Interview with Simon Christian Becker

“Anyone who wants housing, renovation, and infrastructure must also recognize who
is building them.”
On many construction sites, work crews without immigrant laborers have long been the exception. Yet people who want to work are kept out of the labor market for months on end, while companies are desperately searching for workers and long chains of subcontractors encourage wage dumping.
Together with FORM Institute Director Judith Kohlenberger, civil engineer Simon Christian Becker authored the FORM Policy Brief 2026/01, “Who Is Building This Country?” In this interview, he discusses the reality on construction sites, the shortage of skilled workers, and why public procurement is the most powerful lever for change.

FORM: Mr. Simon Christian Becker, you are a civil engineer, not a migration researcher. What prompted you to write the policy brief “Who Is Building This Country?”
For years, I’ve been observing developments at the operational level in the construction industry and the high proportion of foreign construction workers. This is hardly ever discussed in the public debate. Together with Judith Kohlenberger, we wanted to combine the practical perspective with that of migration research. Both sides describe the same people but rarely talk to one another. Yet an interdisciplinary approach is particularly important here, because it involves breaking new ground and thus identifying potential for real change.

FORM: About one-third of workers in the construction industry are foreign nationals. Does this percentage match your experience?
I would have expected an even higher proportion. On many construction sites, especially in structural work, work crews without immigrant workers are the exception. This issue needs to be further differentiated empirically. The statistics—or rather, the question—refer only to citizenship, not to migration background, and posted workers aren’t included at all. If they were, we’d be talking about an even higher proportion of workers with a migration background.

FORM: The policy brief distinguishes between labor shortages and skill shortages: Where is the shortage of skilled workers particularly noticeable in your work?
In skilled positions: foremen, supervisors, and experienced skilled workers in formwork and rebar. You can find unskilled laborers; people who can independently manage a job site and read blueprints are hard to come by. You notice this in the quality of work, adherence to deadlines, and ultimately in the costs.

FORM: You write in the brief that the approval process for asylum seekers is so time-consuming that it amounts to a de facto work ban. In 2025, approximately 3,000 approvals were granted. What does that mean for the construction industry in your view?
In a sector with approximately 300,000–350,000 employees, that’s close to zero in percentage terms. We’re keeping people who want to and could work off the labor market for months on end, while companies are desperately searching for workers. This makes no sense, neither economically nor in terms of integration policy. Faster solutions need to be developed here.

FORM: A large portion of cross-border work involves the posting of workers and long chains of subcontractors. How is it that employees don’t know who they’re employed by?
A contract is passed from the general contractor to a subcontractor, and from there to the next—often across borders and sometimes to shell companies. In the end, someone is working on an Austrian construction site but is employed by a company in another country that they’ve never even seen. Each level takes its cut, while wages and oversight fall by the wayside.

FORM: The letter contains five recommendations for action. Which one do you think would have the greatest impact, and why?
The fourth recommendation—procurement. Public contracting authorities hold the greatest leverage. As long as the “most economical” price is the deciding factor, wage dumping will continue to be rewarded. Limiting subcontractor chains and implementing genuine quality criteria would transform the market in this area.

FORM: What contribution can the construction industry itself make, independent of political decisions?
Provide training—including jointly across company boundaries if a small business cannot manage it alone. Take existing qualifications seriously and deploy people accordingly. From a holistic perspective, the construction industry should work closely with policymakers to reduce bureaucracy and fill open apprenticeship positions through immigration.

FORM: Your fifth recommendation concerns political communication. Why do you view it as a prerequisite for all other measures?
Because measures such as earlier entry into the labor market cannot be politically implemented without societal support. As long as immigration is portrayed solely as a problem, no one will dare to shape it as part of the solution. Anyone who wants housing, renovation, and infrastructure must also recognize who is building them.