Construction & Property - Stockport JobsMatch

If you’re a creative team-player with strong commercial awareness and problem solver skills, a career in the property and construction sectors could be for you.

From building new homes to selling them, there’s plenty of different career paths on offer in the property and construction sectors. They’re both concerned with maximising the value of land and the structures they hold, with property focusing on the buying, selling, leasing and letting of spaces and buildings, whereas construction focuses on their design, build and management for a range of purposes.

Featured Stockport Employers

Sam, Apprentice Quantity Surveyor

Hear from Sam – an Apprentice Quantity Surveyor at Krol Corlett in Stockport – sharing his career story about working in the Construction & Property Industry. Krol Corlett is a Merseyside-based construction company operating across the Northwest of England. They have extensive experience in delivering construction projects on time and within budget for a variety of client and sectors.

Sam had initially applied to Krol Corlett for a work placement, but was later invited back when a job opening came up and is now completing a Level 4 Apprenticeship. Find out what Sam’s role involves, the skills important to succeed and what he enjoys most about his job.

Matthew, Qualified Quantity Surveyor

For a slightly different version of a day-in-the-life of a Quantity Surveyor, hear from Matt at Sisk Construction explaining what his role as a fully-qualified professional involved and how he got started. Originally unsure of what he wanted to do, Matt took the degree route and qualified in Quantity Surveying before starting his career with John Sisk & Son!

Currently working on some of the exciting construction projects and redevelopment works in Stockport town centre, Matt explains what his primary duties are and his recommendations to others wanting to follow in his footsteps.

Ruth, Quality & Systems Manager

Not all roles in the construction sector are hands-on building or architectural design. Ruth works as a Quality & Systems Manager for Galliford Try, having originally started with the firm in an administration role and working her way up gradually. Her varied job role involves visiting client sites, working with teams to implement software and procedures, and exploring different ways to collect data.

Find out more about Ruth’s role with Galliford Try, a leading UK construction business employing 3,300 people across the country.

Labour Market Information

In recent times, the construction industry has been hit hard by the covid-pandemic, with a disruption to new building projects and an overall decline in output. As a sector with existing talent shortages (caused by an ageing population and a lack of gender diversity), there’s fewer people entering the sector and a need to update technologies and focus on sustainable construction.

Brexit has also had a strong impact on the property and construction industry in recent years, especially in regions where employers are heavily dependent on the non-UK workforce. Higher manufacturer costs and new import/export rules have also been a key factor.

Looking ahead to the future however, the government has pledged £1.3 billion towards infrastructure and housing projects, whilst there’s also a massive focus on refurbishment and retrofitting as part of a green economic recovery. Construction and property firms are therefore committed to improving their use of digital technologies to increase workforce productivity and achieve operational efficiencies.

Closer to home, the Stockport Local Plan sets out the vision for development, construction and regeneration projects over the next 15 years. It looks at the requirement to build new homes, jobs and infrastructure in the right places, whilst also considering our environment, community and heritage assets. There’s exciting plans to achieve the highest quality of design for Stockport, protect our greenspaces and respond to the Climate Emergency – all of which are set to create new jobs and investment for a career in the sector for the years to come.

Starting Salary

£12-13 per hour and £18 – £23,000 per annum

Typical Salary Range

£18,000 – £73,500+
per annum

Working Hours

35 to 40 hours per week, with evening or weekends required for some roles

LMI Infographic from GMACS

GMACS have produced a range of helpful infographics to summarise careers in the Construction sector and the current employment landscape in Greater Manchester. According to the stats, the most in-demand roles are as an Electrician, Plumber, Heating Engineer and Groundworker and you may find yourself working for CBRE, Waites, Kier or Balfour Beatty.

You can view the full infographic and click on the links for more information by selecting the button below to view as a PDF.

View PDF

Working in Construction & Property

There main types of jobs in property and construction include working in areas such as:

architecture
building services engineering
building surveying & civil engineering
construction management
estate agencies & management
facilities management
historic buildings conservation
housing management
property development
quantity surveying
structural engineering
town and country planning
valuation

However, property and construction organisations will also employ people in operational roles such as finance, IT, marketing and procurement. There are also construction-related careers in other sectors such as transport and engineering, as well as property roles in public services like social housing and civil service.

To pursue a career in the construction and property sector, employers will be looking for you to demonstrate skills like:

Accuracy and attention to detail
Problem solving and solutions focussed
Logical and analytical mindset
Communication and presentation skills
Negotiation and influencing
Creativity and innovation
Commercial awareness
Organisation and time management
Strong numeracy skills
IT literacy

Many colleges and training providers in Stockport offer courses which are directly linked to construction and the built environment, such as bricklaying, carpentry and joinery, civil engineering, heritage skills and technician trades, along with supervision and management courses. They also offer courses which could help you move into other areas of the sector such as accountancy, law or computer-aided design (CAD). T-Levels are also available in a range of construction related subjects such as ‘design, surveying and planning for construction’ and ‘building services engineering’.

Apprenticeships and similar school leaver schemes are common and are a highly valued route into the industry. These can last from one to six years depending on the level, but usually start at Level 2 (equivalent to GCSE) or Level 3 (equivalent to A-Level). There’s 100s of different apprenticeships in construction and property to choose from – from carpentry to engineering.

For specialist areas like architecture or town planning for example, you’ll need to gain a degree level qualification in either a specific subject or a related subject followed by a conversion course or post-graduate qualification.