SYDNEY MARKET UPDATE

The tone of this Sydney update is more optimistic than that of the last few as tentative signs of increases in activity have become evident. This sentiment has been echoed recently in conversations with our clients.

There is no doubt that within architecture we are seeing the positive effects of government spending in the areas of education and public housing. Firms who have been fortunate enough to be involved with work generated by the government stimulus have been recruiting staff primarily due to the pressure created by tight deadlines. Almost 90% of the positions created through the last quarter have been ‘short term contract’. It is clear from this that many practices still do not have enough confidence in the market to offer permanent positions to prospective candidates.

Increasingly however, a number of larger clients have started to engage staff on a contract basis with a view to a permanent arrangement as their future work looks increasingly solid. Smaller firms have also responded positively in the last quarter, and some have found that a number of smaller developments have come back ‘on line’ as developers take advantage of cheaper building costs and cut priced opportunities.

Architectural candidates with experience in healthcare and education are still highly sought after, as are those with prior infrastructure experience. Further, we are finding there are more options available in the current job market for candidates with expertise in ArchiCAD, Vectorworks and Revit. In fact, such is the demand for certain systems knowledge and skills that some employers are seeing a return to the labour market conditions of 18 months ago as more and more quality candidates are absorbed by practices very quickly.

Interiors on the other hand has experienced a quiet quarter with the number of new positions being down on the previous period. Feedback from interior design firms is that, whilst not making wide spread redundancies, the opportunities for new business are lacking and the competition is incredibly fierce. This has meant that many firms are holding back on recruiting new staff, instead focusing on bringing in more work.

The few opportunities that have been available have mainly come from within the commercial fit out sector, but even these are somewhat limited. In all, a tough time for interiors right now.

In regards to staffing movements, we are finding that the widespread redundancies have dissipated somewhat. With the shedding that has occurred, most firms have retained their core base and are doing everything they can to ensure this does not reduce any further. As a result, any changes we are seeing are more focused on the reduction of hours and days. From speaking with both clients and candidates, the preference is in doing this and waiting for the workload to pick up.

Overall, the sentiment within the market is more positive that it has been for some time. The consensus is that there are signs things are indeed picking up. On this basis there is a cautious optimism that the market will continue in an upward trend and that 2010 should offer a great deal more stability. Looking forward to it!