Construction companies look abroad for more hands

Construction companies are expected to complete projects worth billions of euros in the coming years. These are at risk of not being implemented, however, not for a lack of resources but for a lack of workers.

Construction groups are casting a wide net in their search for more hands, as the call-up of workers from abroad is a complex bureaucratic process that takes up to nine months to complete.

One large construction firm is sending foremen to India and Egypt to find and bring workers for its sites in Greece.

According to estimates, the construction sector urgently needs 51,000 to 55,000 workers so the total workforce can reach the required 250,000.