Warnings from leading architecture and design recruiter. Gemma Battenbough reports.

A leading recruiter for the architecture and design profession has warned that another wave of redundancies could be on its way.

“The next six months could potentially see a new round of redundancies across the market… serving as a reminder that we are not past the worst,” Bruce Whetters, Director at Bloomfield Tremayne, predicted.

Major projects of $200-$400 million are still struggling to get finance and, as the work from the government’s stimulus package dries up, some firms are beginning to run out of work, Whetters told indesignlive.com.

However, the market is not all gloom and doom and there will be “pockets” of work, he said. Architects with 4 to 8 years’ experience and BIM skills are most in demand, especially those experienced in using Revit.

Job prospects for architects in Melbourne are better than in other Australian states and also when compared with Bloomfield Tremayne’s international offices in New Zealand, Ireland and England.

“The mood is optimistic in Melbourne because firms are seeing a lot of different projects in the early stages, although firms are still measured because it’s hard to say if these projects will get the finance they need to go ahead,” Whetters said.

Comparatively, the Sydney architectural market is still in flux. There are fewer contract positions available and firms are beginning to hire strategically with an eye on higher skill levels and specific project experience.

“Architecture in Sydney is so slow in terms of new permanent opportunities,” Jamie Keay, Senior Consultant at the Sydney branch of Bloomfield Tremayne, told indesignlive.com.

“But we have been pleasantly surprised by the upturn in interior design work. There has definitely been an upturn in corporate office fit-out work here that has not been felt in Melbourne.”