With demand for BIM growing, but a lack of confidence keeping a lid on salaries in digital construction, many employers are having to make difficult decisions about how to source the skills they need to meet client requirements. Mike Johnson shares his thoughts on the future for resourcing BIM.

There are two options as I see it now for companies: double-down and invest in BIM in-house, which means paying good money to establish a team and retain it in the face of fierce competition – plus take on trainees, an action DBE.Careers is championing with the Trainee Directory ; or outsourcing their digital work to specialist BIM consultancies when required, reducing the impact on central overhead budgets.

BIM professionals are still being recruited for project-funded roles, but we are seeing an increase in recruitment for outsource teams – they are expanding. These consultancies provide everything from high level strategy (leading digital transformation) to the nitty-gritty of working with digital models.

What does outsourcing mean for employers?

There are some clear advantages for employers in outsourcing work to a team that specialises in BIM. The employer can work with a group of BIM specialists who have more wide-ranging knowledge and can easily share ideas. Surrounded by other BIM professionals, they have the opportunity to be more creative when it comes problem solving. The alternative option may be one lone project-funded person working on BIM in-house, who spends 90% of their time fire-fighting and is left with just 10% to think creatively. Having the time to look differently at problems and work out new solutions is key for the development of BIM application and can bring new efficiencies – saving companies money and helping them to provide a better service to clients.

There is a risk though, at the extreme end, that companies are not able to fully embrace digital construction if all their expertise is outsourced. Long-term vision and strategy certainly needs to be taken into account when making decisions about BIM resourcing.

Traditionally, when the good times start to roll again, construction firms bring work back in-house and consultancies face the challenge of maintaining their workflow. Forward-thinking consultancies are now looking at how to sustain themselves permanently and investing in making their services essential. There may be more opportunities for employers to build longer term relationships with consultancies, and work together in a way that is more sustainable for both.

And for candidates?

For candidates, there are also benefits. Joining a consultancy can often mean learning more and learning it faster. The work is varied and candidates are rubbing shoulders with lots of experienced BIM professionals. It can be a fantastic way to fast-track a career in BIM. However, the work can be more like babysitting projects rather than parenting them – consultancy BIM professionals don’t have full responsibility.

If candidates join a construction company instead, they can push the boundaries of BIM but the work won’t be as diverse – it tends to be project specific, and these can last for years. Teams tend to be smaller, so there are fewer opportunities to bounce ideas around and potentially look at different ways of doing things. It can also take longer to move upwards as there may only be a limited number of senior roles in-house. But there is a greater sense of ownership over a project.

For candidates, working for a consultancy that is also trying to add value and make itself indispensable is a win-win situation. They’ll gain an excellent skillset which will put them in a good position should they need to look for work in-house. Or they’ll stay working for an innovative, BIM leading consultancy that companies want to use even during circumstances when they would usually recruit again.

What about companies who want to keep their BIM expertise in-house?

For companies who are investing in their in-house capabilities, there are a number of benefits, other than money, which can help attract top candidates, and hold onto them. Retention is an equally important part of the in-house resourcing strategy, so that employers do not lose key skills and knowledge, and are not constantly having to fight for new candidates.

Career mapping , which gives candidate a clear path to follow and helps them see how they can develop their career, is something that good candidates want. Signing up to be a Good Digital Employer  can also give companies the edge. This demonstrates a commitment to embracing digital construction and offering candidates structured career development and training opportunities.

As discussed before , taking on trainees is the answer to the shortage of mid-career BIM professionals, but too many companies are avoiding it as they either don’t have the time to provide training, or the confidence and pipeline of work to take what they see as a financial risk. It’s just not in the mindset to recruit for roles without a budget behind them.

These challenges are all the result of the cyclical nature of the economy, which has a massive impact on the construction industry. It’s always boom and bust. There is some government-driven momentum towards stabilising this – the Infrastructure & Projects Authority (IPA) is working to improve its Infrastructure Pipeline publication to include more data on workforce requirement, so that capability and capacity can be matched with forthcoming projects.

Making the right call

Decisions about keeping work in-house or outsourcing are rarely taken by BIM managers themselves – it is usually down to the finance heads. Choosing whether to keep work in-house or outsource depends on factors such as forthcoming workflow, existing strength in BIM, capacity to provide training, client requirements and the long-term vision for a company.

For candidates, Vinci is a company investing in in-house capabilities and currently advertising on the DBE.Careers Job Board. Meanwhile, Symetri  is a BIM consultancy looking for candidates as they grow their team.