With an ongoing housing crisis, major hotel renovations planned and under way, and continuing strong demand for prime office space, Bermuda can rarely have needed a strong construction industry more than it does today.
While the industry is busy and has a generally healthy order book, it faces challenges including a shortage of skilled workers, and the the expense of materials and shipping.
Construction continues to be a significant employer, providing 2,163 jobs, according to the most recent government statistics, or about 6 per cent of full-time positions in Bermuda.
The sector generated $147.6 million of employment income in 2024, and over the first three quarters of 2025, it paid out near $118 million in wages and salaries – up 8.8 per cent over the previous year.
However, as with many local businesses, construction companies are struggling to find local labour. As of August 2025, 31 per cent of the construction workforce (or 680 workers) were on work permits, up from 26 per cent three years earlier.
Alex DeCouto, of Greymane Construction, said: “The employment statistics continue to show declining numbers of locals and all new positions being filled by expats. We are looking far and wide for workers, as the US is experiencing a similar dearth of talent in the industry.”
In both the United States and Britain, industry groups have highlighted national shortages among the hundreds of thousands of construction workers. Bermuda is in global competition for skills in worldwide demand. Mr DeCouto would like to see tweaks in immigration policy to make importing necessary labour less cumbersome and pricey.
“The recent restrictions to require all work permit applicants to have travel visas through our gateway cities (US, Canada or UK) really tightens the pool and makes it expensive to get people here,” Mr DeCouto said.
“However, I understand the need to make sure that people can be deported easily. What I don’t understand is the Department of Immigration’s recent move to require English proficiency tests for all applicants. We’ve been investigating and find these tests to be pretty tough.
“They’ve been described as being equivalent to high school English tests, which will be a real struggle for our blue collar staff, many of whom may not have finished high school.
“This will be a tough pill to swallow and further restrict our ability to source workers from abroad. This will do nothing good to the already high cost of construction.”
He added that dropping the English test for tradespeople who do not hold public-facing positions would be welcomed by contractors.
Managing demand
Steven Barber, managing director of Commercial Glass & Aluminum Co, says he manages his labour needs by adding imported temporary workers to his core local staff when the workload demands. His business has a track record of employing and training Bermudians, and he added that the Immigration Department has always approved requests for necessary work permits.
Commercial Glass, which supplies, manufactures and installs windows, door screens, sliding glass doors and showers, had a staff of 23 in February, but Mr Barber said this would rise as worked on a major project kicked off.
Costs of materials have continued to rise, fuelling the increase in the cost of construction and home renovations.
“Certainly prices have gone up over the past year,” Mr Barber said. “Aluminium manfacturers, in particular, have been reluctant to hold their price. If we make an order, they will hold the price for 30 days and then the price may change – and usually, it does.
“Glass manufacturers have held their prices longer. Depending on the type of product, they’ve gone up anywhere from 5 per cent to 25 per cent.
“We also buy fasteners, screws and caulking in bulk. Everything has been creeping up in price, little by little, and it’s become quite a lot more expensive.”
Commercial Glass sources about 65 per cent of its supplies from the US and the remainder from Canada. Mr Barber said he had not heard suppliers mention tariffs as a factor in price increases.
Offsetting the rising price of materials are the customs duty reductions that took effect on July 1 last year, when the rate on all building materials and supplies attracting a levy above 10 per cent was dropped to 10 per cent by the Government.
For Commercial Glass, this has brought substantial savings, with duties on items such as windows and doors imported for projects falling from above 25 per cent to 10 per cent.
“This has worked out well, it helps to keep people working and keeps the economy going,” Mr Barber said.
He cited another business-friendly change by the Government – the streamlining of truck licensing applications, from a burdensome, bureaucratic process to a fully digital submission.
The Government has also taken action to reduce a backlog of building permit applications, which numbered 293 as of the end of 2025. In mid-February, the SAFEbuilt digital tool, designed to “accelerate processing while maintaining Bermuda’s established planning and building standards”, was put to work to help clear the pending permits.
Modular construction
One area where Mr DeCouto would like to see more government involvement is in affordable housing. The cost of building makes it uneconomic to produce the new units Bermuda needs, he added.
“I think we are in the position that many developed countries find themselves in; the cost of construction has outpaced wages,” Mr DeCouto said. “I believe the Government should take a more prominent role in supply side housing interventions. They should follow the Singapore model.”
He said the Approved Hamilton Residential Scheme, which encourages investment in residential and mixed-use developments in the city, was helpful and could spur some projects.
“Modular construction”, which involves the fabrication of the core of a building in a factory and then being transported to the site as large unit, also has potential to cut costs.
“Usually the envelope, including roof and exterior walls are assembled on site around the modules,” Mr DeCouto said. “You end up with a fairly typical construction frame in steel and then a glazed envelope like you would see in many commercial multistory buildings already in Bermuda.”
Many are looking at the feasibility of transportation of these large units, and cost-cutting potential of modular construction, to weigh its potential for Bermuda. Viability could depend on sites suitable for a large number of units on a location close to a major port, Mr DeCouto added.
“There are only a relative handful of sites that will be appropriate for one of these schemes,” he said. “But the promise of lower cost and demand for affordable housing make this option definitely worth pursuing. I think government participation and incentives will be important.”
