ADAPT TODAY, THRIVE TOMORROW
From Mike Johnson, MD JohnsonBIM

This salary guide is here is to help you pitch your remuneration packages correctly, so you can find (and keep) the best staff. With the construction industry optimistic about 2021, it’s going to be a busy year for recruitment. BIM talent is scarce, so the competition will be fierce.

Those who have been recruiting over the last six months have already experienced how difficult it still is to find good BIM specialists, and that they can’t afford to offer salaries that are too low. If you adapt to this landscape now, you’ll avoid problems tomorrow.

You can see the latest BIM salary guide here with additional detail about the variances between individual roles, disciplines and regions.

MARKET OVERVIEW

Demand is going to increase…

There is genuine optimism across the industry, with the CPA predicting construction output will rise 14% in 2021, with a sustained recovery from Q2 as vaccines are rolled out and the economy re-opens. Staff are being hired for forthcoming new projects, with an IHS Markit survey panel signalling the strongest optimism across the construction sector since April 2017.

This good news is already having an impact on recruitment, and BIM recruitment in particular.

…but supply is not

The bad news is that the availability of BIM talent is down. 2020 may have been a slow year for recruitment but, quietly, affordable BIM Coordinators and Managers have been absorbed. There aren’t enough to meet demand now, let alone during the recovery.

Now is the time to accept this reality, adapt and implement a solution. There are some great ideas out there; however, no matter how creative you are, you still need to understand your candidates’ salary expectations.

BIM SALARY GUIDE OVERVIEW

On the surface, it may seem salaries have remained stable over the last year. However, there are some subtle changes that will have a significant impact as demand increases.

New projects that have started require more BIM expertise, and this demand for project funded BIM specialists has already begun to increase in 2021. The lack of experienced BIM talent, combined with strict salary caps, will become an even greater challenge for recruiters this year. Flexibility in expectations and creative thinking will help.

The full BIM Salary Guide and behind the scenes detail

TRENDS AND PREDICTIONS

The main trends we’re seeing are:

• Lack of awareness of the rapidly shrinking talent pool;
• Growing demand for project-funded BIM specialists;
• Very little demand non-project funded roles;
• Less experienced candidates costing more;
• Increasing demand for civils BIM experience;
• Increasing choice of opportunities for BIM specialists outside Design and Build sectors;
• BIM trainees will be in much more demand.

Read more about the TRENDS and our PREDICTIONS

Creative solutions

As well as getting the salary right, the quick to adapt employers are also using other ways to attracting talent. These include talking to staff more and responding to their specific needs; genuine career progression and career mapping; using freelance expertise and looking to BIM specialists in other construction disciplines. You can read more about these in Trends

In conclusion

There is going to be a significant shortage of project funded BIM talent in 2021. The companies that accept this, adapt and think creatively will thrive.