Ireland - 41% architects without job
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Tomasz,
This looks to be the situation and it is not only Ireland that is facing this challenge. In our (Ireland's) case we are a small boat! It takes very little to float us but again also very little to sink us.
The 41% you mention will mostly be young Architectural Professionals but I think there are going to be many new possibilities for these guys if they are willing to embrace the Green Revolution!
I know this sounds flippant coming from an old hand like me on the other side of 50! But believe me I do know what I am talking about. After all I lived and worked in Ireland through the 70s and 80s. Those times were tough to say the least and I almost moved to California in '86. I didn't as I decided to find various niche opportunities.
Okay, I'll be practical and down to earth for a moment. Let's say a group of young energetic architects decide they are going to form a co-operative and get involved in the Green Revolution.
The first thing they need is an office and living accommodation. We all know there are loads of office space available also apartments. It is a matter of putting a good case to the landlords for at least 30-40% reduced rent. Maybe even a barter system could be employed if the landlord / property developer has buildings that need to be made more efficient on the energy front also usage.
Why would a property owner reduce the rent by as much as 40%? Simple, his mortgage repayments are being approximately reduced by this amount. Why would he be interested in a barter system for rent? Again simple, it is now a practical way to go and he will save money in the long term. What has he got to loose?
Architectural professionals are very fortunate in that they can 'turn their hand' to many areas. It just a matter of seeing work opportunities from a different perspective. The challenge can be exciting and good fun or boring and unpleasant.
Mike
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@mike lucey said:
I think there are going to be many new possibilities for these guys if they are willing to embrace the Green Revolution!
No worries. I didn't start this thread to moan here. Especially as I am still sitting in an almost empty big vessel with no fuel.
Obviously I imagine few opportunities for me here in Ireland.Mike, you are right. First who lose their jobs are the youngest and less qualified. BER rating (Energy Rating introduced in EU) courses have found enthusiasts. The problem is that it will touch older staff as well. They will have a tough time again.
I am especially interested in situation in Australia. I am aware of at least one SCF parachutist who has embraced this land.
Do you experience already a downfall in building industry down there?Tomasz
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I do not think that situation in UK is much better. I have no figures but talking to friends it seems that work is very thin on a ground.
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@unknownuser said:
I am especially interested in situation in Australia. I am aware of at least one SCF parachutist who has embraced this land.
Do you experience already a downfall in building industry down there?Yes, the situation isn't good in Australia either, although the West Coast still is performing a bit better than East coast, probably because of mining activity.
The situation overall is slightly better than other places,but my guess is that here the recession is a couple of months behind the rest of the world. What happens in the rest of the world affects Australia some time later as well.Architecture firms with public projects will remain safe for the coming period, but everything retail, housing development and other private funded projects are seriously slowing down.
I am sure there is still a lot of money here (WA), but people are just sitting on it, afraid to take risks.As all the skeletons aren't out of the closet yet (banks are slowly reveiling the real magnitude of their rubbish stocks), I expect the recession will only get worse and it will be globally, so no places to hide I think.
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Thanks for info.
My whole vessel will sink on Friday week.
Captains have just announced.
Time for changes.Tomasz
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That's terrible news, Tomasz...!!
I'm really sorry to hear this..!!
I wish you all the best and hope you'll be able to find something else soon..!! -
Hi Thomasz,
I read your last post on thursday, but wasn't really sure what you meant.
The reply of Frederick made it clear.
That's tough. I hope you 'll find a good job soon. Hang in there. -
I don't have any statistics, but here in Trondheim, Norway, the last few months we've heard ever so often about people being made redundant. Don't hear about people hiring.
So far, our office is doing ok. ...I hope...The government has initiated a plan to counter the financial situation, one of is to start building, therefore resulting in more jobs.
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i am partially a victim of this really bad crisis we all are facing.. i was forced to go on unpaid leave for 45 days. at least the good thing is that they didnt lay me off like the other consultant offices here (thats U.A.E where the place called Dubai just buckled under pressure)
i am still an employee but on leave without pay.. me being single and having dad here with me (thank god hes not affected till now) i am kinda taking this a bit lightly, but my colleagues are having a really hard time.. they have loans here and being on leave for more than a month is really taking a toll on them. most of them have send their family back to their respective native countries.. without closing the loan they (my colleagues) cant just leave the country either!
well i am really hoping this is gonna turn over soon (but i dont see that coming any time soon)
the money is out there.. but no one is willing to invest for fear of being caught in the bubble! (cant blame them either!
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It will still go much worse before it gets any better IMO.
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It's silly.
I was in Dubai only 4 months ago and it was all blue skies and sweet honey pots.
No one expected things to turn around that fast over the last few months. At least not for the emirates.
As architects are in the front line of the economy they are the first to be hit by recession.
In our office, some Emirate projects are curently put on 'hold'.On the other hand, when things do pick up again (I hope soon), architects will be the first to have a shitload of work as building traditionally is the first activity to boom....
The bad thing though is that everyone is expecting the recession to become much worse than it is now. It is about a snowball effect gaining momentum. I think we need to wait till after juin, when a lot of bancs and companies will make their numbers public.
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People are indeed preparing for the worst.
The reason for everybodies concern is that no one really knows the extent of the recession.It might be that in july, when more information on all those rubbish stocks is out in the open, the situation can get back under control.
I have the feeling that a lot of the actions the big companies take (firing people, restructurising etc..) are precautions.
We need to wait some months...and in the mean time work hard trying to hold on to our jobs. -
@kwistenbiebel said:
We need to wait some months...and in the mean time work hard trying to hold on to our jobs.
Believe me, even hardest efforts to hold on to one's job, will not save a company which is not being paid for already done jobs. It was the case in our company.
It is not a tragedy, at least not for me. I am looking at it as an opportunity to start my own small Architectural/CG 'company'. SU users should be happy I was laid off, because there is a big chance I will have more time for Ruby.
The situation is quite bad, for all those above their 40's that are not flexible any more, having families, mortgage and no job in architecture/engineering at all (in Ireland). Some people have no imagination and haven't saved enough money to cope with such a conditions for a while. I hope this while won't take too long.
Tomasz
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If you are wondering why this is happened not only in Ireland,
then please click through these 8 pages and read carefully in layman's
language how we have arrived at this juncture. This may help you to
explaining to your grandchildren why they maybe poorer.Architect's traditionally are the first to be employed when the economy accelerates, and they are the first to lose their clients in a recession. Luckily I have made it through 4 of such 10 year cycles. My hope is you will be as lucky in the future.
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TOMOT
I think I can summarize the website you list in two words:
Parties over.
We have all been playing a big game of Monopoly with fake money...In the end only one person wins that game. Only difference is the game was being played by everyone and unlike the board game the people that lose in the game we have been playing really do get hurt.
I hope that everyone hear can stay employed or find ways to continue living a modest life. We are all going to have to realize that we can not win the game of monopoly in real life. Work hard and enjoy your family and live within your means are true values that we will all need to return to if we are going to survive this reality check.
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Look on the bright side, now we have more time to play with SU.
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Mike said
@unknownuser said:Why would a property owner reduce the rent by as much as 40%? Simple, his mortgage repayments are being approximately reduced by this amount. Why would he be interested in a barter system for rent? Again simple, it is now a practical way to go and he will save money in the long term. What has he got to loose?
A similar approach has been proposed to conserve a derelict industrial site here in Hull. Regeneration plans for the site have slowed down because of the current financial climate. So rather than the site fall into disrepair and get vandalised, it has been suggested that the buildings be let at a low rate or free of charge to struggling local businesses. It is estimated that this will cost the owners only marginally more than the cost of installing and employing all the security measures that are required to keep the empty site safe. I really hope this comes to fruition, Hull is being hit very hard at the moment.
Regarding the UK, Sepo said
@unknownuser said:
It will still go much worse before it gets any better IMO.
Everything is looking that way here, I work in Leeds which is a really affluent city but nearly everyday on the train I hear another person say that they are now on a 3 day week or facing redundancy.
As I work freelance I am getting concerned that the work dries up so I've been keeping my eyes open, but there really isn't alot going on elsewhere. -
Regarding UK, It looks like we will be worse hit with this recession than any other big economies. Our GDP looks like to be lowest out of all world developed countries.
The trick is to diversify and think out of the box. IMO teaching and training will be growth areas as companies will want to aquire the knowledege rather than outsource the work.Yeah on the bright side I will be spending more time on snow
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Funnily enough, I have been looking into teaching in college, I have done some teaching before. But I don't think outsourcing will disappear, if anything it might increase as the redundany rate rises - for some companies it's cheaper to outsource than pay for pensions, insurance, training, new software.
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