The verdict in three sentences
For a 650-employee construction group, a dedicated careers site costs EUR 9,000 to 18,000 excluding VAT in 2026, plus EUR 2,500 to 6,000 to integrate it with your ATS (London agency quotes land in a similar range, roughly GBP 7,500 to 15,000). The budget pays for itself as soon as the site pushes cost per hire below EUR 1,500 on hard-to-fill roles (project managers, site managers, foremen). Careers pages bundled with job boards remain useful as a complement, but they do not build your employer brand and you rent visibility that disappears the moment you stop paying.
What a construction careers site includes in 2026
An effective construction careers site does not look like a start-up's. Your candidates are often on site, browse on a smartphone at the end of the day and want three answers fast: pay, location and conditions (vehicle, meal allowance, travel). The site must therefore offer an application in under 2 minutes, with no mandatory account creation.
| Careers site component | 2026 range (excl. VAT) | Recruitment impact |
|---|---|---|
| Employer brand design and build (10 to 15 pages) | EUR 4,500 - 8,000 | Stand out against the construction majors |
| Job family pages (project manager, site manager, crane operator, etc.) | EUR 1,500 - 3,500 | SEO on job + city searches |
| Job videos filmed on site (3 to 5 videos) | EUR 3,000 - 7,500 | +20 to 35% application rate observed (order of magnitude) |
| 2-minute mobile application form | EUR 800 - 1,500 | Fewer drop-offs on smartphone |
| ATS integration (Flatchr, Welcome to the Jungle, Taleo) | EUR 2,500 - 6,000 | Synced job ads, no double entry |
| Job multiposting (Indeed, public job boards, LinkedIn) | EUR 600 - 1,800/year | Wider reach without re-typing |
| Maintenance and hosting | EUR 90 - 220/month | Uptime and security updates |
The core package (site + job pages + form) sits between EUR 9,000 and 18,000 excluding VAT depending on the number of subsidiaries and branches to showcase. Videos and the ATS are the two items that move the bill.
Your own careers site or job board careers pages?
Many HR directors wonder whether paying for a company page on a job board is enough. The answer depends on hiring volume. With 40 to 80 hires a year, a large share of them site supervisors, your own site becomes more profitable within 18 to 24 months.
| Criterion | Job board careers page | Dedicated careers site |
|---|---|---|
| Annual cost | EUR 2,000 - 6,000/year, renewable | EUR 9,000 - 18,000 once + EUR 1,100 - 2,600/year |
| Ownership of content and data | No, the platform keeps the audience | Yes, a reusable talent pool |
| Ranking on "site manager jobs [city]" | Benefits the platform | Benefits your domain |
| Employer brand customisation | Imposed template | Full (videos, testimonials, career paths) |
| ATS integration | Partial | Native, with source tracking |
| Cost-per-hire measurement | Hard to isolate | Precise, by channel and job family |
The right setup in 2026 combines both: the careers site becomes the main destination, and job boards act as acquisition channels that send traffic back to your ads.
The indicators to track from launch
A careers site should be managed like a sales tool. Set four indicators at acceptance testing: cost per application (target EUR 25 to 60 on site roles), form completion rate (above 60%), average time to hire (aim for under 45 days) and cost per hire (below EUR 1,500). Ask your agency for a monthly dashboard breaking these figures down by source.
Mini case study
Sophie, HR director of a 650-employee construction group in Marseille, hires 55 people a year, including 14 project and site managers. Today she spends EUR 38,000 a year on premium job boards and a recruitment firm, about EUR 2,700 per hire on key roles.
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
She invests EUR 14,500 excluding VAT in a careers site with job videos, plus EUR 4,000 for the Flatchr integration, EUR 18,500 in total. Running costs come to EUR 2,400 a year. If the site captures 40% of applications and halves her use of the recruitment firm, annual spend drops to around EUR 22,000. The EUR 16,000 yearly saving repays the project in just over 14 months, and her cost per hire falls to about EUR 1,400. A London group with the same profile would run the same calculation in GBP.
FAQ
How long does it take to launch a construction careers site?
Allow 8 to 12 weeks from the employer brand workshop to go-live. Filming videos on site adds 2 to 3 weeks if projects are spread out.
Which ATS suits a 650-employee group?
Flatchr and Welcome to the Jungle fit mid-sized firms with a budget of EUR 3,000 to 9,000 a year. Taleo targets large groups and its integration often costs more than EUR 5,000.
Should salaries be shown on job ads?
Yes, construction ads with a salary range receive on average 25 to 40% more applications (2026 order of magnitude). The EU pay transparency directive pushes in that direction anyway, and UK job boards increasingly expect it.
Can the careers site serve subsidiaries and regional branches?
Yes, a multi-entity architecture adds EUR 1,500 to 4,000 and lets candidates filter jobs by subsidiary, job family and region.
How do I measure return on investment?
Track cost per hire by source in the ATS. A well-built site typically lowers that cost by 30 to 50% within 12 to 18 months on hard-to-fill roles.
Let's scope your project. Share your hiring volume, hard-to-fill roles and ATS, and we will price a careers site between EUR 9,000 and 18,000 excluding VAT, delivered in 8 to 12 weeks. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
