As we kick off the new year there’s nothing much more natural than to think big – about the opportunities in new jobs, personal prospects, those of this industry and this beautiful frail planet we live on.
This year, we predict, will be the year of thinking global. So, big indeed. It had to happen. Climate change is a global problem with global (and local) solutions but more than anything it needs global co-operation and global skills build up.
As the world increasingly wakes up to the big yawning needs of sustainability and more countries jump on the green bandwagon, local industry will find they are in a global marketplace.
In a quick sojourn in the city (Sydney) this week we ran into a well-placed source who told us that the Middle East and Saudi Arabia in particular were snaffling a lot of talent. With much of this represented by Aussies, not so much Americans. And that there was “real money” being paid. The attraction, he said, was the raft of big development projects underway. We hope it’s green.
Urbis director Kate Meyrick who’s just returned from a trip to Riyadh to complete an urban planning project has had a taste of what’s on offer now and what’s to come.
She says the country is alive with possibilities and reforms and not at all what uninformed westerners might expect.
For a start, it’s utterly more charming and culturally relaxed than the cliches would lead us to believe, with beautiful coastlines, great cultural heritage to explore, and a respectful culture that made Meyrick, as a woman, feel safe.
Driving big changes is the country’s vision for 2030, which sets out a shift from a fossil fuel-based economy to a knowledge economy, she says.
Along with that is a raft of urban development and, thankfully, a strong awareness that this needs to be green. Water security, recycling and clean fuels are all part of the mix.
There’s a new metro for instance to draw people away from car dependency.
“Green and sustainability are very important to them and they understand it in the full spectrum sense of renewable energy sources, understanding water and water management, which is phenomenally important, and thinking about waste management and emission. The build-out of rail and bus infrastructure is epic,” she said in a phone conversation on Wednesday afternoon.
The city that Meyrick’s been working on for 18 months before the recent on-site wrap is Misk, a “non-profit” city dedicated to growing the capability of young people.
But while the Saudis are keen to generate their own capability to grow the economy, this will take time, so for now, Meyrick says, there is a steady stream of imported talent from all over the world.
This of course spells more competition. We were probably not the only ones who noticed the poaching attempts from the Middle East ramping up significantly last year, so you can probably expect more now.
But not only from there.
The UK is suffering the same skills shortages as everywhere else
As the year came to a close in December we finally caught up for a podcast with Sarah Ratcliffe who is chief executive of the UK’s Better Buildings Partnership (BBP), the crowd that’s keen on a more sustainable commercial built environment in that country.
Listen to the podcast with Sarah Ratcliffe
Ratcliffe makes a strong point in the chat. “There’s a big skills gap here in the UK. You’re not alone there, I can assure you.”
A recent survey by the City of London found that 87 per cent of respondents agreed there was a growing green skills gap in the commercial built environment, she notes.
“And 91 per cent agreed that the sector lacked sufficient skilled workers to achieve net zero targets.”
it’s not just about practical skills. “It’s about the whole range of skills across the property lifecycle, whether that’s asset managers, fund managers, surveyors, architects, building engineers, all sorts of across the whole spectrum.”
The BBP, she says, launched an ESG training course for commercial property owners particularly focused on asset management. And now there’s a course for advisory firms focused on capital markets and transactions.
“So those people who are effectively doing the deals, leasing the assets, and so on. And we’ve had over 600 registrations on that course, way above what we expected initially.”
Another interesting observation from Ratcliffe is the movement of talent cross sectorally. So people moving from one industry to another. And that’s exciting, she says.
“I think there’s a huge amount that we can gain there in terms of not only building skills within our sector, but also learning from skills that other sectors have that can be bought into the built environment.”
This portability can be a great talent attraction asset, she points out.
But educating the young people – and all people actually – requires support infrastructure.
A good place to start would be to integrate sustainability across the entire curriculum.
“And not just in specific modules or specific courses. Because I think everybody coming into the real estate industry, whether or not they have ESG, or sustainability as part of their job title should have really good climate literacy in particular. And I think there’s still a way to go on that.”
So how about that for our new year’s resolution? More skills, more education.
We’ve got our hands up!
Help us with our very big ambition
While we’re thinking big here’s another thought.
At The Fifth Estate we hope you noticed our email a few hours ago announcing a restructure. It won’t come from thin air. We need some major support from you, our readers and our advertisers and sponsors, to get there.
In a bold move, even for us, we’ve set a deadline of 31 April to sign up 2000 new subscribers.
Help us get to our big bold ambition. We’ll keep you posted on how we’re going!
Get in touch if you want some special involvement – in any number of emerging ways.