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1. Introduction
Labour shortages occur when employment has nearly reached its full capacity and employers have faced a difficulty in finding suitable workers to fill available vacancies. Skill shortages occur when there is insufficient number of workers with the required qualifications, skills or experience necessary to carry out a particular job. Both labour and skill shortages may coexist with a substantial level of unemployment.
It is well established in labour economics theory that labour supply is determined by a number of key factors, including the demographic trend, labour force participation rate, education choice, occupational preference of workers and immigration (Boswell et al., 2004). In respect of demographic trends, the fertility rate in many developed countries has been declining for several years, while the average life expectancy has risen. As a result, the average age of the population has been increased, but the proportion of the population under employment has been decreased. In respect of labour force participation rates, there are more people to study tertiary education which has increased the average entry age into the labour market. On the other hand, there are also more people to retire at earlier ages which have reduced the labour participation rate. In respect of occupational preferences of workers, one of the causes for labour shortages is that workers are generally not willing to perform low-paid, low-status and low-skilled works. Although the construction industry may offer reasonable high wages, the poor image of the industry and the lack of career advancement would discourage people from joining the industry (Agapiou et al., 1995). In Hong Kong, the inflow of immigrants from the Mainland China can increase the overall the labour force, while balancing the skill composition. However, most immigrants migrate through the family gathering route. They have no or low skills and cannot directly ease the labour and skill shortage problem.
According to Federie et al.’s (1993) model of workforce, individual’s aspirations, interests, values, perceptions and perceived abilities influence their choice to find a career in the construction industry. Other factors include educational system, family and individual perceptions, wages, weather, overall industry image and labour unions. Fiori (2003) finds from a survey of US’s high school students about the attractiveness of different careers that construction is ranged...