Education in the construction industry has the weakest pull where the most construction is done. In the regions of Helsinki, Tampere and Turku, even fewer young people who finish primary school have applied for studies in the field.
In the capital region's largest cities, the proportion of people applying for the construction industry has been among the lowest in the whole country in recent years. In Helsinki, only 6 percent of the age group has chosen the construction industry, while in some small towns the proportion has managed to rise to the level of 40 percent.
The problem of meeting the labor needs of those studying construction and the industry's labor needs is obvious, because for example, more than a third of the jobs related to house construction are concentrated in the capital region. The combined share of the regions of Helsinki, Tampere and Turku has been up to half of the construction volume of the entire country.
"In order for there to be enough builders, it is necessary to succeed in raising the popularity of the industry in big cities. Now, upper secondary education has a strong position in them. We have to make young people aware of what kind of jobs and further education opportunities a vocational basic degree in construction would offer", to the social relations manager responsible for the education and employment policy of Rakennusteollisuus RT Lauri Pakkanen toteaa.
The attractiveness of construction varies greatly from region to region
Rakennusteollisuus RT commissioned a study by the Research Foundation for Education and Training in Otus, which investigated applications for vocational training in the construction industry, study interruptions, as well as the employment expectations of construction industry students and valuations related to working life.
The exceptionally extensive research material covers those who applied for secondary vocational education or upper secondary education and those who interrupted their studies between 2014 and 2020.
The study revealed that the number of applicants to the construction industry has been the lowest and the interruption of studies has been the most common in southern Finland and large cities. The most popular training in the construction industry has been in Kanta-Hämee, South Karelia, Satakunta, Lapland and Kymenlaakso. The local differences are large.
The popularity of the construction industry has slightly decreased among all secondary school applicants, but it has been stable among those applying for vocational education. On average, 16 percent of all secondary school applicants have applied to the construction industry, the share of primary applicants has been around 6 percent. About a third of those who applied for basic degrees in the construction industry had the construction industry as their primary option. The development has been quite similar to the average in other fields of technology and transport.
An average of 6 out of 100 students dropped out of their studies in construction, which was less than in the other fields of technology and transport combined. However, as in other sectors, suspensions have increased in the construction industry in recent years.
Construction students trust the future and employment more than average
Based on the research, young people who are physically fit especially apply to the construction industry, whose general school success does not differ substantially from the average. On average, only a good tenth of the applicants have been women.
In the capital region, the attractiveness of the industry is expected to increase when a campus for construction and building technology students of the Stadi vocational and adult college will be built next to the Myllypuro metro station in the next few years in connection with the Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. The concentration in the real estate and construction industry combines different education levels in a new way and offers a more direct view from secondary studies onwards. The joint campus project has started at RT's initiative.
The strength of the construction industry is that students consider it more likely than other students to find employment in their own field, to find meaningful and permanent work, and to be entrepreneurship. Correspondingly, they consider long periods of unemployment and working abroad less likely. Meaningful work and coworkers are valued more in the construction industry than in other industries.
Selections from ways to get more motivated young people into the construction industry
- The popularity of the construction industry must be increased, especially in large cities. The field needs to be brought out even more through positive images already in primary schools, so that the construction field can be considered more often than other fields of technology and transport as a young person's first choice.
- Education in the construction industry is still strongly differentiated by gender. The popularity of the construction industry could be promoted and the interruption of education could be prevented by encouraging more women to apply for basic degrees in construction and building engineering, and on the other hand by attracting more men to study surface treatment.
- Sufficient support and guidance in educational institutions, a meaningful learning environment and strong cooperation between educational institutions and working life play an important role in maintaining the interest and motivation of students in the field.
- Increasing the number of starting places does not seem to be the solution to increasing popularity and reducing dropouts, as there are already more starting places than primary applicants or those who have started.
- The nationwide network of educational institutions for construction industry education must be taken care of in the future, as young people who finish elementary school mostly apply to study in the educational institutions of their home municipality or neighboring municipalities.
- Students' migration after graduation must be supported, so that young people can, if necessary, look for jobs further away from the surrounding area. Employers operating in large cities would do well to focus recruitment campaigns on students from smaller cities and especially rural and densely populated municipalities, where interest in the field is high.
See also
- Applying for vocational training, interrupting studies and views of working life in the construction industry - research report and result slides
More information
- Lauri Pakkanen, social relations manager, tel. 050 522 7797
- Merja Vuoripuro, director of communications, tel. 040 587 2642
e-mails firstname.lastname@rakennusteollisuus.fi