Exploring Reskilling Challenges in the Construction Industry : A case study of a Swedish flooring company

Sammanfattning: The construction industry is facing problems with labour shortages. These problems have occurred because of a declining image, leading to fewer applicants to vocational schools. The purpose of this study was to explore the challenges that small organisations in the Swedish construction industry have to face when conducting reskilling programs. In addition to this the study also wanted to explore if there are any potential solutions to help mitigate the impact of these challenges. The goal of this study was to explore the gaps left by previous research and by that contribute with valuable research. The area that this study aims to help explore is how reskilling can be used in a labour-intensive industry, in this case, the construction industry. The study also wanted to explore reskilling from the perspective of smaller organisations in Sweden. A case study was performed at a small flooring company in Sweden to achieve this purpose. Two forms of data collection methods were completed to gather the primary data for the study. The first data collection method consisted of observations from the case company. Secondly, semi-structured interviews were conducted with several stakeholders in the construction industry, both at the case company and with experts outside the case company. This data was gathered to answer the following research question: RQ1: What are the challenges to reskilling programs in the Swedish construction industry? The challenges found by this study could be divided into three aggregate dimensions: Before, During and After. These aggregate dimensions were chosen to help properly show what challenges reskilling programs face during different phases of the program.