黑洞社区

This year鈥檚 consultants鈥� salary survey provides more evidence that the UK construction industry is in recovery mode, with salaries across the surveying, engineering and architecture professions modestly increasing for the second consecutive year.

Across all three professions salaries for the year to March were up 1.96% on the previous year on average, which, while welcome, was below the rate of inflation of 2.56%, meaning most people in real terms were worse off.

But behind the headline figure is a mixed picture, with some surveying and engineering roles enjoying above 5% raises, and other roles, including landscape architects and interior designers, getting sub 1% or no increase. Once again salary rises in London outstripped other UK regions.

However, what unites most consultants is their predictions for recruitment in 2014. All indicators point to an exceedingly hot recruitment market this year, with recruitment agency Hays, which compiles the survey for 黑洞社区, predicting this will be the year where salary growth finally outstrips inflation - easing construction鈥檚 own cost of living crisis. The majority of employers predict skills shortages (68%), a shortage of experienced candidates to fill roles (72%), salary rises (56%) and growth in headcount at their firm (58%). Meanwhile, employees are restless - 57% say they don鈥檛 expect career progression at their current firm and 45% expect to move this year, with a further one in five expecting to move within two years.

So what does this year鈥檚 salary survey tell us about the changing recruitment market in construction, and how are firms attempting to adapt?

Race to recruit

This year鈥檚 survey finds that more than half of consultants (56%) enjoyed a pay increase on the previous year. Hays notes some roles - particularly in surveying and engineering - enjoyed larger increases, 鈥渞eflecting growing skill shortages in niche roles鈥�. The top increase was for partner or director level quantity surveyors (6.6%). Six of the next seven biggest are either engineering roles - structural engineer (6.6%), bridge engineer (5.9%), senior infrastructure engineer (5.2%) - or further surveying roles - graduate quantity surveyor (5.2%), partner or director level building surveyor (4.9%) and project manager (4.7%).

Within surveying Hays says the recovery in housebuilding is partly behind the growth in wages, while QS firms are also 鈥渇eeling the pinch from a lack of graduate recruitment during the downturn鈥�. Hence surveyors took measures to attract new blood into the profession last year: firms upped graduate starting salaries, invested more money in training new surveyors and some even dropped the requirement for applicants to be chartered for certain roles, choosing instead to train successful candidates up to chartered status on the job. Within engineering, Hays noted increased demand for many roles, particularly in the housing, infrastructure and commercial sectors. The candidates in shortest supply were those with two to five years鈥� experience, again reflecting a lack of graduate recruitment by engineers during the downturn.

The fight for talent is definitely out there, the key thing now is that there鈥檚 additional pressure from clients trying to recruit

Alan Brookes, EC Harris

Multi-disciplinary consultant Ridge, which specialises in surveying and engineering, can testify to growing competition to fill these professional roles. 鈥淥ver the past 12 months the boot has moved from the employer鈥檚 foot to the employee - they鈥檙e now in a stronger position,鈥� says Phil Jones, Ridge鈥檚 senior partner. The firm has upped its graduate salaries 鈥渢o compete鈥� and Jones agrees it鈥檚 getting harder to recruit people looking for their 鈥渟econd or third jobs鈥�.

Alan Brookes, UK managing director for consultant EC Harris, says the consultant has 70 to 80 vacancies in the UK, particularly in surveying and engineering, and the 鈥渘umber is increasing daily鈥�. He says 鈥渢he fight for talent is definitely out there, the key thing now is that there鈥檚 additional pressure from clients trying to recruit to build up their teams.鈥�

Engineers WSP and Arup both say they are starting to see the effects of skill shortages, particularly in the infrastructure and structural engineering professions. 鈥淲e are seeing greater demand for staff overall and off the back of that we expect to see demand going up and salaries outstripping inflation,鈥� says Paul Newing, regional HR director at WSP.

In architecture, salary increases were more subdued last year, although Hays notes London experienced its highest level of recruitment in three years. Adrian Dobson, RIBA director of practice, says there is greater demand for architects with 鈥淏IM skills and experience of delivering it on projects鈥�. He is not surprised wage levels have not increased greatly. Architects have been telling RIBA since the middle of last year they feel more positive about the future and plan to recruit, but headcounts remained static over the final two quarters. Dobson thinks he knows why: 鈥淎ccording to our figures architects retained more staff than they needed during the downturn and so still have 20% spare capacity. There鈥檚 still quite a bit of spare capacity to be taken up before they really up recruitment.鈥� That said, Make Architects, which is mostly exposed to the buoyant London market, is seeing 鈥渁 lot more movement between practices鈥�, according to head of HR Camilla Neave. The practice increased headcount by 25 last year and is continuing to expand, with 鈥渕ore of a focus on the technical side, including BIM鈥�, Neave adds.

Changing tactics

This year these trends are set to intensify.

鈥淭he upward trend in 2013 was encouraging, but 2014 is the year things will really kick on,鈥� says Andrew Bredin, managing director at Hays. He says vacancy volumes and salaries have risen month-on-month since the start of 2014 and 鈥渢here鈥檚 no sign it鈥檚 going to stop鈥�. 鈥淲e鈥檙e at that point in the cycle where the industry鈥檚 moving out of recession and skills shortages will start to be seen as the recovery gains momentum,鈥� he adds. He expects average salary increases this year to outstrip inflation for the first time since the recession.

Employers are more positive about the future - 77% expect business activity to grow over the next 12 months, up from 63% last year - yet a significant number, over a quarter, say they do not think their organisation has the talent needed to achieve current business objectives. In these circumstances Bredin says it is 鈥渋nevitable鈥� salaries will go up 鈥渞ight across the piece. It doesn鈥檛 matter whether it鈥檚 engineers, architects or surveyors, all are in demand鈥�, he says.

All the employers 黑洞社区 spoke to said they were investing more in training and development to retain staff. Yet such is the fight for surveying talent that Brookes from EC Harris reckons the firm may have to hold 鈥渉alf year [pay] reviews鈥� in addition to annual reviews for some staff and give out an 鈥渋nterim rise鈥� in some cases. He worries about 鈥渨hether it鈥檚 sustainable, as I don鈥檛 see fees increasing as quickly [as wages].鈥� Jones says Ridge is increasingly looking overseas to recruit engineers to make up for the shortfall. The 350-strong firm has plans to increase its headcount by up to 150 staff in the next three to four years, but Jones admits it may struggle to do this through recruitment alone. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a challenge to do that organically - I expect a mix of acquisitions too.鈥�

Some employers are working together to try to solve the skills shortages dilemma. Arup is working with its competitors in key growth sectors including rail and energy to set up apprenticeship and graduate programmes to 鈥渂uild a pipeline of talent鈥�, Simon Stoker, senior human resources officer in the UK at Arup, says. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got to be careful not to perpetually fuel salary inflation by poaching other people鈥檚 staff,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e need to have a sustainable pipeline of talent when there aren鈥檛 enough people to go around.鈥�

As the recruitment market threatens to heat up quicker than workloads and fees, consultants will have to think in ever more creative ways to attract and retain talent.

Structural engineers

Geotechnical engineers

Water engineers

Bridge engineers

Traffic/highways engineers

Architects

Civil CAD technicians

Interior designers

Structural CAD technicians

Architectural CAD technicians

Quantity surveyors

Architectural technologists

Landscape architects

黑洞社区 surveyors

Infrastructure engineers