Dmytro Spilka

With the ability to streamline operations, predict risk, and cut costs, it’s no surprise that construction industry leaders are investing in the face of a mass labor shortage.

As we welcome the next major technological leap in construction, it’s up to business owners to get ahead of the curve before an increasingly automated industry becomes too difficult to compete with.

With this in mind, we’ve put together a guide to AI-proofing your construction business for competitive success. From creating a clear AI strategy to upskilling employees, let’s take a closer look at what you need to do to get your business AI-ready in 2025.

Construction’s Next Major Leap

The global market for Artificial Intelligence in the construction industry is projected to exceed $ 12.1 billion by 2030, growing at a rapid rate of 31% annually.

AI promises to improve project planning from all angles, streamlining design and optimizing modelling using historical datasets, making it the perfect partner for contractors taking on large-scale projects.

The introduction of AI in the construction sector is also revolutionizing supply chain logistics. With the ability to forecast material demand for each individual project, construction teams can leverage AI to reduce supplier costs by only ordering exactly what they need.

Better still, AI is also improving hazard perception in the workplace. A 2023 report found that construction workers account for approximately 20% of all workplace fatalities in the United States, rendering it one of the most dangerous professions to work in in the country.

AI aims to turn this number around by offering companies real-time hazard perception sensors, calculated risk algorithms, and even smart wearables that detect and protect workers against potential hazards.

As the construction industry takes a tech-infused leap into the future, is your company ready to embrace AI? Let’s find out.

Signs Your Construction Business Isn’t AI-Ready

Let’s first assess your current position in the race for AI adoption. There are several factors and signs that suggest a construction business may not be ready to implement AI. 

If you’re operating with out-of-date tech and a labor force out of touch with a digital culture, it could be time to switch up your strategy.

Here are just a few of the top reasons why your business might not be AI-ready:

• Outdated data systems and processes: How long have you been operating under the same data system? When was the last time you updated your data processes? AI is fueled by data, so it’s crucial to collect and store your data effectively for AI tools to have the most impact.
• Lack of skilled workforce: While your workforce may be reliable, do they possess the skills needed to work alongside AI? If you’re working with a predominantly ageing workforce with a resistance to change, it could be hard to upskill and train employees on new technologies. Instead, it could be time to add some digitally savvy co-workers to your team for the best chance of a smooth integration.
• No clear strategy: Companies that invest in AI without a clear strategy for its use often struggle to drive success. In order to remain competitive, you must find a way to align AI initiatives with business goals.

Once you’ve addressed these challenges, AI integration is likely to be a smooth transition for your company and its employees.

What Do You Need to Compete in 2025?

AI in the construction sector continues to increase competition between local contractors. AI’s ability to streamline operations enables companies to undertake larger-scale projects and complete them in half the time it would typically take traditional labor forces.

This means that those without AI-powered tools and assets are likely to fall behind in the race to meet labor demands.

This said, there are still plenty of things you can do to ensure that your business is AI-ready in 2025.

A Clear AI Strategy and Robust Data Infrastructure

To effectively bolster your AI integration process, it is crucial to align your AI initiatives with your business goals from the outset.

Think about the processes that you would like to automate. What area of your business needs the most help from Artificial Intelligence?

Planning a staggered integration of AI makes it easier to manage changes to your traditional methods and gives you the opportunity to monitor its success across every department.

To accelerate the adoption of AI, also ensure that your data is clean and accessible for the best possible results. To enhance your data infrastructure, prioritize centralizing your historical data and establishing consistent data protocols within your team.

A Digital Upskilling Program

Upgrading your employees' digital skills should be a priority for your company if you’re planning to integrate AI.

Construction-based technology skills now include handling smart devices, training on IoT (Internet of Things), reading digital blueprints, and utilizing mobile apps for on-site reporting and communication. 

Scheduling regular sessions with your workers to train them up on new technologies better prepares the team for the introduction of AI.

The Right Tools for AI Beginners 

As a construction company, it’s essential to integrate AI gradually for optimal results. While it may seem tempting to immediately invest in robotics, AI-generated modelling tools, and more, starting simple is the way to go.

Areas we’d recommend transforming first are risk mitigation, site monitoring, and even workforce management.

Explore AI-powered workforce management software and predictive tools for site monitoring and safety. These tools aim to streamline in-house processes without dramatically changing the working landscape all at once.

Wrapping Up

As we enter an AI-first era in the construction industry, it’s time to elevate your business to compete with industry leaders.

While introducing AI to a well-established company can be daunting, the benefits of this technology outweigh the risks.

The key here is to start slowly and create a clear plan for integration before investing. Those who jump straight into a digital pool may find that they sink in an ever-evolving industry.

According to a recent freedom of information request from Standard Life, there are now 400 Junior ISA (JISA) accounts in the United Kingdom that have accumulated more than £100,000.

The accounts, which transfer ownership from parents or guardians to the child when they turn 18, have the potential to provide significant support to youngsters as they begin their adult life. The tax efficiency of JISAs makes the saving strategy one of the most effective in the UK today. 

JISA accounts holding between £75,000 and £99,999 have grown to 2,400, while 11,800 accounts have accumulated more than £50,000. 

This represents a relatively healthy proportion of the 2,170,000 Junior ISAs active in the country today. The average value of £4,370 held in these accounts still represents a substantial windfall that can help to provide a degree of financial stability when a child turns 18, paving the way for a route into investing as an adult or funding early life goals. 

Stocks and Shares Lead the Way

Although parents are twice as likely to open a Cash JISA than a Stocks and Shares one, evidence suggests that the account holders who have reached £100,000 will have been investors rather than savers. 

Junior ISAs are tax-efficient and carry a £9,000 annual tax-free allowance that can be paid into accounts each tax year, with all interest, returns, and dividends earned entirely free of tax. 

Saving using Cash ISAs, which carry a fixed rate of return, throughout childhood would mean that a total of £85,636 could have been deposited into the account when considering historical limit changes. This would make it extremely difficult for cash accounts to reach six figures, while stocks and shares have benefited from a relatively prosperous period for markets. 

However, for many parents, the speculative nature of markets represents a higher level of risk that is too unpredictable to take on board when saving for their children, despite evidence that many account holders are benefiting from higher returns. 

Benefiting from Tax Efficiency

The great thing about a Junior ISA is that you can open an account as soon as your child is born. This means that deciding when to open a JISA is entirely up to you. 

Junior ISAs work in a very similar way to traditional individual savings accounts. Any money you decide to add is subject to a capped tax-free allowance, but you get to keep all of your earnings away from the clutches of the taxman.

While this means that you can make the most of growing your Cash JISA by reinvesting your returns, it’s possible to benefit from compounding your earnings with a Stocks and Shares JISA as your investments grow.

This can also help to provide a valuable and relatively straightforward entry point into investing for your children, who are able to manage their JISA from age 16 before gaining the ability to withdraw or move their money two years later.

Alternative Ways to Save £100,000

With 400 children accumulating £100,000 in their JISAs so far, it’s clear that saving for the future of your loved ones can really pay off. But are there other efficient ways to make a six-figure windfall?

Another way to build a sizeable nest egg for your child’s future is to buy premium bonds sold by National Savings and Investments (NS&I).

Premium bonds offer a higher degree of flexibility in that you can buy up to £50,000 worth of bonds with no annual allowance. 

Each bond costs £1, and monthly prize draws mean that holders can win between £25 and £1 million. 

This can make for an engaging means of saving for your children’s future, but it also involves a degree of luck. There’s a chance you could earn no money on the bonds you hold.

However, the greater flexibility of premium bonds means that you can buy and sell your bonds at any time, without having to wait until your child turns 18, as in the case of JISAs.

Building a Nest Egg

Ultimately, the best way to save for your child’s future depends on the way you plan to manage risk on their behalf.

With more child savers reaching account values in excess of £100,000 with JISAs, it’s clear that you can build a sizeable nest egg for when they become adult, but with different tax-free strategies available, it’s worth exploring your options.

As a parent, nothing is more important than looking out for your child’s future, and saving early can help to give them the perfect start in life.

EOR providers are a third-party company that handles human resource (HR) and employment-related activities, such as compliance, payroll, taxes, onboarding, and contract negotiations, on behalf of your business. It enables you to put more time and effort into your daily business operations and building employee relationships.

Numerous countries in the world, including some with the most highly qualified workforce, have strict laws in place for labour and employment, making it extremely difficult to comply without the help of a professional EOR provider. 

This article will explore five countries that have a desirable workforce for UK businesses but also a range of complexities that will require the help of robust and innovative EOR services.

China

China is a rapidly growing economy, with its gross domestic product (GDP) expected to reach almost £20 trillion by 2030. The country is also one of the top global exporters and importers. This makes it an attractive market to expand into. 

In addition, China is also the country with the largest population, which gives UK employers a never-ending talent pool. The cities of Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen have larger business and tech hubs with more available English-speaking talent.

However, China has a complex legal system and strict labour laws. As a result, UK businesses will need to hire a China EOR provider to help with compliance issues, including hiring and payroll, while focusing on growth and expansion in China's booming economy.

South Korea

South Korea is the most educated country in the world, with a literacy rate of 97.9% in 2024. The country's education system is known for its rigorous standards and high expectations from students starting at a young age. 

The commitment to education has positioned South Korea's workforce as highly desirable. However, the country has a highly competitive job market and a low unemployment rate.

Luckily, an EOR provider can help UK businesses attract and retain top talent from South Korea because they already have robust talent acquisition strategies and can provide comprehensive HR support and benefits packages. 

India 

Due to significant differences in the cost of living and economic factors, skilled Indian professionals are available at a more competitive rate than those in Western countries, making the workforce an attractive option for UK businesses, especially startups. 

However, India ranks 63 out of 190 in the ease of doing business index, highlighting the difficulty of starting and running a business there. This is why UK businesses should hire an EOR provider to help them navigate the ease of doing business challenges by providing legal and administrative support, such as payroll processing and compliance management.

Brazil

Brazil's diverse and dynamic workforce is desirable to UK businesses that aim to diversify their workforce and create an inclusive environment.

However, employment contracts in Brazil are for indefinite terms, meaning there isn't a predetermined end date when the contract is signed. Luckily, EOR providers manage the contracts and timesheets for any Brazilian employees you hire.

United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates government is committed to building a business-friendly environment with advanced infrastructure, including world-class communication networks and connectivity. This makes the country an ideal climate for UK businesses seeking to hire top talent in the Middle East.

However, UAE employment regulations vary in all seven federation states, making it even more complex depending on where your prospective employee lives. Therefore, having an EOR provider that handles complex HR-related matters and understands the varying UAE laws in detail is beneficial.

Ready To Expand Your Workforce?

The countries explored in this article are just some of the many worldwide that have highly desirable workforces, due to diversity, education, competitive wages, booming economies, and business-friendly environments.

However, these five countries have more complex labour laws and regulations, making it tricky to set up a legal local entity and begin hiring employees. Luckily, EOR services are designed to make it easy by already having talent acquisition strategies and understanding local laws.

For HR teams in particular, integrating AI with your online HR software could be a game changer. From deploying predictive AI to identify high-cost health and benefits claimants to leveraging generative AI to automate job description writing, there are plenty of functions AI can enhance in the HR department.

The question is, can it contribute to a happier workforce? A whopping 51% of HR professionals use AI for people analytics. Understanding how your employees perform and respond to specific tasks is the key to fostering a productive team.

With this in mind let’s have a closer look at how AI is transforming all areas of online HR software.

How Is AI Changing Online HR Software?

While the adoption of AI tools has been slow in the HR sector, the introduction of GenAI technologies has begun to transform all aspects of online HR software.

In a remote-facing HR setting, investing in an HR software that is employee-driven is essential. For HR teams unable to interact with their employees in a face-to-face setting, it has never been more important to choose HR software that offers seamless communication, personalises remote employee experiences and offers 24-hour support.

“Executive teams are looking to HR to be a deeper, more insightful partner throughout the business, AI makes this future real.” say experts at Boston Consulting Group. “With HR continuing to shift its focus from administrative work to helping lead the company-wide strategic transformation, AI technology becomes a vital resource to upskill team members and unlock value.”

Here are just a few ways AI could transform online HR software in 2025 and beyond.

Personalised Employee Experiences and Engagement

One of the biggest advantages of AI-powered online HR software is its ability to personalise the employee journey from the ground up. 

Integrating AI into your online HR software allows you to analyse performance data seamlessly and track employee behaviour and engagement patterns to help enhance training, develop customised learning paths and improve their experience in the workplace.

Using interaction data, such as an employee's participation in a slack channel, chat response time and behaviour in team meetings, AI-powered HR tools can even flag early signs of burnout or disengagement, allowing HR to intervene proactively to reduce absenteeism and improve workforce retention.

Taking employee engagement one step further, AI tools can also help HR teams provide 24/7 chatbot support, such as replying to common employee questions and suggesting development opportunities. This frees up HR staff members to focus on other complex tasks while ensuring that employees feel supported in their role.

AI tools are improving the employee journey by providing 24/7 chatbot support for HR-related questions and suggesting personalised learning and development opportunities, leading to better decision-making based on workforce data.

Smarter Recruitment with AI-Powered Hiring Tools

Smart recruitment lays the foundation for a powerful workforce. AI is revolutionising the recruitment sector by making it faster, more accurate and more efficient. 

Online HR platforms can now leverage AI tools to scan CVs, rank candidates based on their skill sets and even filter out unqualified applicants.

For roles with a large number of applicants, AI speeds up the selection process. Using natural language processing (NLP), AI can even analyse video interview transcripts, cover letters and email interactions with candidates to establish soft skills, personality traits and communication capabilities.

In fact, according to experts at Hirebee, AI-driven interview analytics can increase hiring accuracy by up to 40%.

AI doesn’t just enhance recruitment, onboarding has seen great success, too. AI applications can automate administrative onboarding tasks, use chatbots to give new hires support and even customise the onboarding journey for each role and employee.

Transforming Performance Management and Retention

AI allows HR departments to automate their performance management in a number of ways.

With the ability to set data-driven benchmarks and automate performance reviews, HR teams can use AI data to help define clear performance goals and highlight areas for employee improvement with ease.

AI-powered performance management offers HR teams a 360-degree assessment of their employees. These assessments provide a holistic picture of employee performance. Gathering a comprehensive collection of employee data from all angles that taps into feedback from managers, peers and self-evaluations. 

This helps HR teams identify patterns on the spot and come up with personalised performance plans to improve productivity.

Harnessing the power of AI, and making informed decisions about succession planning, promotions, and staff restructuring has never been easier using data sourced from 360-degree performance reviews.

Implementing AI in Your Own Online HR Software 

Now that we’ve covered the benefits of implementing AI tools into your online HR strategy, let’s take a look at how to implement the technology into your current approach:

• Strategise & Plan: Before you introduce AI-powered tools, you must first assess your current approach to HR and highlight the areas that need to be improved. For example, if recruitment is struggling to single out candidates from a popular job advertisement, you may want to consider an AI application that is able to scan applications automatically.
• Educate Your Team: AI adoption doesn't happen overnight. It’s essential to engage your team from the beginning and host training sessions on any AI software you install. This ensures that the process of implementing AI into HR runs seamlessly.
• Engage Stakeholders: Work with internal partners and stakeholders from the beginning of your AI journey to harness collective insights. A positive experience using AI to enhance HR could inspire key stakeholders to invest in similar technology to enhance other areas of your business, too.

Wrapping Up

AI will continue to revolutionise online HR in 2025 and beyond. With the ability to enhance employee support, improve smart recruitment and manage talent effectively, AI contributes to a happier, more productive workforce.

According to Market Research Future data, the blockchain in fintech market size is projected to grow from $3.25 billion in 2024 to $50.7 billion by 2032, representing a CAGR of 40.95% over the forecast period. 

The speed at which blockchain is expected to be adopted and utilized to improve financial services is critical, and the payments landscape is set to be the first sector in which the technology makes its presence felt. 

However, blockchain’s influence is expected to extend throughout the world of finance. But what actually is blockchain? And how can it improve the financial landscape? Let’s explore one of the most important technological developments of the decade in closer detail: 

What is Blockchain? 

While blockchain is readily associated with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, its use cases extend way beyond the confines of digital currency. 

Cryptocurrency payments are reliant on blockchain technology to ensure a secure and frictionless transaction from digital wallet to digital wallet. Because blockchain acts as an immutable digital ledger, there’s no need for third parties to be involved in the transfer of ownership. 

Using blockchain, actions can be programmed to automatically take place based on pre-determined conditions using smart contracts. These conditions can be anything from bonuses based on output at work, to payments upon the receipt of physical goods between parties. Hare, the network acts as a notary, and there would be no need for an intermediary. 

Because blockchain exists as a network of distributed nodes, the security benefits of these networks can form the foundation of many different financial services. These include: 

1. The Next Generation of Banking

Banking is comprised of many different services like transactions, loans, mortgages, and various payment services. These are currently dependent on legacy processes of execution. 

Factors like information verification, credit scoring, loan processing, and distribution of funds can all be inefficient as a result of these legacy processes. It can take between 30 to 60 days for borrowers to secure a mortgage, while businesses could wait up to three months to access a business loan. 

Blockchain can streamline these processes, reducing counterparty risk and rapidly lowering issuance and settlement times. 

Operational risks can be mitigated by authenticated documentation and KYC/AML data, which enables the real-time verification of financial documents. 

We can also see blockchain pave the way for more accuracy in credit scoring markets, creating real-time reports through the collation of user activity and sanctioned data throughout a network. 

Blockchain can also automate processes like syndicate formation, underwriting, and disbursement of funds to improve efficiencies throughout the banking sector. 

2. Insurance Revolution

Blockchain’s potential to revolutionize the insurance industry stems from its seamless ability to streamline the claims processes of users, while enhancing transparency and tackling issues resulting from fraud. 

Storing policy and claims data on a blockchain can help insurers to automate their claims process and use of smart contracts, paving the way for faster payouts and less administrative costs. 

The accuracy of blockchain risk assessments can help to make case-by-case decisions based on factors such as customer spending behavior, contextual insights into interest rates and credit cycles, and wider market sentiment analysis to gain a more holistic view of how living costs may impact the financial circumstances of borrowers over time. 

3. Efficiency in Money Transfers

One of blockchain’s strongest use cases stems from the seamless ability to move cryptocurrencies between digital wallets without the need for a central governing body. 

As blockchain technology became more sophisticated, it has opened the door to the possibility of faster and more cost-effective transactions. 

More financial institutions are capable of adopting blockchain technology to deliver more efficiency when it comes to money transfers that could otherwise take hours or even days to take place. With blockchain on hand, transactions beyond borders can occur in a matter of seconds, all without expensive fees attached. 

4. Greater Transparency

With the help of blockchain, we can achieve greater transparency among financial institutions at scale. 

This is because digital ledger technology can directly help to improve regulatory reporting and monitoring by central banks, provided that regulators have access to the blockchain. 

This could potentially open the door to effective self-governance within the financial sector, helping to maintain a fair level of efficiency while keeping user interests protected moving forward. 

The Blockchain Revolution is Underway

Blockchain remains one of the most exciting and high-potential emerging technologies in the financial sector. 

The technology offers a decentralized ledger of all transactions throughout a network, paving the way for a more trust-based ecosystem for transactions, borrowing, and other complex services within the industry. 

With the industry set to grow significantly over the coming years, its emerging use cases are likely to accelerate as more institutions tap into its cost efficiency and responsiveness in the future. For a financial services industry still contending with legacy frameworks, blockchain represents an exciting look to the future.