Architectural professionals are concerned that some employers are prioritising a candidate’s building information modelling (BIM) software skills over their design capabilities, says recruitment agency Hays.

This is a finding from a survey of 201 architectural professionals in Australia and New Zealand, in addition to the personal insights of nine employers, which are shared in a new report ‘The role of an architect today & tomorrow’.

Commenting on the findings, Adam Shapley, senior regional director of Hays, says, “Architects are concerned about the quality of design standards since some employers have made hiring decisions based on a candidate’s BIM skills rather than their design capabilities.

“At the same time, they recognise the need to upskill in the latest technology in order to do their job successfully. They want to work for employers who embrace innovation, provide opportunities for their staff to learn on-the-job and who keep up-to-date with the latest trends, particularly around new technology and tools such as design-to-fabrication and augmented reality and virtual reality. They want to experiment with new materials and be part of the building process,” he says.

“The report findings expose that architects want to work for employers who embrace innovation, provide opportunities for their staff to learn on the job and who keep up-to-date with the latest trends, particularly around new technology and tools such as design-to-fabrication and augmented reality and virtual reality. They want to experiment with new materials and be part of the building process.”

Other key findings include:
• Only 19% say there are sufficient professionals in the industry with the right level of Revit skills to meet demand now and in the future,
• 89% say both employers and employees are responsible for upskilling architectural professionals,
• 46% have been hired for a role without having the required software experience – of these, 83% said it took less than six months to upskill,
• over three-quarters (77%) believe architects will always need hand drawing skills,
• 42% say offshoring documentation work impacts their job opportunities,
• when asked who is responsible for building a sustainable future, 96% said the government, 83% the architect and 79% the client,
• they say that in the next few years architects will need to become familiar with digital design-to-fabrication tools (53%), augmented reality and virtual reality tools (also 53%), writing algorithms and software to generate architecture (27%), composites (18%), scripting (14%) and artificial intelligence (12%) in order to do their job effectively,
• no one sustainable tool or practice was agreed upon as a single area of focus for the future; instead architects said they’ll need to employ multiple sustainable tools and systems in the design phase to offset or minimise a project’s impact on the natural environment, including building integrated photovoltaics, passive building design, energy and thermal modelling, zero waste and carbon materials, greywater systems and rainwater recovery systems,
• over the last 10 years, an architect’s influence in the entire project lifecycle has decreased, yet 91% say architects should be part of the building process, and
• solving problems by creating solutions makes architects proud to work in their profession (74%), followed by creating something tangible and everlasting (64%).

For more information on the report, visit https://www.hays.com.au/architect/index.htm

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