HRM challenges
Recruitment is an integral part of an HRM service, which keeps its utmost importance in providing the talent pool to an industry or an organization. Nevertheless, talent graduates can mostly supply demanded works, which embarks on the success of the company or the industry. However, the HRM has faced some issues in the past, which is persisting with it in the contemporary world also but has notably added some more challenges in it. On a same note, construction industry is facing more or less same challenges as far as recruitment is concerned (Hashim & Hameed, 2012). The story is no different with the Singapore construction industry. The main purpose of this assignment is to check the challenges, which the Singapore HRM of construction is facing today.
The construction industry of Singapore has its own problems. The numbers of projects are getting increased, which is creating the urgency to have sufficient labours for fulfilling the requirement. However, there are numerous challenges to the HRM of Singapore, which is letting them down and leaving them with no answer for the created urgency. The rising construction works and equally lowering skills availability has put some extensive challenges on the Singapore HRM (Hashim & Hameed, 2012).
Labour crunch is creating some serious issues in front of the Singapore HRM. The efficiency level of project completion has been drastically reduced. This is because of many reasons such as foreign labour movement to their home country. This is because they have many construction works back at their home. This is why they are finding this suitable to work at the home than working in Singapore. The projects at once used to be commenced approximately around a year before the announcement of temporary occupation permit (TOP) dates. The enhanced safety parameters at the workplace and the cuts in the permissible job hours have hampered the work fluency and have reduced the working days by 63 approximately. The reduction in working hours has enhanced the production delay and which is why various projects are getting delayed. The problem is persisting with its utmost importance, which has created highly incremented challenges to the Singapore HRM. The returning back of the foreign labours to their respective home countries has created a deficit of labours, which is very difficult to be filled up as there are some other issues that hampers the selection. Issues such as image of the industry in the local residents, skilled labour shortages in Singapore, ageing population of the country are some of the problems that prevent the sufficient selection of required employees. This is nothing but enhancing the pressures on the HRM of Singapore (Hussin, Rahman & Memon, 2013).
Labour supply
The industrial image of the construction industry is not very good at any place in the world. This is because that the construction industry is believed to be less professional jobs. These kinds of jobs generally require field works. A hard-core job in the open field at some high-end temperatures is never easy. In addition to this, it is also accompanied with many safety related issues, which is less probable in some other kinds of jobs. Such an image of the industry is posing high pressures on the HRM because the graduates have less attraction towards a lower category jobs at the construction sites. Even the graduate engineers prefer some other industries such as IT and Marketing. These industries offer some respectful jobs and it attracts some high-end earnings. Moreover, it is also free from high extensive field works under a direct exposure to the sunlight (Hwang & Low, 2012).
This is another biggest issue for the HRM of Singapore. The ageing population of Singapore has created ample pressures on the HRM to find suitable replacement of the existing talent. The industry is itself carrying the pressures of many foreign workers removal and in addition to this; the ageing population is another issue, which is doubling the pressures on the HRM. The ageing population of Singapore is not only the problem for the construction industry but it is also for the entire industry. However, the level of severity of the issues is high for the construction industry. This is because it is such industry, which relies heavily on some physically strong workers. The job nature of the industry is such that it demands some extensive physical works, which is never possible with the ageing population. Therefore, the HRM has utmost challenges in front of them to respond to the rising demand of construction works in Singapore, which is getting less supports from the existing infrastructure of talent management in the industry (Wen, 2013).
Diversity is another problem, which is affecting the industry and posing some issues in front of the HRM. The construction industry has failed to attract talent graduate. It is also incompetence in creating a high diversity in the industry. The nature of the industry is of such kinds that it has very limited scopes for the women workers. They can only do some materials lifting jobs. However, during their maternal condition, they would not be able to be there at the construction sites. This again means that they have less number of such efficient employees, which could respond to the rising demand for high numbers of constructions. Diversity at the workplace is a valuable asset for some other industrial structure; however, the construction industry does not have such pleasures. This is mainly because of the job nature.
Industrial image
Skilled labour shortages in Singapore are troubling the HRM for approximately the entire industries; however, it is troubling the construction industry in some big time. The construction industry by virtue of its image on the local public has posed some notable challenges to the industry HRM regarding the selection of talent graduates. The industry mainly operates on a wide range of diverse people from around the world. The construction industry generally has many foreign employees also who seeks this industry as their answer to their financial gap. However, the Singapore construction industry is losing their foreign employees simply because they have now better opportunities at their respective home countries. Skilled labours have some good scopes at the construction industry such as in the form of safety officer and civil engineer. However, the industry seriously lacks in this regards. This can be because of many reasons of which inclination towards some other industries such as Market and IT industries is the one reason. The evolution of graduate professionals has drastically shifted the inclination to some other industries. This has left the construction industry with no such option than just relying on foreign workers and less graduate local workers. In such circumstances, the industry is left with no option than just recruit some significant number of workers. However, it is a challenge to the HRM to fill up the high gaps created by the removal of foreign employees, scarcity of graduate workers in the local country and the ageing population. The high rates of removal of exiting employees are not equally compensated by the recruitment of skilled workers (Ducanes & Abella, 2013).
This is perhaps one of the potential issues, which is lessening the interest of graduate professionals away from the industry. The construction sites at any place across the globe are very much susceptible to various major and minor accidents. The nature of the work is such, which makes this happen. However, there are some safety officers also employed at the construction sites bit still the some accidents happen. The hardship nature of the job and the associated risks with it make this less interesting for the graduate professionals. The industry has now become the resources of income for only those who are less qualified and they search hard to have some source of income. Safety issues and the nature of works at the construction sites have made this even tougher for the Singapore HRM to attract some fresh talents to this industry. Even safety officers used to have from less qualified backgrounds. They are generally required to have some worldwide-recognized certification such as National General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety (NEBOSH). Safety officers generally acquire this certificate and easily get into some construction industry. However, the industry has some graduate positions such as safety engineers, site engineers, project manager etc. Despite of all these official positions, this industry relies heavily on the labourers who do take care of the maximum operation of the construction works (Zhou, Whyte & Sacks, 2012).
Demographic issues
Conclusions and Recommendations
The Singapore HRM has loads of issues in front of them for recruiting and responding to the rising urgency to provide sufficient workforces. They have to fight with the ageing population and respond to it with utmost selection of sufficient workers. Labour supply has been reduced a lower number to provide high safety at the workplace. The image of the industry is also challenging for the HRM on how they manage to attract workers. Demographic issues such as diversity at the workplace and ageing population are another strain on the HRM Singapore. Diversity is needed at the workplace as it provides multi works opportunities in the form of different kinds of workers such as women workers, part-timers, contractual basis workers and the full-timers. Ageing population is perhaps the most threatening strain on the Singapore HRM, which is not only raising concern to the construction industry but to some other industries as well. Construction industry in particular needs physically strong workers who can take the maximum responsibilities at the workplace. Skilled labour shortages are another issue, which is worrying the construction industry. Safety issues at the construction sites do also help keep people away from this industry in big numbers. Nevertheless, the Singapore HRM has loads of challenges with them to recruit the required number of workers and the graduate professionals.
The first point of recommendation for the HRM would be to introduce a standard minimum wage for the workers. This would help attract many workers who are at the local places or are leaving to some their home countries. The minimum wage is very high in China, which is why the country is engaged in various gigantic production rates (Lee & Saez, 2012).
The bad image of the construction industry can be minimized to certain extent by incepting some sound safety parameters at the construction sites. This is not sufficient, as keeping only the safety parameters at the workplace does not speak but the image change. The industry needs to be seriously groomed with the reputation build up, which is necessary to actually speak about the change-working environment. This is a long process, which would hardly support the HRM in real time.
The third point of recommendation for the ageing population would be recruit fresh talents and encourage the aging workforces to build up intercommunication with the newly hired professionals. This would help the newly hired professionals get some important learning on the nature of works. This would train them on practical terms. Moreover, this would also release some burden from the HRM and they would be able to make some bulk recruitment, which is the utmost need of the current situation (Schwatka, Butler & Rosecrance, 2012).
On job training and probation training would be the best feasible way to sort out the scarcity of skilled employees in the construction industry. The HRM needs to set some professional and technical eligibility criteria at the time of interview, which would help filter them the shortlisted candidates. If some shortcomings again persist, then it would be sufficiently been reduced with the help of training.
Safety issues can be attained at the workplace by incepting some safety parameters at the workplace. This can be done by enhancing the working capabilities of the available safety officers at the construction sites. This can be attained by providing some extra training on the safety management under the guidance of NEBOSH certification (Hughes & Ferrett, 2015).
References
Ahsan, K., Ho, M., & Khan, S. (2013). Recruiting project managers: A comparative analysis of competencies and recruitment signals from job advertisements. Project Management Journal, 44(5), 36-54.
Ducanes, G., & Abella, M. (2013). Labour Shortages, Foreign Migrant Recruitment and the Portability of Qualifications in East and South-East Asia. ILO.
Hashim, M., & Hameed, F. (2012). Human resource management in 21st century: issues & challenges & possible solutions to attain competitiveness. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 2(9), 44.
Hughes, P., & Ferrett, E. (2015). International Health and Safety at Work: For the NEBOSH International General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety. Routledge.
Hussin, J. M., Rahman, I. A., & Memon, A. H. (2013). The way forward in sustainable construction: issues and challenges. International Journal of Advances in Applied Sciences, 2(1), 15-24.
Hwang, B. G., & Low, L. K. (2012). Construction project change management in Singapore: Status, importance and impact. International Journal of Project Management, 30(7), 817-826.
Lee, D., & Saez, E. (2012). Optimal minimum wage policy in competitive labor markets. Journal of Public Economics, 96(9), 739-749.
Schwatka, N. V., Butler, L. M., & Rosecrance, J. R. (2012). An aging workforce and injury in the construction industry. Epidemiologic reviews, 34(1), 156-167.
Wen, W. K. (2013). Futures of ageing in Singapore. Journal of Futures Studies, 17(3), 81-102.
Zhou, W., Whyte, J., & Sacks, R. (2012). Construction safety and digital design: A review. Automation in Construction, 22, 102-111.
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