Regional focus: Bristol
Over two billion pounds of construction activity in and around Bristol means that there is currently an unprecedented demand for quantity surveyors and project managers in the area, says Tim Cook, Managing Director of Hays Property & Surveying.
Schemes
The Harbourside development is a £1billion mixed-use transformation for Bristol, incorporating both luxury apartments and commercial premises, and is a perfect example of a scheme currently being carried out in Bristol.
The PFI Schools for the Future project is also key, whereby four schools are being turned into Academies with facilities for children with learning disabilities. The Bristol Arena is a 10,000 seat multi-purpose indoor arena for music, sports, conferences and events and is currently due for completion in 2008.
The highest profile scheme however is the £500m redevelopment of Broadmead, where Bristol is attempting to follow in the footsteps of Birmingham and regenerate the city with a new, modern shopping centre. It is hoped that Broadmead will allow Bristol to join the league as one of the Top Five shopping centres in the UK, upon its completion in 2008.
These schemes, coupled with further development in both the public and private sectors around the area have exacerbated the need for professional quantity surveyors.
For example, there is a particular shortage of chartered candidates due to many graduates leaving university with high levels of debt and choosing to join higher paying contractors, as opposed to starting at PQS companies. This has led to a noticeable shortage of candidates with two to three years post-qualification experience, which has affected employers across Bristol at all levels, from sole proprietors to the large multinationals.
Bristol needs...
Employers in the area are always looking for good quality staff and commercial experience is extremely important. They have also begun to recognise that the only way to achieve their recruitment targets it to invest more, provide greater training options and offer a varied workload to their employees.
Duncan Evans, consultant at Hays Property & Surveying, comments: “There simply aren’t enough qualified professionals to meet the level of demand and we cannot see the situation changing unless more graduates are encouraged to enter the industry. It is positive that employers are now more open to employing project managers from a variety of backgrounds, such as civil engineering and building surveying as well as traditional quantity surveying.”
Why Bristol?
One of the main advantages for Bristol is that it enjoys a lower cost of living than Central London, which is reflected in slightly lower salary levels. A number of professionals choose to relocate from cities such as London, primarily for the better quality of life that Bristol offers.
Bristol certainly appears to stand for balance - it offers the opportunity to get involved in commercial and residential regeneration activity on a large scale, while also offering a high standard of living.
Duncan continues: “It is an extremely attractive location and offers a vast number of high profile projects to work on. Providing investment in the area continues, experienced quantity surveyors and project managers will remain in great demand.”
For further information contact Duncan Evans, consultant at Hays Property & Surveying, on 0117 929 7308.
