Sustainable Management of Construction Labour

The construction industry of Estonia has experienced a period of economic growth which has started to turn down for now and the output forecasts state that this recess will continue. While the availability of unskilled workforce will be growing, the lack of high quality skills in the labour market is becoming even more acute when, after joining EU, skilled construction craftsmen have a choice of leaving to better paid European countries. Purpose of the research is to improve management strategies, decrease the mismatch between required and available skilled labour and to discuss the consequences of ignoring the interests of craftsmen. Without quantitative estimations it is impossible to persuade contractors to invest in workers. A simulation model reflecting the performance of a construction firm is introduced. It enables to evaluate different management strategies considering contradictive interests of owners, contractors and craftsmen in purpose to find a compromise between them.