IHBC’s first Research Note for 2021 has been posted on the IHBC’s ToolBox, with our regular update of ‘Market Intelligence’ on England’s local authority (LA) conservation-related jobs from our ‘IHBC Jobs etc.’ service.
…detailed picture of long-term trends in the market…
Bob Kindred, IHBC research consultant and author of this Research Note (RN 2021/1) said: ‘This Research Note summarises the job vacancies advertised largely on the IHBC’s web pages in 2020 under the section on Jobs etc.
‘It provides a detailed picture of long-term trends in the market including job requirements, qualifications and levels of remuneration.’
… online support for conservation practitioners, the IHBC’s ‘Toolbox’…
IHBC Director Seán O’Reilly said: ‘IHBC Research Notes are produced as part of an integrated resource offering online support for conservation practitioners, the IHBC’s ‘Toolbox’.’
‘Our Toolbox has been developed to help inform, advise and guide anyone with specialist interests in built and historic environment conservation. Already it offers a wide range of basic resources – the ‘tools’ in the toolbox – from primary research and guidance produced by or on behalf of the IHBC, all in line with technical, academic and practice advice and standards supported or endorsed by the Institute.’
…the state of our local authority capacity…
‘This Research Note highlights trends across one of the most fundamental measures in conservation management – the state of our local authority capacity. By advising on known knowledge gaps in policy and practice such as this, our ToolBox fulfils the role for which it was conceived and designed’.
…Recruitment is now consistently well below that in the first decade of the century…
Bob Kindred writes in the executive summary to ‘Market Intelligence: Local Authority Conservation Specialists Jobs Market 2020’:
…planning authorities identifying IHBC membership….fallen again to 55%..
…Prince 2 …. a more frequent requirement…
…Only three posts were advertised in the North…
- The Institute’s data set now covers about 1,980 posts continuously over 23 years since 1998.
- The year of 2020 was notable in two particular respects: the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic that saw no posts advertised during the month of April; and a high proportion of fixed-term posts related to High Street Action Zone (HAZ) projects. This had a particular influence on the assessment of the overall range and type of vacancies in 2020.
- Recruitment is now consistently well below than in the first decade of the century. Although the overall number of posts advertised in England rose by 15% compared with 2019 (but down 22% from 2018) when HAZ posts are factored in the total of permanent vacancies has fallen to levels not seen since the Recession 2009- 213.
- One third of all recruitments to HAZ posts came in October and November.
- The number of posts re-advertised within six months in England remained low (at three).
- The average median salary advertised for advertised posts in 2020 was £34,487 a rise of 2.9% on 2019, the approximate average increase in each of the last three years. Average full-time earnings in the UK in 2020 were £31,461.
- The number of local planning authorities identifying IHBC membership as essential or desirable for applicants and as a benchmark for professional status and competence, has noticeably fallen again to 55% (having reached 71% in 2016).
- Only 3% of local planning authorities continue to specify membership of the Royal Town Planning Institute alone as a job requirement rising to 23% when membership of any or all other allied professional institutions such as RIBA and RICS are included.
- Only one post in 2020 specifically requested membership of CIfA as a potential qualifying requirement.
- It was noticeable that for project related jobs, Prince 2 had become a more frequent requirement than in the past.
- Development management advice, appeals and enforcement continued to dominate prioritised job functions and a low level of diversification of workload functions has continued to be evident.
- With the proportion of fixed-term posts being significant in most English Branch areas (in East Midlands accounting for four of the five posts advertised) caution should be exercised and not too many conclusions could be reached on regional variations in salaries.
- Only three posts were advertised in the North (covering Cleveland, Cumbria, Durham, Northumberland and Tyne & Wear) and only four in the South (Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, the Isle of White, and Oxfordshire). None of these were HAZ posts.
- Recruitment for posts in North Branch continued to be low (four in 2019) while the drop in South Branch from 2019 was marked down from eighteen in 2019).
NB: although the IHBC is active across the United Kingdom the analysis in this Research Note relates solely to information gleaned about England’s Local Authorities…
Read the IHBC’s ToolBox Research Note –Market Intelligence: Local Authority Conservation Specialists Jobs Market 2020
See more on the IHBC’s ‘Jobs etc.’ service and sign up for notices HERE
See all the ToolBox resources, and see more Research Notes there
Read the 2017 jobs market intelligence Note
For more background see the NewsBlog
