Tutt, D; Pink, S; Dainty, A R J and Gibb, A (2013) Building networks to work: An ethnographic study of informal routes into the UK construction industry and pathways for migrant up-skilling. Construction Management and Economics, 31(10), pp. 1025-1037. ISSN 1466433X
Abstract
The UK construction industry labour market is characterized by high levels of self-employment, subcontracting, informality and flexibility. A corollary of this, and a sign of the increasing globalization of construction, has been an increasing reliance on migrant labour, particularly that from the Eastern European Accession states. Yet, little is known about how migrant workers' experiences within and outside work shape their work in the construction sector. In this context better qualitative understandings of the social and communication networks through which migrant workers gain employment, create routes through the sector and develop their role/career are needed. We draw on two examples from a short-term ethnographic study of migrant construction worker employment experiences and practices in the town of Crewe in Cheshire, UK, to demonstrate how informal networks intersect with formal elements of the sector to facilitate both recruitment and up-skilling. Such research knowledge, we argue, offers new evidence of the importance of attending to migrant workers' own experiences in the development of more transparent recruitment processes.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | employment; ethnography; labour markets; migrant workers |
| Index terms: | evidence, self-employment, globalization, migrant worker, career, construction sector, communication network, labour market, recruitment, construction worker, migrant labour, construction industry, ethnography, subcontracting, employment |
| Subjects: | practitioner, organization, evaluation and assessment methods, professional development, qualitative and interpretive research, economics, management, economic factors, industry analysis, networking, demography, business economics |
| Topics: | Roles and Professions, Research Practice, Information Management, Business Strategy, Human Resources, International Construction, Supply Chain Management, Urban Studies, Digital Applications |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here