No shortage of jobs in SA for these professionals
 
Tales of young SA quantity surveyors sweeping off to Dubai on multimillion-dollar packages are turning out to be untrue.

A booming property market and good working conditions are keeping built-environment professionals at home, say academics.

In fact, the property and construction sectors could face a skills crunch until students graduate, if activity continues at its current pace.

Quantity surveying, town planning and architecture are the traditional professions. More recently, universities have added real estate courses to the list.

Prof Chris Cloete, who convenes the real estate master's course in the University of Pretoria's construction economics department, claims that as many as 40%-60% of graduates go overseas when they qualify.

"But close on 80% of those come back," he says, pointing out that they bring back good skills and often a financial nest egg. "Less than a tenth of students are permanently lost to SA."

The University of Pretoria attracts about 60 new students a year into its master's programmes for construction project management and real estate.

These part-time, two-year courses attract students from other African countries, sometimes up to one-third of the class. He mentions Zambia, Tanzania and Malawi as countries from which students are drawn. But they return home after completing their courses.

Association of Quantity Surveyors president Lindile Mteza isn't convinced. Though there are no statistics, he believes many white quantity surveyor graduates feel SA offers them no opportunities. He also feels this is not true.

"Quantity surveying firms desperately need young professionals, black and white," says Mteza. He does agree, though, that graduates who go overseas tend to return.

Some graduates never leave SA at all. Town planning students, for instance, are in demand for public-sector departments that don't have the capacity they require, says the acting head of Wits University's school of architecture & planning, Prof Philip Harrison.

There have even been incidents of students being head-hunted before they graduate. Master's students, says Harrison, are the most vulnerable.

"The appeal of good jobs with high packages is strong," he adds. "We have to try to keep students until they complete their courses."

The upside is that there is no lack of jobs for planners. But mentoring is crucial, especially as inexperienced new graduates can land senior positions.

A fast-paced property market, combined with a lack of skills, is clearly boosting built-environment courses.

"Demand for property courses is booming," says the University of SA's Valmond Ghyoot. Enrolments on his introductory property course have leapt from 247 in 1999 to 624 in 2004. That's a jump of more than 150%, though admittedly off a low base because the discipline is comparatively new.

At the University of Cape Town, property studies has been the fastest-growing degree course for the past two years. Twelve first-year students registered when the programme was first offered in 1999. This year there are 100. The master's course has 30 students in 2005, the highest enrolment ever.

Says programme convener Kathy Evans: "Unlike quantity surveying and architecture, property is far less affected by the construction cycle."

UCT and UP's property programmes are accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, making it easier for students to work overseas. But Evans also says they tend to come back. "Of the 12 students in my 2000 class, five went overseas," she adds. "At least two of these are now back and working in Cape Town."

And there's lots of scope for new curricula. "We're short of urban designers," says Harrison. "We need more environmental planners. And local economic development skills are in high demand."

Financial Mail