Construction Informer

A Hotel Destined to Fall: Some might argue that building things out of sand is not true construction, but I disagree. It is probably more challenging than most kinds of construction, what with the need to keep a certain amount of moisture in the sand and the fact that where sand things are typically built you have tides and waves to contend with. Sure, these things are not as durable as other forms of construction but when it comes to creativity they would seem to offer much more of that than other building forms.

So, four sand sculptors spent a week building a 1,000 tonne sand hotel at Weymouth Beach, Dorset, UK. There was a twin and double room available for rent at $21 per night and then the whole thing was demolished by a CAT312 excavator in just a few minutes.

A Bridge to the Palm: Dubai continues to amaze as its buildings and infrastructure emulate art. The engineering firm Royal Haskoning is going to provide the know-how to make the construction of a 450m (1,476ft) long bridge from Palm Jebel Ali to Dubai’s waterfront a reality. The structure will have a free span of 225m (738ft) and is expected to float on cables hanging from two 135m (443ft) high pylons. Palm Jebel Ali is one of the man-made islands in the shape of a palm and is the largest palm island to date. There will be eight lanes dedicated to traffic, (although I suspect those will be freed up for other uses as the oil runs out), and two lanes for pedestrians and cyclists.

One of Dubai's man-made Palm Islands.

The bridge sports 443 ft high pylons.

Technorati Tags: sand hotel,Weymouth Beach,UK,Dubai,Royal Haskoning,Palm Jebel Ali,bridge,island,man-made

Pakistan To Start Major Construction Efforts: The Prime Minister of Pakistan announced his country will be undertaking a project that will build a million houses for government retirees. Construction is expected to start soon. Yusaf Raza Gilani also said the government will be rebuilding prime tourist areas that were damaged by a 2005 earthquake. He cited places like Swat, Kaghan and lake Saiful as prime tourist areas that he says will once again flourish once facilities and infrastructure are restored.

Analyst Sees Construction and Engineering Companies Rebounding: Naming companies like Emcor Group Inc., Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., Shaw Group Inc. and Foster Wheeler Ltd., Tahira Afzal, analyst with KeyBanc Capital Markets sees positive earnings for this quarter. She believes these companies’ involvement in heavy industry will shield them from lower-than-expected profits. All of the named companies had stock appreciation of from three to almost six percent in the wake of Afzal’s announcement.

Fast Train Coming To China: Hitting speeds of 217mph (350kph) the high speed train that will run from Beijing to Shanghai will cut the current travel time between the two in half. The estimated completion date is sometime in 2013. At that time the Ministry of Railways expects the train to move 80 million passengers every year and it will make the trip in about five hours. Traveling through seven provinces the train will touch the lives of a quarter of China’s population and will influence 40 percent of its national economy.

Construction Bid Rigging Scandal Revealed: The U.K. Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is digging deeply into bidding practices of major construction firms. Balfour Beatty, Kier Group, a Carillion subsidiary and 109 others are facing fines that may collectively run into the tens of millions of pounds. The work those companies were bidding on included public and private projects worth over three billion pounds. The OFT also alleges some companies colluded with others to generate false invoices. But in the face of this you have to admire the cooperative demeanor of the Brits when dealing with things like this. In other places companies caught in wrongdoing typically run, hide and say they did nothing wrong, leaving the cost of the proof on the citizens. But in this case 37 of the companies have applied for leniency (that would seem to be some sort of acknowledgement of wrongdoing), and 40 percent have already admitted to participating in some form of bid rigging.

With all the changes going on globally in construction I though it would be interesting to do a series of posts about how the job/career aspects of the industry are faring. It seemed it would be also a good chance to get some tips from those people who spend a good deal of time matching employees to employers – the recruiters.

I asked some questions of Benjamin Watt, online marketing executive with Careerstructure.com, a UK-based recruitment company that is part of Totaljobs Group Ltd. That company claims to be the fastest growing online recruitment company with 11 different job boards, 255,000 jobs, and a draw to more than three million job seekers every month.

When it comes to the trend in construction job openings in the UK Watt sees them increasing. One key driver of that are major public and private investments throughout the country that include projects like Olympic Games in London, and airport and railway improvements. He says too that there is a high demand for UK workers in other locations like Dubai where they are needed for infrastructure projects.

The construction jobs in greatest demand are civil engineers, quantity surveyors, project managers and estimators. Watt points out there is a lot of work for skilled trades like plumbers and bricklayers but demand is low because those jobs are fairly easy to fill, especially with people from Eastern Europe.

Experience seems to be a hot commodity for otherwise qualified candidates for civil engineering, estimating, architecture, and CAD technician jobs. Watt says there is definitely a shortage of experienced people. He says that if candidates want to make themselves more attractive to employers they should be sure to list any training courses they have had and mention they are willing to relocate if necessary.

Companies looking for employees can also do a couple of things to enhance their chances of attracting the right candidates.

“Mention the long term benefits and career opportunities that you get working for the company, and the opportunity if possible to do overseas work,” counsels Watt. “Also mention if you pay for further education and training.”

Watt says job seekers complain most often about not being able to deal directly with employers when applying for jobs, and the main complaint employers have about filling their job requirements is candidates with not enough experience.

If you are in the recruiting business in a country other than the UK drop me a note if you might be interested in providing an assessment of the AEC employment picture in your area.