From construction workers to entrepreneurs in construction: Career transformation phenomenon

Introduction

The Industrial Revolution 4.0 has brought about significant changes across various sectors, including the construction sector. Technologies such as automation, the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI) and Building Information Modelling (BIM) are reshaping the industry, creating both opportunities and challenges for construction workers. On the one hand, these technologies enable greater efficiency in construction processes, including better resource management and reduction in human error (Succar, 2009). On the other hand, they demand continuous skill upgrades from the workforce to remain competitive in an ever-changing labour market (Oesterreich and Teuteberg, 2016). Workers who fail to adapt to these technological advancements risk losing their relevance in the industry.

The pressure for adaptation is further intensified by the global transformation of career systems, influenced by factors such as rapid technological innovation, economic policies and globalisation (Baruch and Sullivan, 2022). In the construction sector, adopting technologies like BIM and digital project management is no longer optional but essential for workers seeking to transition from field labourers to supervisory or entrepreneurial roles. While these advancements open pathways to higher-value opportunities, they also bring uncertainties, such as qualitative job insecurity, particularly among younger workers under 40 years (Van der Heijden et al., 2024).

In this era of technological acceleration, adaptability has become a critical asset for sustaining careers. Digital platforms, such as social media, increasingly influence career trajectories, offering avenues for exploration and networking but also contributing to career anxiety through mechanisms such as social comparison (Zhang et al., 2024). Career adaptability is driven not only by external tools but also by internal resources such as resilience and self-efficacy, which can be cultivated through mentoring and leadership (Jiang et al., 2024). In vocational education, institutional leaders have been shown to positively influence students’ career adaptability by fostering psychological capital.

In the Indonesian context, large-scale infrastructure projects such as the construction of the new National Capital City (IKN) have amplified the demand for skilled labour and accelerated the integration of digital technologies in the construction sector (Badan Pusat Statistik, 2022; Bilal et al., 2016). These initiatives present a dual challenge: while they create opportunities for economic growth, they also highlight the critical need for upskilling the workforce to meet global standards. The government, through the Ministry of Public Works and Housing (PUPR), has implemented various training and certification programmes to enhance workers’ technical competencies (Badan Pusat Statistik, 2022). Ensuring career sustainability in such a dynamic environment, however, requires more than technical skills; it necessitates collaboration between government, industry and educational institutions to foster holistic career development (Perera et al., 2020).

Existing literature on Industry 4.0, BIM and vocational education has largely focused on skill requirements, productivity and organisational change (Goldstein and Ford, 2002; Oesterreich and Teuteberg, 2016; Perera et al., 2020; Succar, 2009). Much less is known about how individual construction workers in emerging economies experience and negotiate career transitions from wage labour to entrepreneurship, and how social exchanges—mentoring, support, referrals and opportunities—shape these transitions over time. Studies on sustainable careers and Social Exchange Theory (SET) highlight the importance of employability capital, support and reciprocal relationships (Donald et al., 2024; Granovetter, 1973; Rawat et al., 2024), but empirical evidence from frontline construction workers in the Global South remains limited.

SET offers a compelling lens to examine such transitions because it highlights how relationships and reciprocal exchanges—such as mentoring, referrals, trust and emotional support—shape perceptions of employability and opportunity (Blau, 1964; Cropanzano and Mitchell, 2005). Coupled with sustainable career perspectives, SET helps illuminate how workers craft new roles in response to economic, technological and institutional pressures.

Against this backdrop, the study addresses three research questions:

1. How do construction workers in Indonesia experience and interpret their transition from wage employment to entrepreneurship in the construction sector in the context of Industrial Revolution 4.0?

By addressing these questions, the study contributes to the global discourse on career transformation under rapid technological and economic shifts and offers sector-specific insight into how construction workers craft entrepreneurial careers. Theoretically, it extends SET to informal, project-based contexts and connects sustainable career thinking to vocationally trained workers in an emerging economy.

Literature review

Methods

Sampling and participants

Purposive sampling was applied to identify participants who had substantial experience in both wage employment and entrepreneurship in construction. Participants were required to have: at least 5 years of experience in construction work (for example, as labourers, drafters, site managers or supervisors) prior to becoming entrepreneurs; ownership of, or a leadership role in, a construction-related business for a minimum of 2 years; and willingness to participate in a semi-structured interview of approximately 30–45 minutes.

Eight participants met these criteria and agreed to be interviewed. They represented a range of prior roles and current business types, including small contracting firms, renovation services and planning consultancies. The sample size was considered sufficient based on the principle of information power (Malterud et al., 2016), given the relative homogeneity of the group (construction background and entrepreneurial transition), the focused study aim and the richness of the interview material. New interviews tended to confirm rather than extend emerging themes, suggesting that information power and thematic sufficiency for the study’s analytic purposes had been reached.

To provide transparency while protecting confidentiality in a relatively small and interconnected construction community, participant characteristics such as previous role, current enterprise focus and years in entrepreneurship are summarised in a profile table (Table 1). This profile helps readers assess the transferability of the findings across similar contexts without disclosing identifying details.

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Table 1.

Participant profiles.

Participant	Previous role in construction	Current business focus	Years in construction (pre-entrepreneurship)	Years in entrepreneurship
P1	Handyman/general labourer	Small contracting firm (housing and renovation)	7	3
P2	Foreman	General contractor (private housing projects)	10	4
P3	Drafter	Design-and-build contracting (residential)	6	3
P4	Drafter	Planning and BIM-based consultancy	8	2
P5	Site manager	Co-owner of contracting firm (government works)	9	3
P6	Site manager	Co-owner of contracting firm (public projects)	11	3
P7	Field supervisor (architecture)	Technical supervision and small-scale consultancy	5	2
P8	Field supervisor	Emerging consultancy (network-based projects)	12	2

Note. Roles and focus areas are slightly generalised to protect confidentiality.

Results

The findings highlight how construction workers interpret and enact their transition to entrepreneurship under the pressures and possibilities of Industrial Revolution 4.0. They reflect the interplay between economic motives, technological adaptation, social exchange and psychological resilience, and are illustrated with case profiles and participants’ own words.

Participants described moving into entrepreneurship as a response to both structural pressures and personal aspirations. Economic dissatisfaction was a recurring push factor: wages in their previous roles were perceived as insufficient given rising living costs and responsibilities. One former foreman noted that “as a foreman, I barely earned enough to cover my family’s needs”, capturing the feeling that wage work could not provide a sustainable livelihood. At the same time, technological opportunities and the desire for autonomy acted as pull factors. Exposure to BIM, digital project management tools and social media created a sense that “it is now possible to manage projects myself effectively” and to reach clients directly. Several participants emphasised their wish to “make decisions for my own business, not follow others’ orders”, indicating that autonomy and recognition were key psychological drivers of the transition. These motivational dynamics are summarised in Table 2. From an SET perspective, they reflect changing evaluations of costs and benefits in employment relationships and a search for alternative exchange relationships in the market.

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Table 2.

Motivations driving career transformation: Insights from participants.

Motivation	Description	Participant quotes
Economic dissatisfaction	Limited income and rising living costs prompted participants to seek better financial opportunities	“As a foreman, I barely earned enough to cover my family’s needs.”
Technological opportunities	The adoption of digital tools made entrepreneurship more accessible, particularly in project management and networking.	“BIM made me realize I could manage projects myself effectively.”
Aspiration for autonomy	A desire for career independence and professional recognition inspired participants to pursue entrepreneurship.	“I wanted to make decisions for my own business, not follow others’ orders.”

Despite strong motivations, participants encountered significant barriers when transitioning to entrepreneurship. Skill deficits were prominent. Many had technical expertise in construction but limited knowledge of business management, marketing or financial planning: “I had no formal education in business; I learned everything on the job.” Financial constraints presented another barrier. Limited access to start-up capital forced participants to rely on personal savings, informal loans or small bank facilities, sometimes facilitated by mentors or lecturers: “Without my lecturer’s help, I couldn’t have even started.” Market entry was also challenging, as clients often hesitated to trust newcomers: “Clients didn’t trust me at first because I was just starting out.” These challenges, synthesised in Table 3, illustrate the structural vulnerabilities of emerging entrepreneurs in construction and underline the importance of both formal and informal support mechanisms. In SET terms, barriers were lowered when actors in participants’ networks extended trust, information or financial resources in anticipation of future reciprocal benefits.

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Table 3.

Challenges faced in career transformation: Participant perspectives.

Challenge	Description	Participant quotes
Skill deficits	Participants lacked managerial and technical expertise, requiring additional training or self-learning.	“I had no formal education in business; I learned everything on the job.”
Financial constraints	Limited access to startup capital necessitated creative financing solutions.	“Without my lecturer’s help, I couldn’t have even started.”
Market entry barriers	Securing initial projects was challenging due to limited networks and perceived inexperience.	“Clients didn’t trust me at first because I was just starting out.”

Participants responded to these challenges with a range of adaptive strategies. Investing in education was central: some completed higher education or short courses, while others engaged in self-directed learning via online resources to close managerial and digital skill gaps. One participant remarked that “completing my bachelor degree gave me the confidence to start”, signalling both competence and psychological readiness. Leveraging technology was another key strategy. Digital tools such as BIM, social media and project management software were used to streamline operations, document work quality and expand networks. “Social media helped me connect with my first big client,” one entrepreneur explained, showing how digital visibility could substitute for traditional reputation-building. Networking and relationships played a decisive role. Participants drew on contacts from previous jobs, alumni networks, family and community to access project opportunities: “My contacts from my old job gave me the leads I needed.” These strategies are detailed in Table 4 and underscore the intertwined roles of learning, technology and social capital. In SET language, they represent deliberate efforts to cultivate exchange relationships that provide access to information, opportunities and legitimacy.

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Table 4.

Strategies for overcoming career transformation challenges: Insights from participants.

Challenge	Description	Participant quotes
Investing in education	Formal and informal learning were pivotal in addressing skill gaps.	“Completing my bachelor degree gave me the confidence to start.”
Leveraging technology	Digital tools like BIM, social media, and project management software were essential for business operations and networking.	“Social media helped me connect with my first big client.”
Networking and relationships	Building professional networks and leveraging existing relationships facilitated project acquisition.	“My contacts from my old job gave me the leads I needed.”

The diverse pathways from worker to entrepreneur are illustrated through a set of case profiles. One participant began as a handyman, undertook further formal education and learned to use digital tools to manage small subcontracting jobs. Over time, this combination of competence and visible project outcomes led to a government contract that consolidated his reputation: “Education and technology gave me the edge to handle larger projects.” Another participant with a foreman background relied more heavily on field experience and trust from co-workers to establish a contracting business, using small bank loans to overcome financial constraints: “Experience is my teacher; I knew I could manage workers better than my employer.”

Drafters followed slightly different routes. One used technical drawing and planning skills to set up a contracting company, supported by social media and family referrals to acquire projects: “My drafting background gave me a head start in understanding client requirements.” Another opened a planning consultancy specialising in BIM-intensive projects and highlighted how “digital planning tools helped me secure government contracts,” emphasising the value of combining technical specialisation and digital competence. Two former site managers pooled their management skills and networks to jointly establish a contracting company. Their shared experience in overseeing complex projects allowed them to gain credibility with clients: “Our experience in site management made us credible in the eyes of clients.” Field supervisors also transitioned into consultancy: one combined architectural training with digital tools to improve supervision processes and win small projects (“By combining my architectural skills with digital tools, I was able to optimise project supervision and demonstrate my capabilities to clients”), while another faced persistent market entry barriers but continued to use digital platforms to build relationships and remained optimistic (“Although entering the market was challenging, I stayed persistent, using digital platforms to build relationships. I’m confident that technology and perseverance will lead me to success”).

These role-based profiles are analytically useful because they demonstrate how different starting positions in the construction hierarchy provide access to distinctive skills, networks and forms of social capital. Handymen, drafters, site managers and supervisors enter entrepreneurship with different bundles of technical expertise, client exposure and relational resources, which in turn shape the exchanges they can mobilise and the kinds of businesses they are able to build.

Across cases, four cross-cutting themes emerged, which are visually summarised in Figure 1. First, technology functioned as a key enabler. Digital tools and platforms reduced administrative and marketing barriers and allowed small entrepreneurs to appear professional and reliable. BIM, digital estimation tools and social media gave participants confidence that they could plan, manage and showcase projects at a level that would satisfy demanding clients. Second, social capital was central. Networking, trust-building and referrals were critical mechanisms for securing initial projects and reducing perceived risk for clients. Participants frequently emphasised the role of lecturers, former supervisors, colleagues, family and community contacts in providing leads, endorsements and even financial backing.

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Figure 1.

Summary of key findings on career transformation from construction worker to entrepreneur.

Third, skill development was continuous. Formal education, informal learning and mentorship were crucial for addressing deficits in business and digital skills. Participants rarely saw their vocational qualifications as sufficient; instead, they viewed learning as an ongoing process that continued into their entrepreneurial careers. Fourth, resilience and adaptability underpinned continuity. Participants continued to experiment, learn and adjust despite financial and institutional challenges. They reframed setbacks as learning experiences and relied on psychological capital—hope, optimism and self-efficacy—to persevere in uncertain conditions.

Industry 4.0 shaped these dynamics by raising the technological bar for participation while simultaneously opening new ways for small actors to position themselves in the market. Entrepreneurship in construction thus emerged not simply as an individual choice but as a relational and adaptive response to structural and technological change. Table 5 compares these findings with academic work on career transformation, Industry 4.0 and construction.

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Table 5.

Comparison of research findings with related academic work on career transformation and Industry 4.0.

Aspects	Findings	Supporting academic articles	Similarities	Differences
Motivation for career transformation	Dissatisfaction with economic conditions and aspirations for autonomy.	Baruch (2003); Donald et al. (2024); Handoko (2005).	Economic dissatisfaction as a key driver of career changes.	Prior studies focus on general career changes; this study highlights its impact in the construction sector.
Education and skills	Importance of formal education, vocational training, and self-learning in enabling transitions.	Goldstein and Ford (2002); Jiang et al. (2024); Sudira (2017); Xu et al. (2024).	Education and skill development are critical for career transformation.	Prior studies focus on general vocational education, with limited emphasis on the construction industry.
Use of technology	Adoption of BIM, social media, and project management tools facilitates entrepreneurship.	Donald et al. (2024); Oesterreich and Teuteberg (2016); Succar (2009); Schwab (2016); Xu et al. (2024).	Technology as a key enabler of productivity and entrepreneurship.	Existing literature focuses on digital startups or general sectors, while this study explores construction-specific applications.
Social networks and collaboration	Professional networks and mentoring support as enablers of career transformation.	Baruch and Sullivan (2022); Granovetter (1973); Kanar and Bouckenooghe (2024).	Social capital facilitates access to opportunities and project acquisition.	Limited focus on sector-specific networks in prior studies; this research highlights construction industry dynamics.
Challenges and constraints	Skill deficits, financial barriers, and limited trust from clients.	Mishra et al. (2024); Van der Heijden et al. (2024); Xu et al. (2024).	Financial and skill-related barriers are common challenges across industries.	This study highlights the compounded challenges in transitioning from manual labor to entrepreneurship.
Resilience and adaptability	Participants showed resilience through creative financing and leveraging digital platforms.	Lo Presti et al. (2024); Mishra et al. (2024); Xu et al. (2024).	Adaptability as a critical factor in overcoming career transformation challenges.	Prior literature focuses more on psychological resilience, while this study emphasizes practical strategies like education and networking.

Discussion

This study shows how construction workers in Indonesia transform their careers from wage employment to entrepreneurship in the context of Industrial Revolution 4.0. It demonstrates that these transitions are driven by economic dissatisfaction and job insecurity, pulled by aspirations for autonomy and recognition and sustained by vocational competence, digital tools, social exchanges and psychological resources.

Unlike much of the existing construction literature, which focuses on digitalisation and workforce skills (Oesterreich and Teuteberg, 2016; Succar, 2009), or on general models of sustainable careers (Donald et al., 2024), this study offers a context-specific view of how frontline workers in an emerging economy navigate and reconfigure their careers under technological and institutional pressures. It highlights that career transformation is not only a matter of individual adaptability but also of the quality and structure of social exchanges surrounding workers.

The findings reinforce the role of economic and job-related factors as powerful drivers of career change. Participants’ accounts of low wages and unstable employment are consistent with Handoko’s (2005) view of economic constraints as triggers for change and with empirical work on job insecurity and career sustainability (Van der Heijden et al., 2024). The present study adds nuance by showing how economic dissatisfaction interacts with autonomy aspirations and values of self-determination, particularly when workers see entrepreneurship as a pathway to align their work with personal and family goals.

The study also underscores the centrality of vocational education and continuous skill development. Participants who pursued further training were better able to adopt digital tools such as BIM and position themselves in new segments of the market, echoing arguments that vocational education focusing on higher order thinking skills and problem solving enhances workers’ capacity to navigate complexity (Goldstein and Ford, 2002; Sudira, 2017). At the same time, much of the learning required for entrepreneurship occurred informally, through experience, experimentation and digital self-learning, supporting views of career development as an ongoing learning process (Merriam, 2009; Xu et al., 2024).

Technology emerges as both a challenge and a resource. Consistent with Schwab’s (2016) and Oesterreich and Teuteberg’s (2016) analyses, digitalisation raises requirements for new competencies. Yet in this study, technologies such as BIM and social media also functioned as tools for career crafting: they enabled workers to design and manage projects, showcase their work and build reputations in ways that supported entrepreneurial identity (Donald et al., 2024; Zhang et al., 2024). Digital platforms allowed participants to circumvent traditional gatekeepers, present evidence of quality and access clients beyond their immediate physical networks.

A key theoretical contribution lies in the application of SET to career transitions in an informal, project-based sector. The qualitative evidence shows that career-sustaining exchanges extend beyond formal organisational structures. Mentoring, referrals, emotional support and financial assistance from lecturers, former supervisors, peers and family functioned as critical resources in participants’ exchange networks. These exchanges involved both tangible benefits (project opportunities, credit, knowledge) and intangible ones (trust, recognition, encouragement). They generated obligations and reinforced norms of reciprocity that encouraged entrepreneurs to support others in turn, sustaining broader ecosystems of opportunity. In this sense, the study extends SET by emphasising that, in such contexts, network-level exchanges may be more influential for career sustainability than traditional employer–employee exchanges (Blau, 1964; Cropanzano and Mitchell, 2005).

The findings also add to sustainable career perspectives by illustrating how psychological capital and social capital jointly underpin long-term adaptability. Resilience, optimism and self-efficacy enabled participants to persist through financial constraints and market scepticism, complementing evidence on the importance of psychological capital for career adaptability (Jiang et al., 2024; Xu et al., 2024). These internal resources were continually reinforced by social exchanges—encouragement, validation and role modelling—that emerged from participants’ networks. Sustainable careers in this context are therefore co-constructed through interactions between individuals’ psychological resources and their relational environments.

Finally, the study speaks to debates on digital micro-entrepreneurship (Mishra et al., 2024) by highlighting similar patterns in a construction context. Entrepreneurs must navigate paradoxes of visibility and vulnerability, opportunity and overload, with digital tools as both enablers and stressors. While digital platforms offer access to information and markets, they also generate new forms of comparison and pressure, underlining the need for psychological and social supports that help entrepreneurs manage these dynamics.

Conclusion

This study has explored how construction workers in Indonesia navigate career transformations from wage employment to entrepreneurship in the context of Industrial Revolution 4.0. It has shown that these transitions are shaped by a complex interplay of economic pressures, technological change, vocational and digital skills, social exchanges and psychological resources.

Economic dissatisfaction and job insecurity emerged as key catalysts for change, prompting workers to seek more sustainable and self-determined careers. Vocational education and further training provided essential technical foundations, while digital tools such as BIM and social media expanded the possibilities for independent project management and client acquisition. Social exchange processes—involving mentoring, referrals, emotional support and shared learning—were central in converting these resources into actual opportunities. Psychological capital, particularly resilience and self-efficacy, underpinned the capacity to persevere through uncertainty and to rebuild careers in new forms.

The study contributes to theory by extending SET into a project-based, emerging economy context and demonstrating how network-level exchanges can sustain career development when formal structures offer limited security. It also enriches sustainable career perspectives by illustrating how career crafting unfolds in a sector where informality, technology and project-based work intersect.

At a practical level, the findings suggest that supporting sustainable construction careers requires coordinated efforts across organisations, vocational institutions and policy systems. Linking digital upskilling, entrepreneurial learning, mentoring and inclusive procurement practices can help ensure that the opportunities of Industrial Revolution 4.0 do not come at the expense of workers’ career sustainability.

Future research could build on this work by adopting longitudinal and comparative designs, exploring gendered and regional variations in career transformation and analysing the role of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain in reshaping the construction labour market and entrepreneurial opportunities.