A GS E&C employee, right, introduces the construction firm to students during a recruiting event at a university in this undated photo. Courtesy of GS E&C

Major construction firms in Korea have altered their recruitment strategies, as young jobseekers remain hesitant to enter the sector due to concerns about industrial accidents and rigid corporate cultures.

GS E&C recently decided to allow job applicants to dress casually during its upcoming recruitment events next month.

This is the first time a Korean construction firm has not required interviewees to wear suits.

The company will also have paperless interviews by placing the seats of interviewers and interviewees closer, so that they can communicate via tablet computers.

Earlier this month, employees of the construction firm and GS Group's other affiliates visited Seoul National University and six other schools to introduce their corporate cultures to potential job applicants.

GS E&C's employees, who have promoted the company's recruitment process via social media, joined the visits.

"We have been trying to help job applicants speak more freely and think more creatively during the interviews, so that they can express their opinions and realize our company's flexible and horizontal corporate culture," a GS E&C official said.

A Hyundai E&C employee, right, talks with jobseekers during a recruiting event at The H Gallery in Seoul in this undated photo. Courtesy of Hyundai E&C

Hyundai E&C hosted a pop-up recruiting event from Sept. 10 to 13 at its company-owned gallery in Seoul to showcase its recruitment process, work environment and the typical responsibilities of employees.

Additionally, the construction firm posted an overview of its employees' duties on its website, blog and YouTube channel to help job applicants become more familiar with the roles.

Hyundai Engineering, a subsidiary of Hyundai E&C, invited potential applicants to its headquarters in Seoul to explain the industry outlook, recruitment process and working environment.

Among second-tier construction firms, HL D&I Halla held recruiting events at universities. The company also introduced its recruitment process via social media.

"Despite the recent slump in the construction industry, it is necessary for construction firms to hire new employees from a long-term perspective," a construction company official said.

According to the Construction Engineer Policy Institute of Korea, the proportion of construction engineers in their 20s and 30s stood at 16.5 percent last year, much lower than the proportion of construction engineers in their 50s and 60s, which reached 54.1 percent.

Shoddy construction work, frequent industrial accidents, and corruption scandals are cited as the main reasons young jobseekers avoid joining construction companies.

"It will be more difficult for construction firms to secure engineers, as graduates in construction engineering have been reluctant to join the field," the institute said.

"Given that the shortage of young employees will deteriorate the industry's competitiveness in the long run, it is necessary for industry insiders to come up with solutions to this problem."