Document Type

Report

Rights

Available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike 4.0 International Licence

Disciplines

Construction engineering, Business and Management., Urban studies (Planning and development), Interdisciplinary

Publication Details

Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI)

https://scsi.ie/employment-remuneration-workplace-report-2023/

Abstract

This report follows the previously published “Employment Opportunities and Future Skills Requirements for Surveying Professionals, 2018-2021” in which a significant shortage of property, land and construction professionals was projected. The current research has been undertaken against a backdrop of economic uncertainty due largely to Brexit, Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine.

The Irish economy rebounded well following the Covid-19 pandemic with low unemployment, moderate economic growth and solid Exchequer balances forecast in the medium term. On the downside, price inflation, fueled by soaring energy costs, have resulted in interest rates rising for the first time in over a decade which has a cascading impact on businesses and households.

The ongoing housing crises in Ireland and the legally binding requirement to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 remain urgent priority areas that must be addressed. To achieve the ambitions set out in the National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-2030, it is imperative to have a sufficiently skilled labour force across the built environment. The ongoing aggregation of surveying with other professionals in the nationally available datasets remains a challenge in scrutinising surveying labour market trends, thereby providing the impetus for this research.

A key objective of the research is to project future demand for surveying professionals and to ascertain whether the future supply of qualified surveyors will adequately meet demand over the period 2023-2026. Data was requested from each SCSI member company through an online survey whereby estimates of future employment demand across every level of experience were provided based on three possible scenarios of economic growth as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) namely 4% p.a, 3% p.a. and 2% p.a. A response rate of 26% was obtained for this phase of research. Future supply was estimated using current enrolment on SCSI accredited surveying programmes nationwide.

Based on the median scenario of GDP growth of 3% p.a. between 2023-2026, it is projected that a shortage of surveying professionals will occur. Estimates provided in the research are conservative as they do not consider additional opportunities arising through retirements or promotion; nor does it account for surveyors engaged in sectors outside of the built environment.

The shortage of surveyors may exert upward pressure on wages, and as part of the research the current remuneration and benefits of surveying professionals at every level were determined. Data for this component was gathered through an online survey administered to SCSI members from which a response rate of 27% was achieved. Findings confirm an average of 10% increase in salary since the last remuneration and benefits survey was undertaken by the SCSI in 2019. Remuneration includes salary and a range of additional non-pay benefits, including flexible workplaces, offered to surveying professionals.

For the first time within the surveying profession, the research provides an investigation of the workplace strategy of property, land and construction professionals. Insight was gathered across the two surveys noted, to garner perspectives at organisational and individual levels. Workplace preferences, challenges and enablers are determined with a hybrid model in the place and time of work prevailing.

The report concludes with a suite of recommendations for property, land and construction stakeholders requiring data-driven, evidence-based actions relating to employment, education, training and workplace strategy. These four elements must work in sync to ensure the stability and sustainability of the surveying labour force of the future.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.21427/EQAX-A955

Funder

Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland

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