Lack of skilled workers in the construction industry

The construction industry moved out of recession at the start of 2015. Two years earlier, there were 35,000 building workers, but before the financial and economic crisis there had been twice this number. Sandra Verger, the manager of the association, explains that new workers have not joined the industry in the past ten years, while there has been a loss of some qualified labour through retirement. An additional factor is the scarcity of labour from the mainland. Given the circumstances, the cost of construction has gone up.

For the building developers association Proinba the situation is producing delays. This in turn affects individual businesses and their planning. Its president, Lluís Martí, agrees with Sandra Verger in pointing to a 20% additional cost of labour from the mainland - if that labour is available. The consequence is that some building developments are not making it onto the market. There has also been a reduction in the number of building companies. There are some 300 fewer in the Balearics than there were ten years ago.

The industry's labour foundation is unable to cover the demand for skilled and qualified workers, despite providing training courses.