Market overview
After a difficult 2023 and an increasingly constrictive economy, 2024 has started with tentative green shoots across mainstream construction and residential development. With the installation of a new Labour government, we expect this growth to continue, riding off the back of additional investment in housing, ports, green energy and continued investment in the water sector. We expect this trend to continue with a positive uptick in 2025.
The positive news is all parts of the construction industry are heavily recruiting, from consultancies to contractors to subcontractors, with staff attraction and retention remaining a key focus for business’s in the region. We’ve seen very little change in salaries from 2023 and the wild offers of 2022 have more than cooled.
As always, our survey uses data over the last 6 months and combines current salaries and packages of the candidates we interview with new offers from our clients, specific to the South West.
Interviewing and Onboarding
Consider your interview process. Is it engaging yet rigorous? Does everyone leave wanting the job? Is there a point to every meeting?
Ensure the process has momentum and don’t leave it weeks between interviews.
Get this part wrong and the perfect candidate could slip through your fingers.
Make sure you don’t rely on Teams interviews. These work well for a first interview or exploratory chat but there’s nothing like a face to face meeting to add rigour to your process as well as increasing candidate buy-in.
Finally, always remember onboarding starts when the candidate excepts your offer, not just on the day they start the job.
Good candidates will constantly have alternative offers of employment so make sure you’re in touch regularly throughout their notice period and have a thorough onboarding process throughout their probation.
Notice periods
We’ve seen a dramatic increase in notice periods with 3 months become the standard for many candidates. With that in mind, ensure you start the recruitment process in good time as well as planning for unexpected attrition.
The right benefits
Most business’s now offering the following as standard:
- Company Car / Car Allowance / Electric Car Scheme
- Structured Bonus Schemes and LTIPs
- Family Health Care
- Contributory Pension
- An increase in average holiday offering to 26 days + bank holidays
- Gym Membership
- Professional Fees
- £ amount for personal development and training
- Flexible / Remote / Hybrid working
Choose the right recruitment partner
Set your expectations high and pick a few trusted recruitment consultancies who understand these expectations and can meet them.
Then give them the time and information to do the job properly.
The good consultancy should be an extension of your business, flying your flag and ensuring the candidate’s experience is always positive. Work this way and you’ll have the pick of the talent and hopefully enjoy the ride.
The alternative is an overflowing inbox and answerphone!!
For more detailed information on any of this email [email protected] to arrange a more detailed discussion
- PM, PQS and BS
- Architecture
- Land and Planning
- Civil and Structural Engineering Design
- Construction – Operations, Commercial, Pre-construction
- Civil Engineering – Operations, Commercial, Pre-construction
- Building Services Commercial and Operational
- Housing Maintenance
- FM and Commercial Maintenance
- Business Support
Project Management
| Title | Low | Average | High |
| Graduate | £20,000 | £22,000 | £25,000 |
| Assistant | £24,000 | £29,500 | £33,000 |
| Project manager | £32,000 | £40,000 | £46,000 |
| Senior Project Manager | £45,000 | £50,000 | £55,000 |
| Associate Project manager | £50,000 | £55,000 | £62,000 |
| Director | £60,000 | £65,000 | £85,000 |
PQS
| Title | Low | Average | High |
| Graduate | £20,000 | £22,000 | £26,000 |
| Assistant | £26,000 | £30,000 | £35,000 |
| MRICS Quantity surveyor | £39,000 | £44,000 | £46,000 |
| Senior Quantity Surveyor | £42,000 | £50,000 | £55,000 |
| Associate | £55,000 | £55,000 | £65,000 |
| Director | £60,000 | £65,000 | £75,000 |
Building Surveying
| Title | Low | Average | High |
| Graduate | £20,000 | £22,000 | £25,000 |
| Assistant | £26,000 | £27,000 | £30,000 |
| Assistant (completing APC) | £28,000 | £31,000 | £34,000 |
| Chartered surveyor | £38,000 | £42,000 | £49,000 |
| Senior surveyor | £42,000 | £48,000 | £55,000 |
| Associate | £55,000 | £60,000 | £62,000 |
| Director | £61,000 | £72,000 | £85,000 |