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SYDNEY MARKET UPDATE SPRING 2012
Architecture:
Christmas is coming and the Sydney market is experiencing the traditional slow down in regards to work flow.
Unfortunately we've seen a number of larger Architectural firms make a number of people redundant in the final run to the end of the year. Our Architectural clients have noticed a drop off in the amount of new major projects and this, coupled with existing projects coming to an end or going on hold, has meant that firms have been compelled to reduce numbers in order to balance the books.
Based on this, the number of new positions available in Architecture is relatively low, particularly for permanent roles. The longer term, career driven positions are few and far between, with the majority of larger firms putting recruitment on hold until at least early 2013.
Where there continues to be work is primarily within smaller to medium sized practices, often on a contract basis. These contract roles are often initially on a very short-term basis and are snapped up by candidates that are flexible in regards to rates, location and the role itself.
Conversely, it is worth noting that most Clients are non-negotiable in terms of CAD experience and will often only consider those candidates who "tick all the boxes".
The overall feeling amongst groups is that things will continue to be tough over the next six months and well in to 2013, with the market being very competitive. This in turn will no doubt have a negative impact on employment opportunities. A number of Architectural studios have also commented that this tough market is affecting potential salary increases and promotions for existing staff.
Another trend the Sydney office has noted of late is the increase in overseas candidates coming into the market. It remains very tough for those candidates with no local experience to find employment, especially when there are so many locally based and skilled candidates who are happy to look at the short-term contract roles. Unfortunately, the consistent feedback that we hear from clients, is that they often receive many more applications than they can handle when it comes to available Architectural roles.
Interior Design:
As has been the case for most of 2012 to date, the majority of our new positions have come from within the Interior Design market!
Pleasingly this market seems to remain consistently active across most sectors. Certainly the commercial, hospitality and retail markets have all remained relatively buoyant over the last few months. Clients however, are still in a position to be very particular in their selection criteria when listing new positions, especially when it comes to permanent roles.
Our interior clients have been much more receptive to consider candidates for strategic roles, and in some cases are confident enough about the market to look at strong (especially senior) candidates when they come along. However, overall the trend is still to ‘employ to replace’ and Clients are very conscious of employing people with like-for-like experience and will not consider anything less. The knock-on effect is two fold - for employers it often means a longer recruitment process and for candidates it makes it harder to strategically break into a new sector.
The retail and corporate fit-out sectors continue to lead the way, with a number of new positions coming through in this market over the last few months. Whilst this market is particularly competitive, some firms are feeling very positive, particularly design and build firms.
Other promising news is that the hospitality sector continues to show strong signs with a number of new positions recently coming online. This has been led by an increasing number of opportunities within the Asian market, particularly for 5 star hotels and resort developments.
So in summary, and at the risk of sounding like a broken record, it remains a challenging market with pockets of activity. Sentiment remains cautious, neither too positive or too negative - just very much a reflection of the "hold tight" nature of the market. It is without a doubt that we find everyone looking forward to a break after another demanding year. |
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发表于 29-11-2012 20:36:26
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