Stealing skilled construction workers from other companies
Big money govt megaprojects lead to shortage of skilled workers & "headhunting" (stealing skilled workers from other companies)..
Big money govt megaprojects lead to shortage of skilled workers & "headhunting" (stealing skilled workers from other companies)..
A skilled worker operating a backhoe.
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HUMAN RESOURCES
Developers hide staff from headhunters
1/07/2013
Nanchanok Wongsamuth
Construction workers are so scarce these days that developers are doing all they can to prevent their employees from being snatched by other operators to work on the government's planned megaprojects.
"Anyone planning to build a house should do it now. It's bad enough now that the construction industry faces a severe shortage of labour," said Chakporn Oonjitt, executive director of the Construction Institute of Thailand.
But it's going to be even worse next year, when large companies are going to steal workers away to work on government megaprojects.
He said even though megaprojects use heavy machinery such as backhoe loaders, this type of equipment requires people to operate it, and companies are hiding their workers.
"A backhoe driver is paid 100 baht an hour. Despite the high rate, employers have a hard time finding people to do the job," he said.
An industry source said many employers are not sending workers to training sessions, as they are afraid the skills upgrade will result in them being taken away by other companies.
"Some employers are even using tactics such as going to training sessions themselves as a way of headhunting," he said.
"Mr Chakporn said large companies working on megaprojects could afford to pay workers a lot more. "About 400-450 baht a day is paid for workers who know what a nail and hammer is, while 700-800 baht is for skilled workers. But if you're a large company, you're going to pay them 20,000 to 30,000 baht a month," he said.
This year, the construction industry is set to face a shortage of 100,000 workers, about the same as last year.
Mr Chakporn forecasts the value of the industry will increase by 8% to 8.5% to 1 trillion baht this year.
Last year, investment in the sector totalled 927 billion baht, with the amount divided equally into government and private projects.
The figures do not take into account the government's 2-trillion-baht infrastructure investment or the 350-billion-baht water management scheme.
Mr Chakporn said the price index of construction materials will inch up this year due mainly to higher cement prices, but oversupply of steel will prevent the index from getting too high.
"Compared with other Southeast Asian countries, Thailand has relatively low construction costs since we can source most building materials [locally]," he said.
(Source: Bangkok Post, HUMAN RESOURCES, Developers hide staff from headhunters, 1/07/2013, Nanchanok Wongsamuth, link)
Human Resources Vocabulary
Human Resources (HR) - 1. the people who work for a particular organization (employees) their skills and abilities that the organization can use (See Wikipedia)
human resources department (HR) - the department in a company that deals with employing and training people, also called personnel department งานบุคลากร, งานบุคคล, งานที่เกี่ยวข้องกับการบริหารงานบุคคล
recruitment - the act or the process of finding new people to join a company or an organization (See Wikipedia)
headhunting - the activity of finding workers for your company (recruiting) who work in another company and who have the right skills and experience and then persuading and convincing them to come and work for your company, usually for higher level managers (executives, CEOs) or employees with special skills (computer programmers) (See Wikipedia)
headhunter - a person who finds skilled workers and managers for companies by taking them from other companies, a person who does headhunting as a job คนสรรหาผู้บริหารคนใหม่ให้กับองค์กร
skilled - know how to do some work or activity very well, having a job that requires special knowledge, experience and training ซึ่งมีทักษะ, ซึ่งมีความชำนาญ
skilled worker
poach - 1. to persuade an employee of another company to quit and join your company; 2. to steal, to illegally catch or kill an animal on another person's land
poaching skilled workers from other companies
talent - skilled workers
poach talent from other companies
staff - employees of a company, people who work for a company พนักงาน
developers hide staff from headhunters
operators - businesses doing this business
construction - the work of building or making something, especially buildings, bridges, etc. การก่อสร้าง
construction workers
construction industry
construction costs
scarce - not easy to find or get ขาดแคลน, ไม่เพียงพอ, หายาก
construction workers are so scarce these days
Construction workers are so scarce these days that developers are doing all they can to prevent their employees from being snatched by other operators to work on the government's planned megaprojects.
severe - very serious and worrying ที่รุนแรง ที่น่าเป็นห่วง
shortage - when there is not enough of something การขาดแคลน
a severe shortage of labour
it's bad enough that ...., but ... - the situation is already bad but it will get worse
"Anyone planning to build a house should do it now. It's bad enough now that the construction industry faces a severe shortage of labour," said Chakporn Oonjitt, executive director of the Construction Institute of Thailand. But it's going to be even worse next year, when large companies are going to steal workers away to work on the government megaprojects.
machinery - เครื่องจักร
heavy machinery - big machines (such as a "backhoe")
backhoe - a large vehicle or tractor used to dig large holes at construction and building sites รถขุดหรือรถเจาะ (See Wikipedia)
backhoe loader - "a heavy equipment vehicle that consists of a tractor fitted with a shovel/bucket on the front and a small backhoe on the back. Due to its (relatively) small size and versatility, backhoe loaders are very common in urban engineering and small construction projects (such as building a small house, fixing urban roads, etc.). This type of machine is also known as a TLB (Tractor-Loader-Backhoe)" (See Wikipedia)
backhoe operator - the person who operates and digs with a "backhoe"
backhoe driver - Same as "backhoe operator"
equipment - เครื่องจักร
operate equipment
He said even though megaprojects use heavy machinery such as backhoe loaders, this type of equipment requires people to operate it, and companies are hiding their workers.
"A backhoe driver is paid 100 baht an hour. Despite the high rate, employers have a hard time finding people to do the job," he said.
rate - อัตรา
rate of pay
high rate - high rate of pay, high income
employers - companies that hire workers
source - someone who gives information แหล่งข่าว
industry source
training - to teach people how to do an activity or job การฝึกฝน
session - a period of time for some activity (meeting, class, etc) ช่วงเวลา, ช่วงการประชุม, สมัยประชุม, สมัยประชุม
training session
skills - a type of work or task requiring special training and knowledge ทักษะ ความสามารถเฉพาะทาง
upgrade - improvement; make new, modern, and up-to-date
skills upgrade
An industry source said many employers are not sending workers to training sessions, as they are afraid the skills upgrade will result in them being taken away by other companies.
tactics - particular methods for achieving something กลเม็ดเด็ดพราย วิธีการ ไม้เด็ด
"Some employers are even using tactics such as going to training sessions themselves as a way of headhunting," he said.
afford - to have enough money to be able to pay for something มีเงิน/ทุนพอ มีเงินพอจับจ่าย ซื้อหา
afford to pay workers a lot more
nail - a metal thing that holds wood together ตะปู
hammer - a tool consisting of a piece of metal with a flat end which is fixed onto the end of a long thin usually wooden handle, used for hitting things ค้อน
know what a nail and hammer is
"Mr Chakporn said large companies working on megaprojects could afford to pay workers a lot more. "About 400-450 baht a day is paid for workers who know what a nail and hammer is, while 700-800 baht is for skilled workers. But if you're a large company, you're going to pay them 20,000 to 30,000 baht a month," he said. This year, the construction industry is set to face a shortage of 100,000 workers, about the same as last year.
forecasts - what experts say will happen in the future คาดการณ์
forecast the value of the industry will increase
Mr Chakporn forecasts the value of the industry will increase by 8% to 8.5% to 1 trillion baht this year.
investment - taking your money and putting it into projects to make a profit or earn interest (buying stock shares, bonds, real estate)
sector - a part of a country's economic or business activity ภาค (เศรษฐกิจ)(See Wikipedia)
investment in the sector
Last year, investment in the sector totalled 927 billion baht, with the amount divided equally into government and private projects.
infrastructure - the high-cost facilities that everyone in the economy shares (water, roads, electricity, trains) สาธารณูปโภค
the government's 2-trillion-baht infrastructure investment
scheme - a plan that is developed by a government or large organisation in order to provide a particular service for people แผนการ โครงการ
the 350-billion-baht water management scheme
figures - statistics, numbers describing the economy
take into account - include; include something such as information in plans or analysis
do not take into account - do not include
figures do not take into account ... - the numbers or statitics do not include
The figures do not take into account the government's 2-trillion-baht infrastructure investment or the 350-billion-baht water management scheme.
price index - a number that shows the change in the price of something over a period of time
the price index of construction materials
inch up - increase by small amount
the price index will inch up this year
oversupply - supply of the good is greater than demand forcing down prices (or eventually causing exit from market) การมีสินค้าล้นตลาด
oversupply of steel
Mr Chakporn said the price index of construction materials will inch up this year due mainly to higher cement prices, but oversupply of steel will prevent the index from getting too high.
materials - วัสดุ
building materials - วัสดุก่อสร้าง
construction materials - Same as "building materials"
source - when a company finds and buys things it needs from another company (raw materials, parts, products)
source building materials
source locally - when a company finds what it needs in its country (not needing to import from another country)
source building materials locally
relatively - compared to other things
relatively low
Thailand has relatively low construction costs
"Compared with other Southeast Asian countries, Thailand has relatively low construction costs since we can source most building materials [locally]," he said.
