Insights

What is the misconception of culture in the construction industry?

In this series X4 Construction are shining a spotlight on the future world of construction and engineering and the talent needed to create it.

Culture is often a barrier to entry in many professions, with the recent statistic that 46% of job seekers cited company culture as one of the most important factors when choosing to apply to a company.

In recent years there have been many initiatives to improve culture in the construction and engineering sector including The Construction Sector Accord, launched in 2019. This is a shared commitment between the New Zealand’s government and the industry to transform the construction sector and has been a great step forward!

We asked a range of female candidates in the construction and engineering sectors – “What is the misconception of culture in the construction industry?”, check out what they said:

Quantity Surveyor

“The biggest misconception is that the construction industry is a male dominated industry, it is largely dominated by males however it is becoming less and less the case.  There is a number of women within the industry who do as good a job as their male counterpart, if not better in some cases in a variety of construction roles.  It would be good to see the number of women within the industry grow and mindset to change.”

Quantity Surveyor Team Leader

“I am not really aware of misconception of the culture. It is real, most people speak their minds and the truth. Some are rough around the edges – but you take them as they are. Some men are extra courteous around women, hence my thoughts around women having a good influence in the environment. The main problem with culture is the long hours and this is something that needs addressing, but not specific to women, an industry problem.”

Quantity Surveyor

“That it’s a man’s world. Even though it’s male dominant, you find women in all sectors. From Carpenters to Electricians to Project Managers, women are slowly widening their skill set in the construction industry.”

We use the power of our talent network to build better futures for our clients and communities across the construction and engineering sectors – get in touch at recruitment@x4construction.co.nz to find out how we can support you.

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