Graduate job prospects in the built environment
Source: The Times, 14th April 2008, by Martin Birchall
From transport interchanges to nuclear power stations, eco-friendly housing estates to shopping centres, the built environment is the UK's largest industry, contributing more than £65 billion a year to the economy and employing at least 2 million people in a wide variety of construction and property roles.
And yet in The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers – the annual league table of organisations that university students think offer the best job opportunities for graduates – there are few signs of the industry. Just three engineering and design consultancies are listed: Arup, Atkins and Faber Maunsell, but none of the other major construction or real estate companies make the rankings.
Despite this, there is no shortage of openings for university-leavers in the built environment. Over the next five years, the industry is predicted to need about 90,000 new recruits to work on key infrastructure projects such as the 2012 Olympics, the Thames Gateway regeneration, the continuing expansion and renewal of the NHS and numerous private sector developments. And at least a third of these vacancies are expected to be for graduates. Key public sector graduate recruiters include the Environment Agency, which recruits about 30 graduates a year for its flood risk engineering programme; Transport for London, which has a variety of roles in project management, surveying and transport planning; and the Highways Agency, which has three graduate entry programmes annually.
While this is all good news for job hunters, it is likely to present the sector with a real challenge. Whereas other career destinations such as accountancy or marketing are happy to hire graduates from any degree background, entry-level positions in the built environment often require a specific qualification in either architecture, engineering or surveying. For those without a vocational qualification, a role in property management may be a good option. According to the UK Graduate Careers Survey, about 2 per cent of final-year students apply for these positions each year.
Real estate also remains an option and at The Times Graduate Recruitment Awards earlier this month, Savills was named the graduate employer of choice for the property sector for the second consecutive year. Long-term earning potential varies enormously in the construction and property sectors, but a recent survey from GTI suggests that last year's new graduates joining the industry earned an average of £22,600 and that there were typically 50 to 60 vacancies per employer.
