1.5 thousand crowning each month. euro for a road worker or up to 3.5 thousand The salary of the project construction manager reaching EUR 100,000. The Z generation is trying to lure the transportation sector with such a financial perspective today. But is it really enough for her?
Such a question has been troubling road construction companies for a long time. Although they guarantee not only solid earnings, but also all the privileges that young people now dream of in the labor market, the number of students choosing this profession is still small.
Therefore, Ingrida Aleksonė, director of GATAS, a company that provides advanced solutions for transportation infrastructure, says that it is necessary for business to focus on the broader context of the specialty of road engineering. And this profession, according to her, today really meets the needs of the young generation to work in an advanced, interesting and meaningful way.
“Each person can be attracted to work in the transportation sector primarily by the latest and most advanced technologies. Our activities are accompanied by the most innovative construction management systems already created and developed, which move daily activities to a completely different technical and technological level. Another important aspect is career stability. The state will always need roads, it will constantly pay great attention to improving this infrastructure, so such specialists will be in demand and very necessary in the labor market. And employers will create all the opportunities to raise professional competences and be the highest qualified experts in their field. But most importantly, this work creates enormous value. Roads are the basis of the state, ensuring movement, safety of people and wildlife, national defense, and daily needs,” says I. Aleksonė.
According to her, engineers and technical personnel are and will be the most relevant for the company and the entire sector in the coming years. However, this is by no means only a “male specialty”.
“We are happy with the growing attention of girls. For example, we have two cool colleagues who graduated in urban engineering and road and railway engineering. Both she and many other women working in our sector prove that this is an interesting and meaningful profession and career for everyone,” says I. Aleksonė.
Not only qualifications are necessary
If generation Z cares about the daily opportunity to create value, I. Aleksonė suggests that they should really think about the profession of road engineering. Jūratė Mališkienė, Director of the Personnel Department of the company “Kauno tiltai” agrees with this opinion.
According to her, road professionals can be proud of the built transport infrastructure objects today. According to J. Mališkienė, it is not every day that “Via Baltica” is built and “Rail Baltica” is built in Lithuania. Therefore, people working in this field are often united by the pride of doing truly meaningful work every day.
“We are most visible and valued for our great, socially significant achievements. Built bridges, built roads, implemented strategic energy projects provide considerable satisfaction. But none of this would be possible without people. That is why our team of professional, loyal employees is our greatest asset. They are highly valued because they are result-oriented and always find ways out of the most complex, non-standard situations. Therefore, road construction companies really invest a lot in their teams. The business not only pays one of the highest salaries in the market, rewards with extras and additional benefits, but also educates future employees who are still studying at universities, provides them with scholarships, and offers flexible workplaces,” emphasizes J. Mališkienė.
This attitude of employers, she adds, prevails not only because of the qualifications of specialists, which require a lot of specific knowledge. According to the representative of the Kauno Bridges company, there are very few people choosing this profession, so the business is fighting for every potential candidate.
“However, in order to be successful in the road construction sector, it is not enough to have a diploma certifying completed studies. Of course, we do not underestimate the importance of education in any way – people with strong theoretical knowledge will quickly catch up in an environment that requires practical solutions. However, personal characteristics of employees are also extremely important. Although the positions of the profession are different, specialists will always need organization, the ability to plan and resolve conflicts. Therefore, the works are not the same, but they are all parts of one big puzzle – a road, a bridge, a railway, a support. The construction of such objects requires not only high qualifications, but also a lot of soft competences”, emphasizes J. Mališkienė.
They look to the future with hope
When asked if it is true that several professionals have a very good future, the director of the Personnel Department of “Kaunos tilta” does not even doubt it. According to her, the need for these specialists has grown tremendously, and this is perfectly illustrated by the relationship between demand and supply.
“Business is grabbing road engineering graduates. At the same time, he grows them, educates them and tries to maintain them himself. After all, people traveled and will continue to travel, so it will certainly not be the case that road engineers will run out of work. And when it becomes popular among representatives of Generation Z, we can rest assured that the state has a future. Today, road engineering is taking the path of innovation, values and sustainability. It adapts to the most pressing needs, and young people care about it. Therefore, the road professional is no longer just a stereotypical hard worker. This profession is very modern, so we hope that it will also become popular”, says the representative of the Kauno Bridges company.
According to I. Aleksones, the career priorities of Generation Z, which are today focused on the meaning of work, value creation, environmental protection, and social responsibility, could become an incentive for this.
“All these needs can be perfectly understood by such a profession. Without it, the multi-professional community would lack that close bond that unites it. However, now we often hear even from students that community, support, and mutual understanding are part of our everyday work. And with such values and social responsibility, we can certainly rank among the most in-demand professions at the moment. I believe that our future colleagues will soon be convinced of this”, smiles the head of the GATAS company.
Tags: Business grabbing specialists claws offer solid salary
