The opposing forces of opportunity and uncertainty are keeping construction salaries in balance. And while employers are no longer offering skilled professionals mega pay rises, they are refining non-financial benefits.
It鈥檚 time to ask yourself whether you鈥檙e paid enough. Each year 好色先生TV鈥檚 salary survey of key professional construction industry roles, compiled with data from recruitment firm Hays, uncovers the salaries that QSs, architects and engineers can expect to command at various points in their careers. This year the picture is strikingly similar to last 鈥 with consultants benefiting from a headline modest average pay rise of 2.8% over the last 12 months, exactly the same as in 2017.
In fact, the survey is the latest data to confirm the continuing uneasy truce between opportunity and uncertainty that has characterised the UK construction industry since the 2016 EU referendum. Clients鈥 nerves in the face of Brexit have largely been overcome by a recovering global economy and the continuing fundamental demand for new infrastructure, homes and other premises. This steady growth has translated into ongoing strong demand for skilled professionals, albeit without the feeding frenzy atmosphere seen immediately after the recession abated in 2013.
But look closer at the survey: subtle changes are afoot in how the market for skilled professionals is changing in the 鈥減hony war鈥 atmosphere since Brexit. Employers are finding skilled workers harder and harder to prise from their jobs, forcing them to both turbo-charge their entry level recruitment efforts, and look inwards to their own organisations to find staff for the new challenges they face.
鈥淭here are still lots of opportunities, but it鈥檚 not as crazy as it was. it鈥檚 gone from being silly, to just being very busy鈥
Richard Gelder, Hays Construction & Property
Pinch points
The 2.8% average pay rise recorded by Hays in this survey is one percentage point ahead of what most people in the UK have seen in the last year, hinting at the industry鈥檚 ongoing shortage of skilled people. But it鈥檚 unlikely you鈥檒l feel much better off for it: 2.8% is still marginally below the rate of inflation. Certainly, those who joined the industry after 2013, when even the average wage rise topped 5% a year, may be somewhat disappointed by a notable lack of the double-digit increases many professionals saw around 2014-15. In fact this is, says Richard Gelder, director at Hays Construction & Property, really just a return to a much more normal market. 鈥淭here are still lots of opportunities, but it鈥檚 clearly not as crazy as it was. It鈥檚 gone from being silly, to just being very busy,鈥 he says.
The data, somewhat inevitably, shows some variation in wage rises, with QSs appearing to be most in demand. At most levels of seniority QS salaries have increased by 4%, where architects are seeing 1-2% rises and engineers 2-3%. Hays鈥 Gelder says: 鈥淚t鈥檚 the usual picture, with QSs and project managers hugely in demand. But building surveyors and general surveying roles are also really busy.鈥
Anecdotally, other key pinch points are around roles such as data scientists that result from the increasing use of technology in the design and operation of buildings, as well as 鈥 following the Grenfell tragedy 鈥 jobs related to fire safety. Daniel Harris, senior talent acquisition lead at Aecom, which is 6,800-strong in the UK, says cost managers, project managers and anything to do with fire safety are currently most often the hardest to fill roles.
Geographically, Hays鈥 Gelder says that London remains a very strong market, despite the commercial office and high-end residential downturn, but that growth there is now being outpaced by regional cities: Birmingham and Manchester particularly, but also Leeds, Bristol, Edinburgh and Glasgow. For example, Andrew Reynolds, UK and global board director at consultant RLB, which has grown by more than 20% to 580 UK employees in the last year, says growth has been fastest in regional cities including Manchester, where staff numbers doubled in 18 months.
鈥淔irst [on staff鈥檚 job priority list] is a sense of belonging and of their values being represented in the firm鈥
James Bryce, Arcadis
Control
Hays鈥 survey shows more than half (57%) of organisations expecting business growth this year, slightly down on the 64% in 2017, with two-thirds planning to recruit. Two-thirds of businesses (64%) told Hays they had experience moderate skills shortages, with near a fifth (18%) citing 鈥渆xtreme鈥 shortages. But whereas consultants were willing to break the bank to bring people in during the overheated market of three years ago, now employees shouldn鈥檛 expect to be offered mega-money to move.
Stuart Senior, main board director at Gleeds, says: 鈥淲e took on 100 apprentices and have worked hard on succession planning and in general terms we can find the people we鈥檙e looking for. We like to think we don鈥檛 have to throw money at people to move here.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 very clear that a few years ago there wasn鈥檛 the level of rigour and strategic thinking about making offers as there is now,鈥 adds Gelder. 鈥淚t鈥檚 now about controlled growth. There鈥檚 an urgency to take people on, but they鈥檙e much more aware of what the market rate is and know it鈥檚 better not to make the wrong decision.鈥
James Bryce, director of strategic workforce planning at Arcadis is in some ways an example of the more controlled and strategic view employers are taking of staffing, opposed to the pell-mell rush to hire of 2014-15. Not a human resources professional, his job is to match demand, supply and staff resource in the short, medium and long term. 鈥淭hree or four years ago Arcadis probably wouldn鈥檛 have hired a director to do this,鈥 he says.
However, this more controlled growth can leave employees disappointed. Bryce says his firm, which had 15,000 applicants for 1,000 jobs last year, is one of many to be focusing on improving and refining the non-financial elements of its offer to employees while salaries are restrained. 鈥淭he salaries that people are wanting [in order] to move are often very high. There鈥檚 a bit of a mismatch of expectations between the workforce and what increases clients are prepared to bear.
鈥淗owever, if you ask people, financial reward is about fourth of fifth on their list of job priorities. First is a sense of belonging, and of their values being represented in the firm. This attracts a lot of people.鈥 Gelder agrees. 鈥淓mployees are now much more aware of what else a business can offer them beyond salary, in terms of experience, how the business will develop, and issues like flexibility and work-life balance.
鈥淚f an employer is not able offer these things, it鈥檚 potentially putting itself at a real disadvantage,鈥 he says.
The larger consultants have now long since dusted down the graduate- and apprentice-level recruitment programmes designed to bring in the talent of the future. But to address the here and now, the need is for mid-career skilled professionals with a decent amount of experience under their belts. However, with firms no longer flashing the cash to bring in new hires, and Brexit casting a pall of uncertainty over growth prospects, it appears more staff than ever are deciding to stay put.
Retention
Hays鈥 data suggests 48% of workers will consider looking for a new role this year, down sharply from 69% in 2017. RLB鈥檚 Reynolds says: 鈥淓xperienced technical individuals that have been in their roles for some time are just not really thinking about moving. Part of this is the natural appetite for risk being different at different times in your life. But there鈥檚 also a level of reticence related to Brexit and what that could mean.鈥
Likewise, Bryce says: 鈥淧eople are very cautious about moving 鈥 uncertainty makes them want to dig in. There has been a bit of a merry-go-round in the sector, but that鈥檚 beginning to disappear.鈥 This dynamic is making efforts by employers to retain existing staff ever more important. Hays鈥 employer survey suggests more employers are increasing training budgets (22% compared with 13% last year) and running mentoring programmes (24%), both of which show existing workers they are valued. Gleeds鈥 Senior says: 鈥淎s we鈥檝e moved out of recession retention has become of paramount importance鈥, while Gelder adds: 鈥淭he focus is on retention, without a shadow of a doubt.鈥
But simply retaining staff in existing roles isn鈥檛 enough for businesses that not only want to grow, but also need to refocus into new markets and position themselves for new opportunities. Here the difficulty and expense of hiring is driving them to look inward to fill the vacancies created. Bryce says 500 Arcadis staff moved internally last year. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 grow your own talent immediately, so you鈥檙e left with the option of working with what you have. Our answer is to create a really good resource management framework, and equip our existing people with the right knowledge so we don鈥檛 have to buy in more talent unnecessarily.鈥
Aecom鈥檚 Harris is working to the same goal: 鈥淚f you have people within your business that can move and learn new skills, it benefits everyone. Recruiting is expensive, there鈥檚 a big saving by creating an environment where people can move and it impacts the bottom line.鈥
This route, of course, may not be for everyone, with Harris admitting some employees are 鈥渢raditional鈥 and 鈥渞igid鈥 in what they want from a job. But for those employees willing to learn new skills, it is likely to only make them more employable.
Region | Partner/director | Associate | Senior surveyor | Newly qualified building surveyor | Graduate building surveyor | Maintenance surveyor |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
East Midlands |
拢60,500 |
拢51,000 |
拢44,000 |
拢34,000 |
拢22,500 |
拢31,000 |
East of England |
拢66,000 |
拢50,000 |
拢42,000 |
拢33,000 |
拢20,500 |
拢32,000 |
London |
拢98,000 |
拢75,000 |
拢56,500 |
拢42,000 |
拢28,000 |
拢38,000 |
North-east |
拢52,000 |
拢45,000 |
拢44,000 |
拢31,000 |
拢22,000 |
拢33,000 |
North-west |
拢74,000 |
拢50,000 |
拢42,000 |
拢37,500 |
拢24,000 |
拢30,000 |
Northern Ireland |
拢52,500 |
拢42,000 |
拢33,000 |
拢29,500 |
拢19,000 |
拢28,000 |
Scotland |
拢72,000 |
拢60,000 |
拢52,000 |
拢36,000 |
拢23,000 |
拢28,500 |
South-east England |
拢76,000 |
拢62,000 |
拢52,000 |
拢36,500 |
拢22,500 |
拢36,000 |
South-west England |
拢67,500 |
拢50,000 |
拢40,000 |
拢32,500 |
拢24,000 |
拢32,500 |
Wales |
拢62,000 |
拢49,000 |
拢44,000 |
拢32,000 |
拢23,000 |
拢31,000 |
West Midlands |
拢67,500 |
拢52,000 |
拢43,000 |
拢35,500 |
拢24,000 |
拢32,000 |
Yorkshire and Humber |
拢66,000 |
拢47,500 |
拢42,500 |
拢35,000 |
拢22,500 |
拢28,000 |
National average |
拢67,833 |
拢52,792 |
拢44,583 |
拢34,542 |
拢22,917 |
拢31,667 |
Average change 2017-2018 |
3% |
4% |
3% |
4% |
4% |
4% |
Region | Partner/director | Associate | Senior surveyor | Newly qualified surveyor | Graduate surveyor | Claims and dispute resolution | Project manager |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
East Midlands |
拢68,000 |
拢51,000 |
拢46,500 |
拢36,000 |
拢24,000 |
拢46,000 |
拢46,000 |
East of England |
拢65,000 |
拢52,000 |
拢47,000 |
拢36,000 |
拢22,500 |
拢51,000 |
拢43,000 |
London |
拢95,000 |
拢75,000 |
拢60,000 |
拢42,500 |
拢28,000 |
拢78,000 |
拢55,000 |
North-east |
拢58,000 |
拢50,000 |
拢48,000 |
拢31,500 |
拢22,000 |
拢40,000 |
拢42,000 |
North-west |
拢78,000 |
拢53,500 |
拢46,000 |
拢36,000 |
拢24,500 |
拢52,000 |
拢45,000 |
Northern Ireland |
拢68,000 |
拢50,000 |
拢40,000 |
拢33,500 |
拢21,000 |
拢46,000 |
拢39,000 |
Scotland |
拢75,000 |
拢66,000 |
拢55,000 |
拢37,000 |
拢23,000 |
拢47,000 |
拢47,000 |
South-east England |
拢85,000 |
拢68,500 |
拢54,000 |
拢41,000 |
拢26,000 |
拢50,000 |
拢55,000 |
South-west England |
拢65,000 |
拢51,500 |
拢45,000 |
拢33,500 |
拢25,000 |
拢46,500 |
拢43,500 |
Wales |
拢62,000 |
拢48,000 |
拢42,000 |
拢32,000 |
拢22,000 |
拢46,000 |
拢46,500 |
West Midlands |
拢68,000 |
拢56,000 |
拢46,500 |
拢33,000 |
拢25,000 |
拢44,000 |
拢43,500 |
Yorkshire and Humber |
拢66,000 |
拢52,000 |
拢45,500 |
拢35,500 |
拢23,000 |
拢53,500 |
拢46,000 |
National average |
拢71,083 |
拢56,125 |
拢47,958 |
拢35,625 |
拢23,833 |
拢50,000 |
拢45,958 |
Average change 2017-2018 |
3% |
4% |
4% |
3% |
4% |
3% |
3% |
Region | Partner/director | Associate | Architect | Architectural assistant, Part II | Architectural assistant, Part I |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
East Midlands |
拢60,000 |
拢45,500 |
拢41,500 |
拢25,750 |
拢20,000 |
East of England |
拢53,000 |
拢43,000 |
拢41,000 |
拢22,500 |
拢18,500 |
London |
拢85,000 |
拢65,000 |
拢45,500 |
拢31,000 |
拢22,000 |
North-east |
拢50,500 |
拢40,500 |
拢32,000 |
拢20,500 |
拢17,500 |
North-west |
拢65,000 |
拢47,000 |
拢36,250 |
拢25,250 |
拢18,250 |
Northern Ireland |
拢51,500 |
拢43,500 |
拢33,250 |
拢22,500 |
拢16,250 |
Scotland |
拢55,000 |
拢45,000 |
拢36,000 |
拢23,000 |
拢16,000 |
South-east England |
拢65,500 |
拢51,000 |
拢42,500 |
拢28,500 |
拢22,000 |
South-west England |
拢51,000 |
拢42,500 |
拢38,500 |
拢26,500 |
拢16,500 |
Wales |
拢51,000 |
拢40,000 |
拢35,000 |
拢25,250 |
拢17,250 |
West Midlands |
拢59,000 |
拢45,500 |
拢39,000 |
拢24,500 |
拢17,500 |
Yorkshire and Humber |
拢58,000 |
拢45,000 |
拢33,500 |
拢22,750 |
拢18,250 |
National average |
拢58,708 |
拢46,125 |
拢37,833 |
拢24,833 |
拢18,333 |
Average change |
1% |
2% |
2% |
2% |
2% |
Region | Senior interior designer | Interior designer |
---|---|---|
East Midlands |
拢34,250 |
拢28,250 |
East of England |
拢36,000 |
拢30,500 |
London |
拢47,000 |
拢39,000 |
North-east |
拢28,000 |
拢25,500 |
North-west |
拢35,250 |
拢27,500 |
Northern Ireland |
拢28,000 |
拢23,500 |
Scotland |
拢34,000 |
拢27,000 |
South-east England |
拢38,250 |
拢32,250 |
South-west England |
拢31,000 |
拢26,250 |
Wales |
拢31,250 |
拢26,250 |
West Midlands |
拢39,000 |
拢28,250 |
Yorkshire and Humber |
拢28,750 |
拢25,250 |
National average |
拢34,229 |
拢28,292 |
Average change 2017-2018 |
2% |
1% |
Region | Senior CAD technician | CAD technician |
---|---|---|
East Midlands |
拢36,250 |
拢28,500 |
East of England |
拢34,000 |
拢25,500 |
London |
拢41,000 |
拢30,500 |
North-east |
拢29,000 |
拢24,500 |
North-west |
拢36,500 |
拢26,250 |
Northern Ireland |
拢29,000 |
拢22,500 |
Scotland |
拢34,000 |
拢22,000 |
South-east England |
拢38,500 |
拢28,500 |
South-west England |
拢35,000 |
拢26,500 |
Wales |
拢32,500 |
拢23,250 |
West Midlands |
拢34,250 |
拢27,250 |
Yorkshire and Humber |
拢31,500 |
拢24,750 |
National average |
拢34,292 |
拢25,833 |
Average change 2017-2018 |
2% |
2% |
Region | CAD manager | Senior CAD team leader | CAD technician |
---|---|---|---|
East Midlands |
拢38,000 |
拢35,750 |
拢32,500 |
East of England |
拢40,000 |
拢38,000 |
拢29,500 |
London |
拢55,000 |
拢46,750 |
拢37,750 |
North-east |
拢35,750 |
拢31,500 |
拢22,500 |
North-west |
拢40,000 |
拢37,750 |
拢29,500 |
Northern Ireland |
拢32,500 |
拢29,500 |
拢26,250 |
Scotland |
拢40,000 |
拢39,250 |
拢30,250 |
South-east England |
拢39,000 |
拢38,500 |
拢31,000 |
South-west England |
拢39,500 |
拢37,250 |
拢27,750 |
Wales |
拢37,000 |
拢31,000 |
拢25,500 |
West Midlands |
拢39,500 |
拢39,500 |
拢31,000 |
Yorkshire and Humber |
拢37,000 |
拢32,000 |
拢26,500 |
National average |
拢39,438 |
拢36,396 |
拢29,167 |
Average change 2017-2018 |
3% |
2% |
2% |
Region | Associate | Senior engineer | Engineer | Graduate engineer |
---|---|---|---|---|
East Midlands |
拢56,500 |
拢47,000 |
拢40,000 |
拢23,500 |
East of England |
拢53,000 |
拢45,000 |
拢36,750 |
拢25,500 |
London |
拢66,000 |
拢53,000 |
拢40,500 |
拢29,000 |
North-east |
拢49,500 |
拢41,000 |
拢33,000 |
拢22,500 |
North-west |
拢53,250 |
拢42,000 |
拢35,000 |
拢24,750 |
Northern Ireland |
拢46,000 |
拢38,000 |
拢30,000 |
拢23,500 |
Scotland |
拢55,000 |
拢43,500 |
拢33,000 |
拢25,500 |
South-east England |
拢55,000 |
拢46,000 |
拢36,000 |
拢25,500 |
South-west England |
拢56,500 |
拢41,500 |
拢33,500 |
拢22,500 |
Wales |
拢51,500 |
拢41,000 |
拢32,500 |
拢22,500 |
West Midlands |
拢60,000 |
拢46,000 |
拢37,000 |
拢25,500 |
Yorkshire and Humber |
拢49,000 |
拢39,500 |
拢31,000 |
拢23,250 |
National average |
拢54,271 |
拢43,625 |
拢34,854 |
拢24,458 |
Average change 2017-2018 |
3% |
3% |
3% |
2% |
Region | Associate | Senior technologist | Technologist |
---|---|---|---|
East Midlands |
拢41,000 |
拢34,000 |
拢26,500 |
East of England |
拢49,000 |
拢40,000 |
拢32,000 |
London |
拢52,000 |
拢45,000 |
拢35,000 |
North-east |
拢41,000 |
拢34,000 |
拢26,500 |
North-west |
拢45,000 |
拢38,000 |
拢28,000 |
Northern Ireland |
拢38,000 |
拢33,000 |
拢23,000 |
Scotland |
拢40,000 |
拢37,000 |
拢26,000 |
South-east England |
拢50,000 |
拢40,000 |
拢32,000 |
South-west England |
拢39,000 |
拢35,000 |
拢25,000 |
Wales |
拢36,000 |
拢32,000 |
拢22,000 |
West Midlands |
拢43,000 |
拢34,000 |
拢27,000 |
Yorkshire and Humber |
拢43,000 |
拢34,000 |
拢27,000 |
National average |
拢43,083 |
拢36,333 |
拢27,500 |
Average change 2017-2018 |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
Postscript
Methodology
Salary data has been compiled using information gathered during 2017 from Hays offices across the UK, it is based on job listings, job offers and candidate registrations
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