As the construction industry faces a prolonged downturn, major construction companies are moving forward with hiring new graduates for the second half of the year. Despite a decline in overall employment in the sector for over three years, recruitment in new business areas and advanced technology fields, such as nuclear energy, data centers, semiconductor production facilities, and artificial intelligence (AI) and building information modeling (BIM), is becoming more specialized.
Analysts suggest that construction firms are shifting their strategies from a housing-centric business model to a broader portfolio that includes nuclear power, advanced industrial facilities, and energy, which is also reflected in the hiring market.
Construction Employment Declines for 37 Months, Major Firms Hire New Graduates
According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the number of regular subscribers to construction employment insurance decreased by 7,000 last month compared to the same month last year. This marks the 37th consecutive month of decline in construction employment insurance subscriptions, primarily due to a slowdown in new hiring in the general construction sector.
However, major construction companies, including Samsung C&T, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, Daewoo Engineering & Construction, Lotte Engineering & Construction, GS Engineering & Construction, and POSCO E&C, have either begun or are currently conducting new graduate recruitment for the second half of the year.
Notably, the job roles being recruited are diverse. While maintaining existing construction personnel in fields such as architecture, civil engineering, mechanical, and electrical engineering, new job categories are emerging for nuclear energy, advanced industrial facilities, and AI, tailored to each company's new business areas.
Samsung C&T has divided its technical recruitment for the second half of the year into categories such as plant and energy, data centers and office buildings, housing, semiconductor production facilities, civil engineering, and safety.
This segmentation reflects a shift from previously handling these areas under the architecture category to now focusing on data centers, office buildings, and semiconductor production facilities. The expansion of Samsung C&T's energy solutions business, including small modular reactors (SMR), solar power, and green hydrogen, is also evident in its recruitment focus.
Nuclear and Data Centers: New Opportunities for Graduates
Hyundai Engineering & Construction is recruiting new graduates for a separate 'New Energy' sector in addition to civil engineering, architecture, and plant roles. Candidates from various majors, including nuclear, mechanical, chemical, electrical, civil, and architecture, are eligible to apply. The company is expanding its energy and infrastructure projects, including large nuclear power plants, SMRs, data centers, and offshore wind farms. Safety and quality are also managed as a separate job category.
Daewoo Engineering & Construction is independently recruiting for nuclear design and project management alongside architecture, civil engineering, and plant roles. The company is also hiring personnel for domestic urban redevelopment as well as overseas project development and management.
POSCO E&C has specified that its main tasks in the plant sector for the second half of the year will include nuclear, steel, power, and chemical projects, while also recruiting for architecture and safety positions.
This shift indicates that the demand for personnel, which was previously concentrated in housing and general plant sectors, is now expanding to include nuclear power, data centers, semiconductor production facilities, and energy facilities.
AI and BIM: New Roles from the Ground Up
Technological changes are also altering recruitment roles. Lotte Engineering & Construction has created separate job categories for BIM research and development, AI research and development, and mechanical-electrical research and development in its new graduate recruitment. The AI role focuses on discovering technologies applicable to the construction sector, while the BIM role involves research and development as well as on-site technical support.
GS Engineering & Construction is recruiting personnel not only for construction but also for business planning, permits, real estate development and execution, sales and leasing, and marketing.
As construction companies move beyond simple contracting to engage in the entire process of project discovery, permitting, financing, development, and sales, the scope of required personnel is also broadening.
Experts emphasize the need for not only hiring new personnel but also establishing a career framework that allows them to build expertise in new business areas. Sung Yoo-kyung, a researcher at the Korea Construction Industry Institute, stated, "While past measures to attract young talent have focused on short-term hiring and basic training, we now need to pay attention to whether they can build expertise and continue their careers. Changing job roles on-site is not just about addressing the shortage of young workers; it is also a process of securing the future competitiveness of the construction industry."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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