Starting this month, some construction companies, including Samsung C&T, will begin public recruitment for new employees in the second half of the year. This is a process to recruit regular employees who will start in early next year. However, the scale of recruitment is small, and many construction companies have not yet established hiring plans. Some companies do not have any recruitment plans this year. As the construction market recession continues, hiring by construction companies is expected to be on a small scale.
According to the construction industry on the 3rd, the construction division of Samsung C&T has been conducting public recruitment for new employees from the 27th of last month until today. The recruitment areas are ▲ Architecture ▲ Civil Engineering ▲ Plant ▲ Dwellings, targeting those who will graduate or have graduated before February 2026. Applicants can come from traditional construction-related majors such as architectural engineering, architecture, mechanical, and electrical engineering, as well as those in nuclear, big data, statistics, computer science, and IT fields. An English proficiency score is also included in the application requirements. One of either the Oral Proficiency Interview-Computer (OPIc) or Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) speaking scores is needed. A representative from Samsung C&T stated, "We cannot disclose the number of hires planned."
Hyundai E&C has also started public recruitment for new employees in the second half of the year. They posted a job announcement on the 1st and are accepting applications until the 29th. The recruitment fields are ▲ Civil Engineering (Design·Civil) ▲ Architecture/Dwellings (Architecture·Facilities·Electrical·Civil) ▲ Plant (Mechanical·Chemical·Electrical) ▲ New Energy (Nuclear·Mechanical·Chemical·Electrical·Civil·Architecture) ▲ General Management ▲ Safety sectors. Following document screening, aptitude tests (October), first interviews (November), and second interviews (December), the final successful candidates will be announced in January next year.
Hyundai E&C is also recruiting foreign students. Foreign students are encouraged to apply if they are majoring in ▲ Civil Engineering ▲ Architectural Engineering·Architecture ▲ Mechanical·Chemical Engineering ▲ Electrical·Electronics Engineering ▲ Nuclear Engineering ▲ Computer Engineering ▲ Economics·Humanities·Sociology.
GS Engineering and Construction will announce recruitment for new employees in the second half on the 8th. They will accept applications until the 21st of this month. Specific eligibility requirements and recruitment fields have not yet been determined. A representative from GS Engineering and Construction noted, "We plan to hire about 40 people, similar to previous years."
Among major construction companies, many are still reviewing their hiring plans or have decided not to hire. Daewoo E&C, DL E&C, and HDC Hyundai Development Company are reviewing their new employee recruitment for the second half of the year. Additionally, POSCO E&C has decided not to hire this year. Hyundai Engineering has also not established any hiring plans. SK ecoplant has been conducting intermittent hiring since 2022, having abolished public recruitment at the group level. Lotte Engineering & Construction has completed the hiring process for 50 new employees in August, and they began working from September.
In the industry, there is an analysis that only some large construction companies, which have secured work for several years, can conduct large-scale regular recruitment while the construction market has not fully recovered. A representative from the construction industry stated, "As baby boomers are retiring, it's necessary to hire regular new employees, but for mid-sized and small construction companies that do not have consistent orders like the large firms, it is difficult to plan how many personnel to hire."
Lee Eun-hyung, a research fellow at the Korea Construction Policy Research Institute, said, "Once a regular employee is hired, it is difficult to lay them off, and smaller construction companies find it challenging to plan employee recruitment due to uncertainty about future project orders," adding, "To address these difficulties, mid-sized and small construction companies are increasingly utilizing on-site (current site hiring) positions." This suggests that there is a growing trend to hire contract workers specifically for certain construction sites to reduce the burden of hiring regular staff.