Hays: Salaries rising as labour market heats up
According to an analysis of job placements made by the specialist recruitment company Hays, over the past year salaries for some professionals have risen by 10% and some of the greatest salary increases in the North West have been in construction and property, with a number of roles enjoying significant salary increases.
Counter offers are becoming prevalent in all professions as employers compete for the best talent. Demand for building services professionals is increasing, with some parts of the country reporting a much increased appetite for candidates throughout the last year.
Typical salaries, by job type, in North West, according to Hays
- Construction project manager: £45,000
- Senior planner: £48,000
- Newly qualified general practice surveyor: £31,500
- Associate architect: £43,000
- Housing officer: £23,000
The survey of over 10,000 employers and employees indicated that employers are confident their business activity will increase over the next 12 months and this will result in greater hiring, with 70% of employers planning to increase headcount over the next 12 months. However, 80% of employers are already concerned that they will encounter a shortage of suitable candidates. Within building services, skill shortages across a number of areas, especially design, are intensifying. Intermediate-level engineers with building information modelling experience continue to be a premium commodity, but there is demand for mechanical and electrical design engineers at all levels.
Not only is confidence returning to businesses, Hays said it is also seeing that confidence has also significantly increased amongst jobseekers, with 61% anticipating that they will move jobs in the next year and 38% of those considering a move within the next 6 months.
Richard Gelder, director of Hays Building Services, said: "Optimism is increasing in the construction industry and market sentiment is upbeat. The market is improving and employers and candidates are more confident than before. On the whole, salaries are increasing moderately and large increases are focused where there are severe skill shortages, and these professionals not only receive high salaries but multiple job offers as well.
"This means that employers will need to focus on their retention strategies and development of existing employees in the year ahead. Recruitment will become more difficult as competition increases, so employers will need to consider the attractiveness of the role and their organisation and develop their employer brand to appeal to new staff."
- On Wednesday 3 December from 6pm at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, Richard Gelder, director at Hays Building Services, will give an update on the building services recruitment market in the North West, findings from the Hays UK Salary & Recruiting Trends 2015 and advice on recruitment strategies to attract the best people in an increasingly competitive talent market. Click here for details and to book a place
- To request a copy of the report click here
So it appears we are probably back to 2004 rates … ten years of progress
By expat
Yup
Im on less dough than I was on 10 years ago!
By Skintos
You are lucky! I’m earning what I was 12 years ago.
By M Python
The Senior Planner salary on that list is at least £40,000 light. The availability of genuine (competent, trained and qualified) construction project planners in the UK is at a 50-year low. Sure, if you want a site manager or a graduate planner who knows how to turn ASTA PowerProject on and can draw a few lines on a bar chart, or a scheduler like most of the nuclear crowd then, yes, £48,000 is about right. If you want someone who understands the science of buildings, complex construction logic and programme synthesis and interlock then you need to start around the £90K p.a. mark, and more like the 100K mark.
By Grit
The Construction Project Manager at £45,000 will get you a site manager in a suit. These clowns exist throughout the UK construction industry and, to be honest, hold the industry back. A real construction project manager will cost you between £80K and £100K p.a. You know the types, the ones that actually manage his or her teams via an understanding of the programme, the design, procurement, costs and the clients expectations, plus having a handle on the other project-level issues. As opposed to the site manager / project manager hybrid that tries to build the job instead of managing the project, and not really making much of a job of either.
By Grit