[Disappearing Skilled Workers]③ "Poor Construction Is a Workforce Issue"... Urgent Need for Training Measures

"The construction industry is different from manufacturing. It is not about producing products but managing processes. Ultimately, the person who faithfully performs the given role is important."

When asked what is needed to prevent poor construction such as the Incheon Geomdan apartment underground parking lot collapse accident and the mass rebar omission incident at apartments built by Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), Professor Cha Hee-sung of the Department of Architecture at Ajou University College of Engineering answered this way.

In a situation where the conclusion has been drawn that poor construction is due to the overall failure of the construction system including design, construction, and supervision, Professor Cha pointed to the "leaky construction workforce" as the fundamental cause of all problems.

Cha Hee-seong, Professor, Department of Architecture, College of Engineering, Ajou University

Professor Cha majored in architectural engineering and worked at Daewoo Construction for about two years after graduation. He then worked as a researcher in the construction industry both in the U.S. and domestically, and has been nurturing future talents at Ajou University for 18 years since 2005. He is well known for his high level of understanding of construction industry theory, fieldwork, and domestic and international systems.

The reason he pinpointed "personnel" as the cause of poor construction incidents that occurred earlier is because the technological capabilities of the domestic construction industry are not inferior even by global standards. He especially diagnosed that the construction technology for building construction is superior.

However, he lamented that poor construction accidents continue to occur because the personnel who must perform, manage, and supervise this are not properly equipped. Professor Cha said, "Poor construction is due to structural limitations of the workforce, not technology," adding, "Issues such as labor management on site, talent outflow, and lack of vision in the construction industry threaten construction safety."

First, he pointed out the inadequate management and education system for on-site labor personnel. Although foreign workers are deployed at most construction sites, proper management and education are not being conducted. Since their understanding of technology is already low and communication is also poor, incidents like rebar omission occur.

To supplement this, education teaching foreign workers language and technical skills is necessary, but the reality on site is nothing more than a showy formality. In fact, most workers deployed on sites receive a 4-hour safety diagnosis training and are issued a certificate, then immediately deployed to the site. This is limited to foreign workers with visas, making education for illegal foreign workers impossible. As a result, outside of large cities such as Seoul and the metropolitan area, illegal foreign workers who have not even received 4 hours of training are being deployed on sites in provincial areas.

Professor Cha emphasized that the role of middle managers is important to fill the qualitative gap of foreign workers. He especially said that institutional measures to attract excellent personnel must be established. Professor Cha said, "The construction industry is negatively perceived as so-called 'nogada' (manual labor)," adding, "The government and private sector must step up to improve treatment and prepare measures to reduce safety risks due to intense physical labor and working conditions."

As one solution, Professor Cha stressed the need to ease regulations and promote research and development (R&D) for the introduction of new technologies and construction methods. He mentioned the OSC (offsite construction) method as an example. Professor Cha said, "In reality, high-intensity physical labor is performed on high-rise sites when building apartments, but the OSC method manufactures predetermined structures in a safe factory environment using automated systems and only installs them on site," adding, "However, the highest OSC method apartment in Korea is a 13-story building using steel modular construction, and due to existing stringent regulations and customs such as inter-floor noise and fire resistance performance, building higher super high-rise housing is restricted," expressing regret.

He explained that as new technologies and methods like OSC evolve, the construction industry's productivity can be innovated by solving the shortage of manpower and shortening construction periods.

He also expressed regret about the education system for training experts. He pointed out the limitations of the 5-year curriculum of architecture departments operated by most domestic universities. Until the 1990s, domestic university architecture departments were operated as 4-year programs, but since 2002, many have been operated as 5-year programs following the recommendation of the International Union of Architects (UIA). The UIA suggested full-time education of more than 5 years as a verification method for mutual recognition of architect licenses, which were operated diversely by country.

However, Professor Cha said that the education system recommended by the UIA is already outdated. He explained, "The global educational environment is changing," adding, "As the architecture industry becomes more advanced and segmented, global universities are producing specialized personnel in areas such as design, construction, and supervision."

In fact, the U.S. operates various curricula and academic systems depending on schools and regions, and the Bologna Process, involving 46 countries including Europe, integrates a 3-year bachelor's and 2-year master's program to allow rapid completion of a professional master's degree in 5 years. Japan also has a basic architecture curriculum of 4 years undergraduate and 2 years graduate school. These countries and schools cultivate various expertise such as design, construction, and supervision through these academic systems.

However, in Korea, due to sensitive entrance exam demand and competition rates, most architecture departments operate on a 5-year system. Professor Cha said, "The 5-year system has made architectural education rigid and reduced diversity," adding, "We also need to improve according to global university standards."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.