Architecture recruitment in Manchester and its challenges.
Are salaries in the architectural industry satisfactory? Architects are highly skilled and highly trained, there’s no doubt about that. There’s an admirable level of commitment required to train for 7 years to learn your craft. As part of a leading creative industry architects are widely regarded as motivated by the work they do, inspired by innovation rather than financial reward. Nonetheless with the cost of living on the rise it’s becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the difference in salaries at the senior end of the market when compared to other industries. Architecture jobs in Manchester are no exception and earnings have remained stagnant for the best part of a decade.
The disparity between professions isn’t as apparent at the junior end of the scale. In fact architectural graduates with a master’s degree enjoy competitive rates of pay when compared to other professions with similar training periods. So why does the gap widen so dramatically for time served? The RIBA state that the average North West salary for a qualified architect with 5+ post qualification experience is £35,000. At this stage of their career the architect will have spent a minimum of 12 years learning.
Salaries are standard across the industry, but It’s difficult to attract talent. If financial reward isn’t a major contributor, what other attraction methods can architectural companies use to entice new blood? With employees increasingly expecting better benefits in line with their values employers are finding themselves under pressure to meet those needs. There’s perhaps an irony to a creative industry needing to employ a greater creative impetus to attract competent individuals and retain them, but it’s a consideration of many companies in a very competitive market.
Manchester has seen massive growth in the property sector, but the reaction to it has been slow. Largely regarded as the second city for architecture outside of London, the future looks bright for the city and the arrival of some key players from the London scene seems to signal a commitment to the region’s future. Considering all this investment, it seems to be an appropriate time to employ a strategy to secure the architects of the future. It’s a given that there will be a Manchester architecture jobs created, but what are we doing to prepare?
The question remains if we should rely on passion alone as a driving force to keep talented architects in the industry. The skills gap for experienced project architects is ever present and sky-high university fees don’t seem to be an indicator that the situation is likely to improve. This year fees in England have seen an increase to £9250 per year and student loans rates have risen from 4.6% to 6.1%. Shocking figures that are given more context when we consider a 2016 survey taken by the architects’ journal. They revealed widespread fears over debt, with 25% of students reporting that they had sought medical help relating to mental health issues caused by financial pressures.
Will this worrying trend force change, or is a career in architecture to become a luxury reserved for the wealthy? What will it mean for future of architecture recruitment in Manchester?
Written by Lisa Clifton.
As a Founding Director of Property Recruitment specialists Clifton Gray, Lisa has spent the last 15 years working in the recruitment industry. Follow Lisa on LinkedIn or email lisa@cliftongray.co.uk to discuss current Liverpool and Manchester architecture jobs.