Market confidence in A&D industry is growing as Melbourne recovers after a year of sacrifices

There is no doubt that the lockdown in Victoria last year had a huge impact on practices, but the huge sacrifices made by the people of Melbourne worked and market confidence is returning and getting stronger every day. 

Last year most of the work we received from March onwards was from small privately owned businesses who had strong, long-standing client relationships and were typically doing high-end residential work. Towards the end of last year and at the start of 2021 we are beginning to see more activity with firms of all sizes beginning to hire. Those focused on infrastructure, education, healthcare and private residential sectors appear to be particularly active in the marketplace and candidates with experience in these sectors are most in demand.   

There are more candidates available on the market at present, partly due to firms in hospitality and leisure having no alternative but to reduce their headcount; however, we are also noticing that there are a lot of candidates who feel they weren’t well looked after during the lockdown and as a result are looking to make a career move.  

Forward-thinking practices who have historically struggled to find talent are grasping the opportunity to snap up outstanding candidates not normally available to them. Naturally, there is still an air of caution and we are finding that the interview process is becoming longer as clients are putting a lot of effort into finding the perfect match for their business. 

"We might see the incorporation of workplace flexibility become a more permanent trend in the industry both from an employer and employee perspective."

Revit has maintained its status as one of the key drivers for most practices hiring. Alongside this, there is a demand for those with project architect skills, who are capable of leading projects without additional supervision. 

We envisage that 2021 will be an exciting year for the architecture and design recruitment market in Melbourne. Due to the nationwide approach to the handling of the pandemic, for now at least Australia seems to be faring better than most. All going well we envisage 2021 will see the market getting back into full swing in Q3/Q4 and look forward to exciting times where we might see the incorporation of workplace flexibility become a more permanent trend in the industry both from an employer and employee perspective. We believe that architecture will be extremely important and at the forefront of designing a post-pandemic future for us all and we are looking forward to being a part of it. 

Download your copy of our Global Salary Guide 2021 here.