There is little doubt that once things are opened up again after the pandemic that we are going to see an entirely different landscape in the constriction industry. The last 12 months has seen jobs and projects delayed and cancelled, and it has left a great deal of uncertainty within the industry. As we look to turn the corner, it is clear that this industry is going to see some high level changes in terms of how it operates.
One particular area which is expected to change is sub-contractors, and companies which operate within this field, such as the Cumby Group, are expecting to see a rise in the number of sub-contractors which construction companies are using, and here is why.
No Time For Waste
This has been a hugely challenging year for those in the construction industry and sadly there has been a lot of tough decisions which had to be taken, to protect the company’s longevity. One such decision has been to trim down on the workforce, because the money just wasn’t there to pay construction workers on a contract. It is likely that these workers are going to end up being brought back on site, yet under sub-sub-contracting conditions rather than being hired back. Companies have no resources to pay for such workers if they are not actively working.
Uncertain Terrain
Even though things are once again opening back up, we cannot forget about the fact that so many businesses are operating very delicately financially and they cannot afford to expose themselves. Given that projects may still be commissioned and then cancelled or put on hold, there is still going to be some level of caution which is needed to be observed here. And so it makes so much more sense for these companies use sub-contractors which can be used instead of risking having workers fully contracted.
Job Losses
Many businesses which did have to cut jobs, may find themselves getting bigger projects and they now have plenty of gaps to fill. This means that they are going to be reaching into the pool of sub-contractors and seeking out ways by which they can bump up the number of workers which they have. Much like in the examples given above, they cannot take on full time staff because if that happens and then projects get canceled, they are going to find themselves once again in financial difficulties.
This is not great news for anyone involved in reality, ultimately construction companies would rather know exactly what they have with regards to their staffing. Equally, most sub-contractors do not want to be sub-contractors, they would much rather work in stable conditions whereby they can also get benefits of the job. The longer that this continues, the worse it will be for both the business and for the workers who have no level of certainty around their job.
These are certainly difficult times for us all.
