too early to tell whether any recovery was on the way in construction.

“Construction is the result of renewed confidence in the wider economy in Bermuda, and for it to improve there would have to be new investment in physical infrastructure,” Mr DeCouto said.

He added: “I certainly don’t believe we can predict that a ‘bottom’ has been achieved as of yet, at least not for the construction industry.”