Construction in Sicily, the number of workers is increasing but the number of companies is decreasing. Cgil: "Without the Pnrr, an extraordinary training plan is needed."

The data from the Cnce Statistical Observatory (National Joint Commission for Construction Funds), related to the last quarters of the 2023-2025 three-year period, highlights how the construction industry in Sicily is undergoing a profound transformation, following the extraordinary boost from tax incentives in recent years.

This is stated by Giovanni Pistorio, General Secretary of Fillea Cgil Sicily, who specifies: "In two years, from 2023 to 2025, the number of companies in the sector has decreased from 10,773 to 9,989, with almost 800 fewer, a clear sign of a reorganization of the sector. Already in 2024, compared to 2023, there was a slowdown with a decrease in hours worked (-3.6%), workers (-2.68%), and wage mass (-2.55%)."

For 2025, the picture is more complex. "Hours worked compared to 2024 increase by 3.89%, employees by 3.12%, and wage mass by 9.03%. However, the number of companies continues to decline (-4.21% compared to 2024), confirming a restructuring phase in the sector. And even on a territorial level, significant differences emerge between Sicilian provinces, with some areas showing signs of growth and others highlighting, instead, a contraction in hours worked and employment.

"It is important to read these data carefully – observes the General Secretary of Fillea Cgil Sicily – because the stability of some positive indicators is mainly linked to the fact that the sector is still fully engaged in activities related to interventions financed by the Pnrr. However, this is a phase that is expected to gradually reduce in the coming months and to end in just over a year."

For this reason, according to the union, preparations must begin immediately for the transition that awaits the construction supply chain. "The expansionary cycle of construction linked to tax bonuses is now behind us – emphasizes Pistorio – and with the gradual exhaustion of Pnrr interventions, the sector risks entering a new phase of contraction that could have significant consequences for employment."

The Fillea Cgil Sicily therefore urges a strategy that places at the center employment, training, and adequate industrial policies. "In a sector where the reorganization of production cycles is already underway – highlights the general secretary of Fillea Cgil Sicily – it becomes essential to invest in the professional retraining of workers, which also means requalifying the business system, guiding the sector towards more innovative, safer, and more sustainable production models."

The construction industry of the coming years will require increasingly specialized skills. The union calls for the launch of a extraordinary training and qualification plan, which offers real opportunities for re-employment in new market segments.

Particular attention should be paid to emerging figures, "today difficult to find in the labor market – specifies Pistorio – and increasingly in demand by companies in the sector. These are skills that operate in strategic areas such as the digitalization of construction with specialized figures in BIM, home automation, 3D surveying, and 3D printing. But also in the fields of environmental sustainability, from energy efficiency to the installation of systems from renewable sources, from green building to the management of recovery and land protection interventions. In addition, there are professional skills related to seismic adaptation and improvement of the building heritage, which are increasingly central to the safety of cities."

At the same time, it is necessary to revive an industrial policy for construction based on urban regeneration and the requalification of inhabited areas. "In this context – highlights the general secretary of Fillea Cgil Sicily – it is essential to put at the center a true housing policy. In Sicily, there is a strong housing demand and a building heritage that is often degraded or inefficient from an energy and seismic point of view and increasingly not suitable for the elderly. Massive public investments are needed in social housing, urban recovery, and the maintenance of the housing stock. Also because the intervention plan on housing, urban regeneration, and land maintenance would not only improve the quality of cities but also ensure stable and qualified employment in the construction sector."

Pistorio concludes: “Without a new season of public investments in housing, urban regeneration, and land maintenance the risk is that at the end of the cycle of interventions related to the Pnrr there will be a new phase of crisis in the sector and employment.”