The construction industry is one of the leading employers with 77,000 employees in Brittany. It’s the week of the building and public works trades, and as in many sectors, the building sector is struggling to recruit. The president of the French Federation of the sector in the region, Stéphane Le Teuff, was invited by France Bleu Armorique this Wednesday at 7:45 am.
France Bleu Armorique: Is the construction sector in good health at the moment in Brittany?
Stéphane Le Teuff: Yes, because compared to the rest of France, we are lucky to have a very dynamic region in relation to measures that may be different from those in other territories. At the moment, we are fully in the Pinel Breton report, these famous tax exemptions which allow the construction of a certain number of houses and buildings in the Brittany region. So yes, cranes are still present throughout Brittany.
With the Covid, the shutdown of production during the health crisis and the strong demand on recovery, there were major supply problems in the construction industry. Is it still complicated for you today or is it better?
It’s true that we were very worried at one point about the wood, we had major supply problems. Now it’s a little better. These are not products that we lack, it is above all logistical problems. We have materials that take a little time to arrive, so of course it requires craftsmen and entrepreneurs to anticipate their purchases and work with suppliers to be able to store the products upstream.
Are you also confronted, as in many sectors, with a labor shortage?
The unemployment rate being at its lowest in Brittany, we have great difficulty in finding new companions. According to Pôle emploi, we have about 15,000 job offers posted in Brittany, which is relatively high. Since the first quarter, we have experienced an increase in our companions of more than 9% in our companies. So it’s true that it’s a small concern, but I think it’s shared by all the branches.
How do you recruit?
This week of national employment which is currently taking place throughout the territory allows us to make known the different trades. We have organized job dating, company visits and site visits at various sites in Brittany. We show what the building is because we always stay on images that are not reality. As the construction sites are open, we have a discussion with the business leaders and the companions. This makes it possible to see that a person can quickly work, grow in a company and evolve very quickly, in particular with training courses that allow progress throughout the career.
These are trades that seem painful, is this still the case today?
We have made a lot of improvements to our jobs. We have more and more mechanized machines, we work with exoskeletons. We therefore have a whole organization on the worksites which now allows us to work in very good conditions. We also have the employment of women, which is progressing. From year to year, we are about 12% of women who join us in our various professions, perhaps more in management or design offices but it is something that is progressing.