Latest figures for October 2014 show that Construction and Property are one of the top five sectors that can boast year-on-year growth in advertised vacancies since 2009. Based on recruitment firm Reed’s ‘Job Index’, opportunities are at their highest since 2009 across the board, with the top five sectors being:
- Transport and Logistics – 66.6% year-on-year growth
- Hospitality and Catering – 63.3%
- Construction and Property – 55.3%
- Education – 22.8%
- Charity and Voluntary – 19.5%
Part of this may be due to the lack of skilled construction workers in the UK at the moment to answer current demand. At the end of August this year, Hays Recruitment were reported to have said that Construction firms are raising wages and salaries by up to 5% over inflation just to keep white collar professionals, such as architects, CAD engineers and quantity surveyors, from excepting alternative offers or being poached.
On the other side, house-building firms are hiring tradesmen like plumbers, electricians and bricklayers themselves because subcontractors are unable to supply the present need. With the economy still recovering, the construction industry is being tasked with big infrastructure projects throughout the country, creating more and more job openings all the time.
House-building has finally returned to its status as a growth industry as construction firms report an increase in contracts, bringing in to an end a five month slump. Improvements to the current regime of planning, as well as government backed mortgage indemnity for house buyers are likely contributing factors in the rise, according to The Telegraph.
Construction is not the only sector experiencing a rise in pay, though. Despite average UK salaries still falling short of inflation by 0.6%, the Engineering sector is also amongst those enjoying the highest rises in wages, along with the Oil & Gas sector and Financial Services. I
Furthermore, jobs website Adzuna has pointed out that this first ‘real’ wage increase since the financial crisis marks an important milestone on the road to economic recovery. Up to now, it seems, the high levels of job creation experienced around the country have been at the expense of lower pay.
However, news of growing wages, as well as growing job opportunities in certain key sectors, combined with a statement from the Bank of England saying it has been waiting for wages to improve before increasing interest rates, makes it look like things are definitely picking up.
And, as reported by BBC News last month, not only is there such a shortage in the construction workforce that subcontractors are able to command record rises in the rates they charge, but as the industry was hit so hard by the recent financial troubles, material suppliers are now finding themselves also unable to reach pre-crisis production levels.
It seems, then, a pretty good time to be in the market for an architectural, designing, engineering, or even just a construction trade or labouring position. It looks as though the industry might just bite your hand off right now.