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.

Sam, Apprentice Quantity Surveyor

Matthew, Qualified Quantity Surveyor

Ruth, Quality & Systems Manager

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

Construction LMI Infographic

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.

Working in Construction & Property

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

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.

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.

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